♪♪ The slogan "Made at Sac State" takes on new meaning as J. Luke Wood assumes the presidency of the university.

Wood, a 2005 graduate, joins us to talk about returning to his alma mater and his vision for its future.

Dr. Wood, what memory from your time as a student comes up most when you walk the campus?

Well, there's so many memories, uh, from my time at... at Sac State.

I...

I started in... in 2000 as an undergraduate student and coming from a very small town in... in far northern California, uh, McCloud, a town of about 1600 people, a high school of 100 kids.

So, coming to Sac State was a... a... a eye-opening experience in... in many ways.

But if I had to... to pin it down to a single experience, it would be my time in student government.

Uh, When I, uh, came to... to Sac State, I had been in student leadership in my small high school and, uh, obviously, the environment was much larger, much more diverse and... and... and so rich in... in so many different ways.

Uh, but student leadership is where I found my personal home.

So, I started, uh, as a... as a student, as an undergraduate, just kind of volunteering in student government.

And then, at the end of my freshman year, I ran for a board position and served on the board, uh, for a year.

And then, from then on, it was my... my whole existence, uh, at the institution.

I served as a, uh, vice president for finance, vice president for academic affairs.

And then, the year that my identical twin brother was president, I served as executive vice president for the institution.

And just having the... the opportunity to engage with faculty, engage with campus leadership and understand what were some of the challenges- And I would say that one of the most important experiences that I have- I've had that has prepared me, uh, for... for leadership at my time at San Diego State and now my time at Sac State, uh, was my time serving in student leadership.

Isn't that amazing?

So, those experiences you still carry with you.

I...

I'm curious, though, what brought you to Sac State in the first place?

How... how did you make the decision to come here as opposed to any other place where you could have pursued higher education?

So, in high school, I had some very strong grades and had the opportunity to go pretty much anywhere that I would like to.

And so, I had a high school counselor who was pushing me to look at, uh, one of the University of California campuses, and I didn't feel like it was a good fit for me, mostly because of the distance it was from the capital.

I was really interested in... in... in government and what takes place in Sacramento, in general.

So, during my... my junior year, between that transition from junior to senior year, I participated in a program called Boys State- it's now called Boys and Girls State- uh, that was put on by the American Legion.

And essentially, what it does is it brings individuals from high schools from across the... the... the state to come to Sacramento State.

You live on campus, you learn about leadership and leadership development.

You visit the capital.

And it was a transformative experience for me.

Uh, so much so, that I even have a- downstairs in... in my home, uh, a... a... a large piece of paper where all the students signed, uh, that we were part of the same program together.

And I fell in love with Sacramento.

I fell in love with Sac State.

Now, my identical twin brother, he was looking at going to Chico State because, at the time, they had a really strong program- they still do- in music industry.

And so, I was looking at Sacramento State.

He was looking at Chico State.

And at that point, we were going to part ways, and that was going to be a very difficult experience.

After coming home from Boys State, I said, "Josh," who's my brother, "I'm going to Sac State."

And that's when he made his decision also to then change his plans and to go to Sac State.

And so, we came together in 2000 and actually lived in Jenkins Hall, um, as... as freshman students for our first year together, in the same room.

Wow.

I...

I...

I'm curious, when you... when you look back upon those moments, like the Boys State experience and all that, you... you name that as a transformative experience.

I'm curious, what other key experiences really helped shape, kind of, the direction that you've taken, in terms of your... your professional life and what your interests are?

Well, one of the other key experiences, uh, was really engaging with faculty at... at Sac State, some of whom are still at the campus and doing great work with students.

But there's one faculty member that... that stands out in particular, uh, Dr. Cecil Canton.

And what's interesting about Dr. Canton is that I never took a... a class from him.

I was walking on campus as a... as a freshman student, and I saw him walking on campus and he walked up to me and... and out of nowhere, just introduced himself and said to me, you know, uh, "My name is Dr. Cecil Canton.

