As President Parham exits, campus faces test of leadership and trust.
Cal State Dominguez Hills will begin the spring semester with a new chief executive. Outgoing CSUDH President Thomas A. Parham announced on Nov. 19 that the Cal State Chancellor’s Office has named Mary Ann Villarreal as interim president.
“Please join me in welcoming her to this interim role while the system conducts a national search for my permanent successor in the next year,” Parham wrote in a campus-wide email. “I hope you will welcome her enthusiastically to TORO NATION.”
Parham, who announced his retirement in May, will step down from the role on Dec. 31 after seven years at the helm. His announcement followed a Mar. 19 Academic Senate vote of “no confidence” in his leadership.
Parham’s email, titled “Executive Transitions,” also noted that Michael Spagna would not return to his provost role at CSUDH, but instead will become president of Sonoma State. Spagna was appointed interim president of Cal Poly Humboldt in August 2024. In his place, Parham named Kim Costino, dean of undergraduate studies, to serve as interim provost, replacing Phil LaPolt.
The Bulletin requested a one-on-one interview with President Parham, but his office declined to comment for this article.
Chancellor: Villarreal “a champion of strategic innovation”
Villarreal will arrive at CSUDH during a pivotal moment. The university is wrestling with a $15 million budget deficit, declining enrollment, and the possibility that some programs may be discontinued—all of which have raised questions among Toros about the future of campus.
Villarreal currently serves as vice president for institutional excellence at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), where she works with campuses across the country on strategies to boost student success and scale equity-minded practices.
A first-generation college graduate and U.S. Air Force veteran, Villarreal earned a Ph.D. in history from Arizona State University and a bachelor’s degree in women’s studies from Mount Holyoke College.
Before joining AAC&U in 2024, she spent five years at the University of Utah as its first vice president for equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Villarreal’s ascent marks a return to the Cal State system. Villarreal has worked as a strategic consultant in the Chancellor’s Office, helping to craft the CSU Forward strategic plan. She helped to develop strategic plans and faculty fellowship programs while at Cal State Fullerton.
In announcing her appointment, CSU Chancellor Mildred García praised Villarreal as “equity-minded, student-focused, and a champion of strategic innovation.”
“I have every confidence that she will continue to be a principled leader, a compassionate presence, and a devoted advocate for the CSU Dominguez Hills community through this time of transition,” García said.
The Bulletin also requested an interview with Villarreal, but was told she was unavailable for comment by press time.
ASI, Faculty union look forward to new leadership
Edgar Mejia-Alezano, president of Associated Students, Inc. (ASI), told The Bulletin that given her experience and military service, he has high expectations for Villarreal.
“I’m excited for what the future holds, and I’m excited to meet her and get to work with her as I end my term in about seven months,” Mejia-Alezano said.
ASI vice president Elliot Gonzalez said he’s focused more on how Villarreal will handle the financial crisis.
“I have a very different perspective than Edgar. I think we play a good balance, whereas Edgar is very diplomatic with the administration,” Gonzalez said. “My allegiance is only to the students. So, I’m a little bit more critical of the administration in terms of how they affect students.”
The California Faculty Association at Dominguez Hills (CFADH) has been highly critical and actively engaged in recent budget decisions. In a Dec. 1 email to The Bulletin, the union struck a cautious yet hopeful tone about Villarreal.
“We do not know Interim President Villarreal yet,” the statement read, “but we look forward to building a great professional relationship and working towards our mutual goals in collaboration with her.”
Parham prepares for retirement
President Parham was appointed the 11th president of CSUDH in 2018. Prior to coming to Dominguez Hills, he was the vice chancellor for student affairs at UC Irvine.
Under the leadership of “Dr. P,” as he’s often called by colleagues and students, CSUDH launched several major construction projects, including the Innovation and Instruction Building, the Science and Innovation Building, and a series of facilities still underway. These efforts were part of his push to move Dominguez Hills from a commuter campus to a destination university.
Mejia-Alezano said those projects and facilities are central to the outgoing president’s impact. He cited Parham’s procurement of $60 million from the state as an example of his savvy.
“Campus presidents are actually not allowed to get funding from the state like that. You have to ask the Chancellor’s Office. You have to go through so many bubbles to get that,” Mejia-Alezano explained. “For Dr. P to get that on his own for Dominguez Hills was big.”
Parham’s leadership has come under fire from some students, faculty, and staff for the way he and his administration have addressed the CSU budget shortfall.
Union leaders and students staged protests following the layoffs of at least 30 staff members in January. They called for greater transparency, accountability, improved safety measures for undocumented students, and clearer communication from the university.
When the Academic Senate passed its “no confidence” resolution, Parham challenged the premise of the vote in a lengthy email, saying he was committed to the campus community.
Toros weigh in on what comes next
For students, Villarreal’s appointment raises questions about what will actually change on campus, though awareness of the transition varies. While some Toros have closely followed the leadership shifts and budget turmoil, others told The Bulletin they are only now learning that CSUDH is getting a new president.
“I mean, I don’t really know the president, so I don’t really have that many feelings for him leaving,” said Xochitl Benitez Sandoval, a fourth-year psychology student. “I don’t know why he’s leaving here, but I’m glad to hear that we’re going to have a woman president.”
Bryana Aparicio, a human services student, said she wants to see the new president be more involved with campus life.
“I know that being in that position, you’re always busy, but maybe building relationships and community within the students would help,” Aparicio said.
Gonzalez, the ASI vice president, is decidedly less optimistic about the campus’ future. A senior double-majoring in labor studies and negotiation, conflict resolution, and peacebuilding—two of the six programs under review—he criticized Parham for leaving CSUDH with “unfinished business.”
“He wants to go out with a bang. He wants to cut people’s jobs right in time for Christmas before he goes and retires off of his half a million plus thirty thousand dollars salary,” Gonzalez said. “His unfinished business is making cuts to people who make way less than he does.”
Gonzalez doubts the campus will see stable leadership anytime soon and questioned the purpose of bringing in an interim president. He argued that the role is appointed—not elected—and criticized the administrative structure as disconnected from student needs.
He said: “It’s just going to be more people here to implement cuts on working people, people who work behind computers for high salaries.”