Stanislaus State University is facing a $13.65 million budget deficit, impacting students, faculty, and staff as they work to maintain research efforts and meet basic needs. This situation reflects a broader trend of funding cuts at universities nationwide.
Jose Diaz-Garayua, a geography professor at Stanislaus State, described the need for flexibility in navigating these challenges. “The only way that we can move forward is to be creative and flexible while working on a common goal,” Diaz-Garayua said.
He outlined his approach of preparing multiple contingency plans for research projects in light of unpredictable funding. For some projects, this has meant extending grant periods or project timelines. Currently, Diaz-Garayua mentors five students through a fellowship with the University of California, Merced.
Mentorship programs have also helped students find off-campus funding sources. Graduate student Jennifer Frisk noted that financial constraints limited her ability to participate in research during her undergraduate years due to the necessity of holding multiple jobs.
“In undergrad, being exposed to research was so cool, but it was so hard to do because I had to have two jobs,” Frisk said. “I’m open about the fact that I’m a low-income student. I’m a student parent. I have three kids. School and research never get to be the number one priority for someone like me, and that’s hard, because I love it and I want that to be my priority, and it just can’t be.”
Frisk received a research grant this past summer through her work with Diaz-Garayua but said that budget cuts still make it difficult for researchers to pay assistants even when grants are awarded.
Diaz-Garayua aims to continue offering mentorship opportunities and hopes to support students’ participation in conferences and applications to research institutions. “We (CSU) are a real option, especially for students that are coming from working families,” he said. “Having students here means that they can focus on what they have to do, not switching on and off and going to flip burgers or selling cookies. My goal is, ‘What can I do to bring at least two students that I can pay at least $20 per hour?’”
For many California State University students, food and housing costs exceed tuition expenses. Frisk recalled commuting between Stan State and Modesto for work during her undergraduate years with little time left for academics.
Faculty members such as accounting professor Steven Filling are supporting higher education through union advocacy as well. Filling serves as faculty rights chair at the Stanislaus Chapter of the California Faculty Association (CFA), which represents lecturers, professors, counselors, librarians, and coaches across 23 CSU campuses.
Filling emphasized solidarity among campus communities amid shared difficulties: “They’re making very, very real investments in their future,” Filling said. “These are people that literally are giving up a lot to come to college, and when we start running down what we do for them, I think we really damage our ability to provide the education that has prospered for California and elsewhere.”
He argued against relying solely on quantitative metrics when making higher education decisions: “They (CSU administration) tend to make decisions based on percentages, whereas I see students one-to-one and I see my colleagues one-to-one. They’re individuals,” Filling said. “It’s David and Juan and Laurissa; it’s not some number.”
Despite ongoing uncertainty in higher education funding this year, Frisk expressed appreciation for faculty mentorship at Stan State: “They (faculty) chose to be at the CSU system, and they did that because they love students; they want to prioritize student outcomes,” she said. “They want to teach. They have a passion for what they do…I think that is actually a feature of the system that attracts faculty members who are here to mentor and teach.”
