Campus community weighs in on Parham’s legacy and accomplishments after seven years at the helm of university.
By Viri Garcia Gallardo, Executive Editor & Dylan Smith, Managing Editor
After seven years as the chief executive of Cal State Dominguez Hills, President Thomas A. Parham announced earlier this month that he plans to retire at the end of the calendar year.
“I take a great deal of pride in building on what we inherited, and what my team and I have uniquely accomplished,” Parham wrote in a campus-wide email on May 7. “I am taking my leave at a time when Dominguez Hills has experienced tremendous growth and transformation.”
Parham focused on transforming CSUDH from a commuter campus into a destination university. Several initiatives launched under his leadership aimed to position Dominguez Hills as a hub for entrepreneurship and innovation in the South Bay. He also was at the helm when CSUDH transitioned to remote instruction in Spring 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the California State University system grapples with a multimillion-dollar budget crisis, Parham has faced increased scrutiny from faculty, staff, and students—some of whom have criticized his administration’s spending priorities.
CSU Chancellor praises Parham’s stewardship
Parham joined CSUDH as its 11th president in June 2018, succeeding Willie Hagan who had retired that spring. A licensed psychologist whose research focused on multicultural counseling and Black identity, he had previously served as vice chancellor for student affairs at UC Irvine, where he had been since 1985.
In his email, Parham noted that campus would “soon enjoy and benefit from” several new facilities completed or started under his watch, including a resident hall, dining commons, and an $85 million health and recreational center. The new buildings stand as a point of pride, Parham said, not unlike the monumental achievements of Ancient Egypt.
“The completion of many monument structures was often accomplished over multiple reigns and different Pharaohs,” Parham wrote. “The ancient ancestors essentially ‘built for eternity’, hoping if not believing that what they constructed would last forever.”
Parham—nicknamed “Dr. P” by colleagues and student leaders—also focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. In 2022, he helped lead the CSU system’s first-ever Juneteenth Symposium, which laid the foundation for state legislation establishing California’s Black-Serving Institution designation.
CSU Chancellor Mildred García, who served as CSUDH president from 2007 to 2012, lauded Parham as a “compassionate and principled leader.” In a statement, García lauded his efforts to further the university’s reputation as an institution serving historically marginalized communities.
“Long recognized as the most ethnically diverse university in the CSU system, Dominguez Hills has become an even more inclusive, welcoming and supportive institution during President Parham’s tenure,” García said.
Anthony A. Samad, the director of the Mervyn Dymally Institute, echoed García’s praise, telling The Bulletin that Parham’s impact on the university was “irrefutable.” He said Parham brought significant financial resources and academic credibility to CSUDH.
“His legacy will be that he modernized this university and changed the way it approached accreditation and business practices.”
Controversy, criticism, and crises
Parham’s tenure has faced sharp criticism from some members of the campus community, particularly in recent years. Amid the ongoing budget crisis, critics have accused his administration of having misplaced priorities and tokenizing CSUDH’s founding principles of social justice and educational equity.
Parham’s commitment in this regard came under scrutiny soon after he took office.
In the fall of 2018, just months after Parham had arrived at Dominguez Hills, The Los Angeles Times reported that he had been the focus of gender discrimination complaints during his time as vice chancellor at UCI.
According to a UCI campus review, Parham violated university policy by paying three women less than male colleagues performing the same or similar work. Parham denied any wrongdoing, saying he was a lifelong advocate for equal rights with a “long track record of supporting women.”
More recently, Parham’s leadership has come under fire for the way he and his administration have addressed the CSU budget shortfall. Due to declining enrollment and dwindling state support, CSUDH faces a $12-million cut to its base operating budget for the 2025-2026 academic year.
This past November, Parham warned that difficult times were ahead and cautioned against “defensiveness and finger-pointing” as the university worked to balance the books. His remarks did little to ease concerns among some faculty, staff, and students, who accused the administration of reckless spending and performative displays of solidarity—especially in the wake of President Donald Trump’s re-election.
Union leaders and students staged a handful of protests this semester following the January layoffs of at least 30 staff members. They called for greater transparency, accountability, safety measures for undocumented students, and clearer communication from the university.
Frustrations on campus came to a head on Mar. 19, when the Academic Senate passed a vote of no confidence in Parham’s leadership, citing concerns about financial management and decision-making.
“[The] University President has demonstrated a pattern of circumventing shared governance principles, notably by unilaterally hiring an external consulting firm during the winter break without consultation with established shared governance bodies, including the Academic Senate and University Budget Committee,” the resolution read.
Parham challenged the ethos of the vote in a lengthy email sent on Mar. 26, saying he was fully committed to the campus community—both the students and “the instructional and co-curricular staff who educate them.”
Dominguez Hills post-Parham
With Parham’s upcoming retirement on Dec. 31 comes a slate of questions about Cal State Dominguez Hills’ future. While the president is likely to spend the next seven months preparing the university for his departure, neither his office nor the Chancellor’s Office has provided information regarding his replacement at press time.
“The next President will have to change the campus mindset that pits faculty against administration,” said Samad, the Dymally Institute executive director. “It cannot continue to operate in the way it does and expect the university to progress in the future.”
The California Faculty Association at Dominguez Hills acknowledged Parham’s accomplishments in a May 13 email to The Bulletin. The union said it had hoped to continue working with him to address concerns, but respected his decision to retire.
“There is work to be done right now, amid this huge announcement. We request to be involved in the hiring process for our next President,” the CFA-DH statement read. “This is a time when we have to all work together even more than before.”
In the meantime, Toros expressed mixed feelings about Parham’s legacy, especially as the budget concerns continue to shape campus life.
Some students told The Bulletin they were saddened by Parham’s decision, noting the limited representation of Black faculty in academia. They also recognized the criticism others had of him, believing Parham could have done better at addressing food insecurity on campus and calls to support Palestinian rights.
Activists on campus—like those from the CSU collective Students for Quality Education, offered a more pointed assessment—citing frustrations over what they viewed as a lack of transparency and accountability by Parham’s administration.
“Students have informed Parham what they’ve wanted with walkouts,” said one SQE member, who requested anonymity due to safety concerns. “Parham chose to ignore and belittle the students’ requests instead of being understanding.”
Tristan Castillo, a senior mathematics student, said he hopes the next president will continue to foster “positive energy.”
“I’ve had the pleasure to meet [Parham] and have sit-down talks,” Castillo said. “I think the next person who comes in is kind of going to be in a very tough position, because this is a very diverse campus … I hope they can advocate for keeping the diversity, but also making sure that the campus can still thrive.”
Bulletin staff Archangel Apolonio and Jesus Cortez contributed to this report.