Roberg Tiburon Campus (RTC) at SF States has been home to important research and management of SF bay ecosystem which are important to a large body of this community and beyond. San Francisco State University has been struggling with lowered enrollment and just decided to phase out its operation there. Another giant is getting slewed down.... Here is the text:
"Statement on San Francisco State University Romberg Tiburon Campus
Tuesday, February 4, 2025
San Francisco State University begins phasing out operations at the Romberg Tiburon Campus and shifting activities housed there to the main campus
Since 2017, San Francisco State University’s Romberg Tiburon Campus (RTC) has been home to the University’s Estuary & Ocean Science (EOS) Center – and University research first began at the location in 1978. Currently, three tenure-track faculty and nine state-funded staff members are housed there, and about 40 students participate in activities at the site.
As the University has worked to reduce costs, all research centers have been required to generate revenues at levels which allow them to operate as self-support entities. Despite significant efforts by the director of EOS and faculty to generate funds for EOS, the University has not been able to secure enough funds or support to sustain operations at the 52.7-acre Romberg Tiburon Campus in the face of high maintenance costs at the facility. Consequently, SFSU is beginning the process of phasing out operations at RTC and planning the relocation of EOS to the University’s main campus.
While important research has been a hallmark of RTC, very few students, faculty and staff will be directly impacted by the planned, phased closure of the satellite facility. RTC is home to three tenure track faculty, nine state-funded staff, and eight grant-funded staff. There are no students taking courses at RTC in the spring of 2025, however about 40 students participate in field trips or activities at the site. Due to low enrollment, an interdisciplinary master’s program in Estuary Science offered at EOS was discontinued in 2023-24 and folded into the graduate program in biology as a concentration area.
Planning will begin immediately to transition full-time faculty and staff to the main SFSU campus at 1600 Holloway along with academic offerings and instruction. There are no plans for any layoffs of full-time faculty and staff who work at RTC.
In recent years, Katharyn Boyer, interim executive director of EOS, has brought significant grant-funded activity to the Center while working with an advisory group composed of administrators, experts from the CSU Chancellor’s Office and other professionals and outside experts to try to identify potential alternative financial models to continue the operations at RTC, which comprises facilities on an old U.S. Navy base. Unfortunately, many of the facilities had deteriorated significantly, leaving them in an unusable condition. As maintenance costs and budget challenges intensified, the financial realties at RTC reached a level which created significant obstacles for the University to continue operations of the satellite location. The University is grateful to the dedication and hard work of Kathy Boyer and the team at RTC as they tried to find a path forward while continuing the important work of EOS."
The closure of RTC will allow SFSU to redirect critical funding into the main campus during a challenging period for the University, CSU and the state. The educational activities at RTC will transition to the main campus while SFSU works with the Chancellor’s Office on next steps at RTC.
"Statement on San Francisco State University Romberg Tiburon Campus
Tuesday, February 4, 2025
San Francisco State University begins phasing out operations at the Romberg Tiburon Campus and shifting activities housed there to the main campus
Since 2017, San Francisco State University’s Romberg Tiburon Campus (RTC) has been home to the University’s Estuary & Ocean Science (EOS) Center – and University research first began at the location in 1978. Currently, three tenure-track faculty and nine state-funded staff members are housed there, and about 40 students participate in activities at the site.
As the University has worked to reduce costs, all research centers have been required to generate revenues at levels which allow them to operate as self-support entities. Despite significant efforts by the director of EOS and faculty to generate funds for EOS, the University has not been able to secure enough funds or support to sustain operations at the 52.7-acre Romberg Tiburon Campus in the face of high maintenance costs at the facility. Consequently, SFSU is beginning the process of phasing out operations at RTC and planning the relocation of EOS to the University’s main campus.
While important research has been a hallmark of RTC, very few students, faculty and staff will be directly impacted by the planned, phased closure of the satellite facility. RTC is home to three tenure track faculty, nine state-funded staff, and eight grant-funded staff. There are no students taking courses at RTC in the spring of 2025, however about 40 students participate in field trips or activities at the site. Due to low enrollment, an interdisciplinary master’s program in Estuary Science offered at EOS was discontinued in 2023-24 and folded into the graduate program in biology as a concentration area.
Planning will begin immediately to transition full-time faculty and staff to the main SFSU campus at 1600 Holloway along with academic offerings and instruction. There are no plans for any layoffs of full-time faculty and staff who work at RTC.
In recent years, Katharyn Boyer, interim executive director of EOS, has brought significant grant-funded activity to the Center while working with an advisory group composed of administrators, experts from the CSU Chancellor’s Office and other professionals and outside experts to try to identify potential alternative financial models to continue the operations at RTC, which comprises facilities on an old U.S. Navy base. Unfortunately, many of the facilities had deteriorated significantly, leaving them in an unusable condition. As maintenance costs and budget challenges intensified, the financial realties at RTC reached a level which created significant obstacles for the University to continue operations of the satellite location. The University is grateful to the dedication and hard work of Kathy Boyer and the team at RTC as they tried to find a path forward while continuing the important work of EOS."
The closure of RTC will allow SFSU to redirect critical funding into the main campus during a challenging period for the University, CSU and the state. The educational activities at RTC will transition to the main campus while SFSU works with the Chancellor’s Office on next steps at RTC.
