Nearly eight years after taking the helm at Cabrillo College, President Matt Wetstein has announced his retirement.
Wetstein will work through Dec. 31 to allow the Board of Trustees time to hire a new president, the college announced in a press release on Monday.
The Cabrillo College Governing Board will establish a search committee and will begin the process of initiating a search for the next president, with plans for that person to begin work in January 2026.
During a phone call Tuesday, Wetstein praised the faculty, leadership and students.
“I’ve loved it here at Cabrillo,” he said. “It’s a great environment. It’s been a great run.”
He said that, after a career in education that spanned three decades, he is looking forward to spending time with his wife, traveling and going on hikes.
While Wetstein’s departure just seven years after he started may seem abrupt, Cabrillo College Governing Board Chair Adam Spickler pointed out that the average length of time for a college president to stay is three years or fewer.
Before Wetstein, President Laurel Jones served from 2013 to 2018.
Among the manifold duties of the position, Spickler said, are addressing public concerns and handling issues with personnel, the governing board, staff and students.
In addition, college leaders must be adept at navigating the complex politics of state funding that focuses on new students and places less emphasis on returning students and older, “lifelong learners,” Spickler said.
“It is a grueling job,” he said. “We have to be creative about staying viable, and Matt’s been pivotal at that.”
Spickler also praised Wetstein for his response to the twin disasters of the Covid-19 pandemic and the CZU fires, establishing the college as an evacuation point and temporary shelter.
“Cabrillo College was one of our premier places where I didn’t have to worry about a darn thing,” Spickler said.
“He’s been excellent for the college in a number of ways, and it’s going to be incredibly big shoes to fill.”
Before he came to Cabrillo, Wetstein served for six years as the assistant superintendent/vice president of instruction and planning at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton. Before that, he taught political science at San Joaquin Delta College, and also served as the dean of planning and research. He is a statewide leader in the Research and Planning Community for California Community Colleges, having spent six years on the board of that organization and two years as president. He is the co-author of three books on the Canadian Supreme Court, one book on abortion politics in the U.S., and has published more than a dozen peer-reviewed articles on judicial behavior, abortion politics and community college student success. After his retirement, he plans to relocate to Stockton, California, where he and his wife have a residence.
Wetstein’s accomplishments (source: Cabrillo College)
• Hiring full-time faculty to increase the College’s offerings in programs such as welding, nursing, ethnic studies and community health, and to expand mental health services for students.
• Leading Cabrillo College and the establishment of emergency shelters during the CZU wildfires (2020), and floods in Pajaro (2023).
• Leading the College through the COVID-19 pandemic, serving as the incident commander in Cabrillo’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), keeping students, faculty and staff safe, and navigating successful pivots to online instruction and back to in-person learning.
• Guiding the creation of and serving on Cabrillo’s Hispanic Serving Institution Task Force and Leadership Team, resulting in faculty and staff development, increased funding for community events, and the hiring of a bilingual marketing professional.
• Serving on a statewide task force related to college affordability, food and housing needs that generated policy briefs that shaped basic needs legislation and funding for affordable housing.
• Providing direction for grants initiatives that brought more than $14 million in federal funding to the college.
• Helping the Cabrillo Foundation staff grow the College’s endowment by nearly $30 million.
• Leading a renaissance of public art on the College’s two campuses, by securing funding for murals, sculptures and performing arts events.
• Serving as a Tri-Chair of the Central Coast K-16 Education Consortium, which infused $18 million in state funds into the region for economic recovery efforts in career pathways focused on health care and computer science and engineering.
• Advocating at the state level for changes to the student-centered funding formula, which creates inequitable per-student funding rates across California’s community colleges.
• Leading the Board of Trustees and College through community learning and listening sessions related to the proposed name change for the College.
• Serving on several nonprofit boards in Santa Cruz County, including: Agri-Culture, the Santa Cruz County Business Council, the Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce, the Santa Cruz Symphony, the Sutter Health/Palo Alto Medical Foundation Advisory Board, and United Way, and serving as a member of the Capitola-Aptos Rotary Club.
i have worked with Matt for 5 years. we have had a tumultuous half a decade. i have had many arguments with him, but we were always able to agree , or agree to disagree and i could always get him to hear me out.
we have agreed on many issues, most notably the new dorm. and we have disagreed , most notably, regarding the name change. He will leave office with that issue still on hold and up for a final vote in 2028.
We know that diversity, equity and inclusion are essential for our college to serve all our population. it is also essential to make sure our college, in hiring, reflects our community.
Our college is on firm footing financially, and has always been , with him in charge. i was proud that last year, the Santa Cruz chamber of commerce named him person of the year.
our campus works to provide the very best education for the greatest number of people in our community. our college is not a white island in a diverse county. our college is no longer a a sheltered place tor the upper middle class. Our Aptos campus just unveiled a new mural in the cafeteria that reflects the African American community. it is magnificent. and so long overdue!
i look forward to helping select the new Cabrillo president by 2026. it should be interesting.
Hmmm Steve is this you?
https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/cabrillo/Board.nsf/files/CX6RUY6FC0FA/$file/10-31-23%20Committee%20Report%20and%20Recommendation%20Related%20to%20Complaints%204882-2515-7516%201.pdf
The Cabrillo Board of directors said you were a naughty boy
But you didn’t respond to them just wanted the public to know about your past
President Wetstein also played a meaningful role at the state level through his research and advocacy in Sacramento to the benefit of all 116 colleges and 2.2 million CCC students.
Wetstein served on several statewide task forces and working groups, including co-chairing a student basic needs working group of presidents that provided research and advocacy that led to larger investments in basic needs centers throughout the state.
Well-respected and popular with his presidential colleagues, President Wetstein advanced the reputation of Cabrillo College with his reasoned approach to confronting difficult challenges and his empathy and caring for students and the mission of California’s community college.
President Wetstein’s influence will continue for years beyond the date of his retirement.
Bye Felicia!