I'm a professor of criminal justice.

And I want you to know that if you ever need anything, ever need anything, you come and talk to me."

And there's a lot of people who say things like that to you, but there's few people who say things like that and actually mean it.

And no matter whether things were going good for me or whether I was going through challenges, he was there for me.

Every single time I had a- an organization, a student organization where we were putting on an event or a program, he would come.

He'd be in the front row supporting.

And so, he became one of the most important mentors that I've had in my life.

And what's interesting about it is I never took a single class from him... ever.

[Scott] Really?

Never took a- Yeah, never took a single class from him.

But yet, he saw me and a whole generation of students as still being his responsibility.

And for me, that's... that's the ethos at Sac State.

Uh, I think in general, the professors never have... have thought that you have to be a student in my class for me to feel a responsibility for your learning growth and development.

And so, that, I've taken with me and I've tried to model the same thing as a student.

And, uh, when I was teaching as a graduate student to... to undergraduates, and then as a professor, I've always had the ethos that no matter who they are, if they're enrolled at the institution, then they're also my responsibility.

Now, that is quite a statement.

And, uh, I want to connect that to something that is also, uh, uh, a huge part of your career, and that is you've been the author of over 16 books and over 180 articles, and have not been a quiet academic from that perspective.

And your work has focused around access and equity related issues uh, really about not just achievement, but about creating environments where achievement can flourish and take place, especially for those who might not feel connected to an institution like Sac State in the first place.

Connect the experience you had with that professor to the work that you are so renowned for.

Well, it... it is interesting that you make that connection because that connection with him was one of the things that really inspired me to push further into the work that I do.

So, um, even going back to that experience and... and... and running for student government, my... my focus at the time was on issues around student success.

So, it's interesting that, as a student, I advocated for issues around student success.

And then, as a professional, it's the same thing that I've done, both as a scholar and as a... as a practitioner.

And I think it really comes down to just an understanding that... that not every single student who attends a college or a university ends up graduating from the institution.

And for me, coming from the small town that I came from, that was actually an eye-opening experience because people always just said, "Oh, you got to go to college, you got to go to college."

But no one ever talked about, well, and when you get there, you have to do the things that are necessary to finish college.

And then, when you finish college, you have to do the things that are necessary to be successful in your career.

And so I think that there are... are so many things that... that many students don't understand- particularly if they have a background like me, where they're a first generation college student- that you just don't have a framework for understanding what that looks like.

And when we look at the... the issues that we see in colleges and universities across the country, we find that many of our minoritized students- and that's our... our students of color, that's our, um, our... our, uh, students who have been justice impacted, our former foster youth, students with disabilities- we know that they have outcomes that are oftentimes lower than that of their peers, that they may be less likely to graduate.

And so, my... my professional career has been spent advocating for those students and understanding what is it that institutions have to do to ensure that every student has the opportunity to succeed.

And that is some real difficult work, because it involves changing organizations, but also changing hearts.

And so, I'm involved in both heart work and organizational change, and I think that's been what's been impactful as a scholar, but also I think it will help me, uh, in... in leadership at Sac State and beyond.

Let's stay with that for just a second, Dr. Wood.

If you were to name, just off the top of your head, say, three conditions that need to be present in order to really support student success for all students, uh, but especially those who may not come from the traditions or backgrounds most typically associated with student success, what would they be?

Well, I can...

I can give you those pretty easily.

So, one is around, uh, issues, uh, as it relates to financing, uh, their college experience, and then the related issues that come from that, that we know that many students struggle with- issues such as food insecurity, housing insecurity, transportation concerns and employment barriers.

We call those the Big Four.

And as a student, those are issues that I also struggled with.

Uh, I would- remember going sometimes two, three days at a time without eating and trying to figure out how I was going to have, uh, my next meal and, you know, scrounging change off the ground or going to a campus event because there was an opportunity to be able to... to feed myself.

