Michael Spagna, Cal Poly Humboldt’s outgoing interim president, said today that Cal Poly Humboldt administrators are trying to double the student population by 2035. 

Spagna hosted a small press conference today on campus to discuss his tenure as interim president and tout CPH’s recent accomplishments, as well as talk about long-term future plans for the university and Humboldt County in general. 

CPH’s growth was at the forefront of the conversation. Its student population has increased by 4% this year, a not-insignificant figure compared to other universities in the CSU system, some of which have catastrophically shrunk in recent years. Previous increases in student enrollment for CPH were trending at around 1% year over year; currently, CPH’s enrollment sits at around 6,000 students. 

It may not end there. 

“It is our plan — and we’re crossing our fingers to keep the winds at our back — we are hoping to, by 2035, double the population of this university in terms of students,” Spagna said. “…This would be transformative for the region, transformative for all of us.”

Since the transformation into a polytechnic, past leaders have announced plans to increase CPH’s headcount to over 12,000 students by 2028, plans Spagna called “outlandish” in an interview last year. But administrators believe a lengthened timeline and aggressive recruitment strategies will make it possible. CPH offers direct admissions to high schoolers around Humboldt County, sending an email straight to their inbox if they have a 2.5 GPA or above and are on track to finish their course requirements. 

Spagna said locals should not be scared by the prospect of rapid growth. The university’s expansion will include healthcare programs that will train new providers and treat the general public, scholarship money for the Tribes, and more microgrids. Students that stay in Humboldt after graduating will provide “generations” of professionals who will provide valuable skills, he said. 

“So I’m seeing the economic, the cultural and the intellectual culture of this entire region transforming over the next five years, and I think that Cal Poly Humboldt will be at the center of a lot of this,” Spagna said. “Now, I don’t want that to sound arrogant. It’s not going to be the place on the hill. It’s going to be out in community, working with community to make this successful.”

“…I wouldn’t see it as a threat,” he continued. “I see this as a catalyst to propel forward the North Coast that’s going to be growing by leaps and bounds. “So I get it, and I understand people [asking] ‘We’re going to have all these people, and what’s going to happen?’ You watch. In 10 years, it will increase the whole vitality of this region.”