Campus Vibrancy Update
Monday, September 21, 2026, 9:00amTO: Campus Community
FR: Dr. Gerald L. Jones, Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students
I’m excited to share updates about the campus life projects I wrote about last spring, and that are now taking shape around campus. These enhancements are introducing new gathering spaces, expanded recreational opportunities, and interactive features designed to create more spaces where students want to stay, study, gather, and connect, while making our campus feel active and welcoming.
Below are highlights, updates, and timelines for the projects happening around campus:
The HUB Center Expansion has been completed – save for the mural installation coming soon! Drop by to see the new spaces, including an expanded living room space for gathering, watching movies, playing video games, hosting club meetings, and studying. It’s also a great space to hold classroom sessions! The expansion is home to our Black Resource Success Center; our Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Success Space; our Native and Indigenous Success Space; our Rainbow Success Space; and our Raza Success Space. Additionally, you can find our expanded DREAM Center.
Our Revitalizing Seawolf Plaza project has been completed and features curated music and interactive lighting that brings new energy to Seawolf Plaza, expanding opportunities for evening programming and creating a more welcoming campus gathering space.
The Gaming Room in Campus Rec is open and awaits your gaming talent. Whether you bring your friends or drop in and find an open console, this is a dedicated space equipped with six TVs, two PS5 consoles, two Nintendo Switch2 consoles, two XBOX Series X consoles and a gaming library ready for solo or group play, and is welcome to everyone. Rumor also has it that it’s become a pretty cool study place as well!
The Vibrancy & Visibility Initiative is underway with some changes already on campus. A new Community Lounge on the second floor of Salazar Hall invites students, staff, and faculty to sit, study, connect, and spend time between classes, with vending machines coming soon. You’ll also notice smaller changes already completed across campus, refreshed spaces and paint in Salazar, and improvements to the Information Booth and bulletin boards around campus. Over the next several months, you’ll see large SSU letters outside the Welcome Center (for that coveted campus photo!), new solar tables and additional outdoor seating, branded building entry mats, and signage. All the improvements bring more Sonoma State identity, energy, and life to campus, creating a campus experience that gives our community more reasons to spend time here and connect with one another.
Keys on the Plaza and Gardens at The Rec are underway with prep-work and demolition taking place!
- Keys on the Plaza will become a welcoming outdoor living room with a playable piano, shading, seating and table/chairs, and charging stations where you can study, recharge, and share your musical talents.
- Gardens at The Rec will open an outdoor recreation space with workout equipment, beach volleyball, climbing boulders, slacklines, cornhole, and seating. To help envision these spaces at completion, which is planned by the end of the calendar year, we have posted signage with images of what to expect.
The E-Sports Lounge is due for completion in October 2026. This lounge creates a dedicated space, provides equipment, hosts tournaments, and integrates e-sports-related experiential learning opportunities for all.
Big Blue Weekend Expansion is rolling out this year, bringing together campus experiences including Seawolf Discovery Day (formerly called Preview Day), Seawolf Family Weekend, SSU Palooza and Community Day, and Harvest Night into one special weekend for students, faculty, staff and families to enjoy together. October 2-4, 2026 will be an unforgettable weekend filled with connection, community, and Sonoma State spirit as our campus comes alive with activities and events for all ages.
Seawolf Tailgating is in the planning stages and will be ready this coming spring for our campus community – students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community members – to show our Seawolf spirit and celebrate with food, music, and activities before watching and cheering at a Seawolf sporting event. More to come!
Low Sensory Room, Spaces and Tools: As we bring more vibrancy to campus, including more lights, sounds, and events that intentionally gather people and create busy spaces, we also recognize that some of our students and campus community members feel more comfortable in more low-sensory environments. With that in mind, we are in the process of identifying a dedicated space on campus that will serve our students and campus community who seek a low-sensory environment. While we work to achieve this goal, we will begin providing low-sensory toolkits containing items such as earplugs, noise-canceling headphones, fidgets, etc.
We’ve begun this work already by dedicating a low sensory space in The Kitchens (near the Passport dining area). This dedicated seating area is intended for those who need a quieter, more calm environment while eating their meals.
These projects reflect our continued investment in your student experience, the campus climate, and our commitment to creating places where you can connect, recharge, collaborate, celebrate, and have fun in community with each other.