And so, a lot of the work that I've done as a scholar and as an administrator has been around addressing issues of food insecurity and housing insecurity for students.

The second thing that I would say is around climate.

You have to have a climate where students feel like they are cared about, where they feel like they matter and that they belong, and that their engagement is both invited and desired in the classroom and out the classroom.

And then, the third thing I would say is that you have to have a... a teaching experience that is reflective of students' lives and, essentially, how they want to be able to change the world.

In... in the scholarly realm, we call this "culturally relevant teaching," or "inclusive teaching."

But it's essentially recognizing that every student that comes into your classroom has a different background, a different life and a different experience.

And if we want to be effective in helping to, uh, to teach them so that they can better learn the material and excel, it's about making the connections between what they're learning in the classroom and who they are as an individual and how they want to change the world.

Hmm.

You know, uh, uh, thank you for sharing that.

And that sounds like a really interesting framework that- you know, to launch and to maintain any sort of environment that's going to be supportive to students.

Going back to your own journey, you... you mentioned how sometimes you didn't eat for three days.

What... what was it that led to the conditions that you were personally struggling with back when you were a student?

Well, um, I basically went off to college, and I lived in the residence hall for the first year, uh, Jenkins Hall.

And then, it's often times- uh, as would happen after your first year, I transitioned out into an apartment in the community.

And so, when I would get my, uh, my... my financial aid, I would take all my aid and I would use it to pay my rent upfront, so I always knew I had a place to stay.

Uh, that didn't always work and- at some times, but that was generally my... my plan.

And then, I- my job was I worked in student government, and I think at the time, I made about $80 a month or something like that.

And so, for me, I just didn't have a lot of... of resources and... and income that was available to me.

And I wasn't the only one in this situation.

In fact, uh, this is still very common to today, that you find this.

I think that the difference was that back then, you were reliant upon specific people to help you, whereas now we have programs and services that are designed to address those issues.

So, for me, it was about- You know, I had a friend who was a little bit older than I was and every now and then, he would bring over Top Ramen to me because he knew that I wasn't eating.

And there was a... a pastor in the local area, uh, uh, named Crandall who would bring over a box of food to... to my apartment where me and my brother worked.

And he would always bring it and he would say, "Hey, here's a box of food for you."

And I'd be like, "No, I don't need it.

Give it to somebody who needs it."

And he said, "Well, how about this?

Why don't you take it, and why don't you give it to somebody who you think needs it?"

And I know that he didn't- that he knew that we really needed it, uh, but it was his way of... of trying to make it so that we didn't feel like we were having to ask for help.

Um, there was, uh, another, um, person who was in EOP, um, who would oftentimes take me and my brother out to lunch simply because she knew that this was something that... that we struggled with.

And so, I was fortunate that there was a community of people who cared about me.

And so, despite having some of the challenges that, as a scholar, I know are predictors of students not completing college, I had individuals who were invested in me enough that I didn't have to ask for help, that they proactively provided it for me.

And I would like to say that that is one of the things that I've learned, as a scholar, is really important for, um, many students is we oftentimes don't want to wait for the student to have to get to a point to where they ask for help.

Because some students, particularly our, uh, first generation students- uh, college students, our students of color, our... our male students, may oftentimes find that asking for help can be viewed as a sign of weakness.

And so, they'll... they'll... they'll wait until the building is on fire.

They'll wait until it's a really challenging situation in their own life before they do.

And so, I believe in a concept called "intrusiveness," where we provide them with support proactively, um, and we try to address the needs as they're occurring or even before they occur, so that we don't end up in a situation where, by the time the student comes to us, where it's very difficult for us to be able to resolve the issue that they're experiencing.

Hmm.

Uh, I also wanted to... to touch on the fact that you mentioned, uh, uh, the foster care system and you were, uh, at one point, part of that system, correct?

Correct.

I was a foster child, yes.

When you think about that, that is a huge issue that still vexes California.

