Campus and Community Stakeholders Save Six Proposed Program Cuts at CSU Dominguez Hills
Faculty, staff, and students have prevented cuts to six academic programs at CSU Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), including Art History, Geography, Labor Studies, Negotiation, Confliction Resolution and Peacebuilding, Philosophy, and Earth Science.
“This represents a significant victory for our collective efforts—particularly our work exposing the contradictory narratives of austerity in Sacramento and affluence in New York, along with documentation of expenditures on golf courses, beach resorts, and gala events,” said Rama Malladi, CFA Dominguez Hills chair of campus budgets and CSUDH professor.
Former interim provost Philip LaPolt announced back in March 28, 2025, that 60 academic programs were on a list slated for possible discontinuation, reorganization, or suspension. He then pressured the faculty to defend their programs’ existence and how they fit into CSUDH’s mission statement and strategic plan.
These proposed cuts were recommended by the Huron Consulting Group, a private consulting firm hired by management to offer “restructuring plans” that prioritize faculty and staff layoffs and program eliminations. Since 2023, the firm has been awarded 20 contracts across the CSU, totaling $25.4 million.
On December 2, 2025, LaPolt disclosed that six programs were on the chopping block. Around that same time, former CSUDH president Thomas A. Parham issued a directive (i.e., Presidential Memorandum) that imposed a revised policy for discontinuing academic programs. CSUDH’s Academic Senate was ordered to comply, even though the updated policy erased any mention of CFA or our Collective Bargaining Agreement; multiple faculty voiced their concern.
CSUDH faculty were critical of Parham’s leadership. Parham, who retired at the end of 2025, received a vote of no confidence from the Academic Senate in March 2025. During his time in office, he had demonstrated a pattern of circumventing shared governance principles and dismissing the role of the University Budget Committee. He also hired an external consulting firm without any faculty consultation.
Both CFA members and the Academic Senate were quick to recognize Parham’s directive for what it was: an unfiltered attack on shared governance and an attempt to eliminate faculty voices from important decision-making processes.
CFA members quickly organized a campaign called “Save the Six” to push back against any program discontinuations. Two emergency meetings were held to discuss and strategize ceasing the cuts.
Dr. Alfredo Carlos, CFA member, political scientist, and CSUDH Labor Studies professor, did incredible work organizing students to speak up about the issue. He brought the community together and encouraged everyone to post their concerns on social media.
Dr. Steve McFarland, CFA Bargaining Team member and CSUDH Labor Studies professor, led the effort in gathering all six program chairs together to discuss the program cuts. CFA members also worked with local legislators to help garner more momentum in preventing the cuts, and offered representation to their colleagues in these programs when they met with administration regarding future plans.
“It’s not a ‘them’ problem, it is an ‘us’ problem,” said Monique Turner, CFA Council for Racial and Social Justice representative and CSUDH Psychology lecturer. “This is what we, the campus and CFA, demonstrated to senior leadership. We came together through organizing, collective power, and an immediate call to action! Our colleagues encouraged their students to show up, and our students shared their lived experiences. When we come together as one, our power cannot be denied or hidden. We must continue to organize, build momentum, and stay ready.”
Because of the work that was done through the collective efforts of everyone in the community, the new CSUDH leadership announced that programs would not be discontinued. On February 9, CSUDH Academic Affairs sent out an official announcement that they would begin a process of Academic Portfolio Transformation. This effort would bring faculty and other campus members together to find solutions to overcome the challenges they face as a community.
“It’s beautiful how the CSU Dominguez Hills community got together to support the six programs that were under threat,” said Iara Mantenuto, CFA Dominguez Hills Labor Solidarity co-president and CSUDH Linguistics professor. “Professors, students, alumni, staff members, politicians and others pushed back on the discontinuations and voiced why these programs matter, how they support the mission statement of our university and how they help students reach their goals. We are thankful to everyone who showed up and the people who organized this effort. This was a great demonstration of how much we all care about our university.”
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