Do you have any insight about what more we could be doing, particularly as foster children transition from their high school experience and start to look toward their future possibilities, including college, uh, how we need to better support them?

Would you have any insight on that?

Absolutely.

And it's been one of the, uh, largest passions, as you can imagine, coming from that own background and experience.

So, uh, just in terms of my background, pretty quickly- So, I was born in Oakland.

Uh, my biological mother was in prison.

So, my brother and I were- immediately became wards of the court and went to the foster care system.

Uh, we moved from, uh, the Bay Area to far northern California and- with a... a very diverse group of... of children in a very similar situation.

Uh, we were fortunate that we ended up being adopted and- by a family that was, um, you know, continued to do foster care.

And so, I grew up in a foster home and a lot of my brothers and sisters- In fact, most of my brothers and sisters are not biologically related to me.

And so, we had this large foster home with about, you know, 12 to 14 of us at any given time.

And then, across the street from us was a group home.

And so, there... there's- In a small town, there was this little enclave of... of children who, uh, the state had had to provide care for because our families were unable to do so.

So, when I went off to... to college, the- there... there, uh, wasn't the kind of programing that's in place that you see now.

Now, the... the state has what are called "Guardian Scholars programs," where, essentially, students who have been involved in the foster care system, there's an opportunity for them to receive support, counseling, advising, uh, a case management approach where people are checking in on you and making sure that you're doing OK, space on campus where you can go and be with people who have similar backgrounds.

Because when you are in the foster care system, there's a reason that that occurs.

There's usually a background of either neglect or abuse, and that's not something that you usually like to talk about with people outside of who've had a similar experience.

Right?

And so, we see a similar program at... at Sacramento State, which I'm excited- In fact, it's one of the things I'm most excited about, is I cannot wait to meet our Guardian Scholar students and to... to support them and to understand what the... what the challenges are that they're facing.

And so, in general, in terms of what we need to do to support these students, it's that counseling, it's advising, it's making sure that they have a community of support, so that, uh, when an issue comes up, we're proactively providing them with whatever it is that they need.

Because unlike other students, our students who are... are current or former foster youth or wards of the court, these are individuals who can't necessarily call home when they need a- [Scott] No safety net.

There's no safety net.

And so, the campus, we become that safety net for them.

Hmm.

Interesting.

I want to turn now toward the future.

As you... you step into this role and you look at Sac State and its evolution and... and look toward the future, what is your vision for what Sac State, in the coming years, is going to look like and what it's going to be known for?

Well, I would say that the... the number one vision has to be around student success because that's why we're here.

Uh, if we- I mean, there's lots of very important things that we can focus on.

But the number one thing is that we want it to be where, when a student comes to our campus, that they know that they have a likelihood of being able to, um, achieve their degree and achieve upward socioeconomic mobility for themselves and for their families.

So, student success is the number one priority at all times.

Now, Sac State has an incredible foundation in this.

When I went to Sac State, it was- there was not a high graduation rate, particularly from people who come from my community, the Black community.

Now, what we see is that they have went, under President Nelson, from an 8% graduation rate to a 28% graduation rate, nearly 30% in... in this timeframe.

That is incredible.

And that also means that there was a lot of hard work and dedication that went into that.

So, for me, though, that suggests that there's a foundation and that we can see these accomplishments as signs that we can do even better than we've done.

And so, as a scholar, my research has focused on student success and continues to focus on student success.

And so, for me, it will be focusing on increasing graduation rates.

But then, also, the second component of that is it's not just about... about increasing graduation rates overall.

It's also about reducing equity gaps between, uh, students and their peers, particularly our... our minoritized students, our students of color.

Because you can find on many campuses across the country that there's a high graduation rate for students overall, but then when you look at Southeast Asian students, Hmong, Cambodian, Laotian, Vietnamese, you look at Latinx students, you look at Native American students, you look at students from the Black and African American community, you find that there can be outcomes, particularly from men from those groups, that are lower than that- than they should be.

And so, that's an opportunity for us to focus our attention, our resources, our time, our effort, our energy and our hearts to do the kind of work that's necessary to ensure that every student, again, has that opportunity to succeed.

So, I would say that that's the number one thing that I...

I want to focus on.

The second thing is I want to listen.

I really do want to hear from the students.

I want to hear from our faculty.

We have wonderful and amazing faculty, again, many of them who are still there since the time that I was a student.

Uh, our staff members, our local community, particularly our business community, I want to hear from them.

What is it that they want to see for the campus?

What are the challenges that we're experiencing?

And then, from that, then develop a plan, uh, to essentially help to address those issue that's in align with the current strategic plan, uh, for the campus.

Hmm.

And as you look forward to that strategic plan, nothing happens in a vacuum.

And at the moment, we all have been transfixed by the revolution in technology, artificial intelligence, um, engines like ChatGPT and others.

From your role, have been- being so involved in higher education and from all the vantage points that... that you... you have seen the higher educational system from, what do you suspect that you and... and those that work with you are going to be focused on on leveraging technology so that that way it supports that student success and the democratization of educational excellence for the students that you care so much about?

Well, I...

I think it involves us having real conversations about what our- I know that there's a lot of fear around- You... you mentioned ChatGPT as an example, um, another A.I.

that's... that's taking place right now.

I mean, the rapid growth that we're seeing is... is- in the... in the tech field is... is amazing.

I think that there's a lot of fear around that.

I think that it... it- we can look at it as a challenge or we can look at that as an incredible opportunity.

How can we use that to better prepare students for the next phase?

How can we do- use it to, uh, re-envision our processes within the institution?

And so, I think it's about engaging people in conversations where there is naturally a lot of fear, uh, that's associated with that.

I will also say that, even with examples like ChatGPT, uh, you'll see that A.I.

is based upon, uh, patterns that we see in human behavior and human knowledge.

And so, ChatGPT, just like any other A.I.

or anything that is an algorithm, has some of the same frailties that we have as humans.

And in fact, um, I've done some work.

Uh, I had a... a... a paper that I've been working on, looking at how ChatGPT actually can reinforce issues of race and racism and... and perspectives around that.

When you ask, uh, for common descriptors, for example, of what it means to be a Black student or- and then common descriptors for what it means to be a White student at an institution, it's very interesting the differences in terms of how those things are framed and how it can reinforce.

I also think that has to be part of the conversation.

The other thing that I would say around this is that we have to focus on what is called "digital equity," where we're thinking about how we can use, uh, learning management systems- which are essentially the infra- the software infrastructure that provides the learning experience that takes place on campus- um, how we can think about, uh, online resources, online books, online learning video- videos, online modules in a way that addresses issues of equity to ensure that we're maximizing the... the... the impact that those resources can have on student learning and student success.

And fortunately, I have a lot of experience with that.

Uh, my center at San Diego State has been funded by the Gates Foundation to do just that, to look specifically at digital equity in the online learning space.

And so, I'm, uh, very excited to be able to take what we've learned, again, as scholars, and implement that, um, in this role as president.

Uh, and, uh, we will be watching and when, uh, your paper is done, maybe you can come back on and chat with us about that.

Would love to do so.

All right.

Well, uh, as a proud Sac State graduate and a graduate of the EOP program, uh, I just want to say "Stingers up!"

[Dr. Wood] Stingers up!

And, uh, good luck and much success to you.

And we'll leave it there.

All right.

Thank you for your time.

And thank you, uh, for the opportunity to engage.

And we're looking forward to what we can do at Sacramento State.

All right.

And that's our show.

Thanks to our guest and thanks to you for watching Studio Sacramento.

I'm Scott Syphax.

See you next time right here on KVIE.

♪♪ All episodes of Studio Sacramento, along with other KVIE programs, are available to watch online at kvie.org/video.