Over the years, Humboldt State University has faced many challenges, in many cases related to challenges being faced by our broader region. Today, one of the most difficult challenges facing our institution is the limitation of housing. It is also one of the greatest opportunities in front of us because of the one-time funding provided by the state budget approved by the Governor and state legislators.

Humboldt County overall is in the midst of a serious housing challenge. That is no secret. In part related to the pandemic and in part because the secret is out about our amazing location, more people are moving to the area. In doing so, they are filling up the available apartments and houses at nearly all price points, including many that were previously available to students.

This is a challenge that in many ways indicates good things for the county, like a strong economy. However, it makes it difficult for individuals and families at all income levels to find housing, and it also significantly limits the availability of off-campus housing for students.

Approximately 15% of the HSU student body comes from our local area. We’re a destination campus, and very different from most other campuses in the California State University system. Given how small and rural this region is today, we are proud of the number of local students who choose us and we continually try to grow it through efforts like expanded outreach and the new Humboldt First Scholarship.

What this 15% figure means, looked at another way, is that 85% of our students come from outside the area. They are willing to travel here for the educational experience that HSU and this community can provide, and we are eager to welcome them. That requires that they be able to find housing.

For context and better perspective, know that universities have their own language. With housing, we talk about on-campus housing and off-campus housing, and in the category of off-campus housing, we talk about privately-owned as well as university-owned or affiliated housing (housing provided by a third-party partner). We refer to space availability as “number of beds” available. Thus, if we have 1,000 rooms, and they are arranged to hold two people each (doubles), then we can hold 2,000 students. We would say we have 2,000 beds available.

Currently, HSU has a housing capacity on-campus of 2,000 beds. This means we can only have 2,000 students living on campus. HSU has ZERO university-owned or affiliated off-campus beds. This means we are completely and totally reliant on local property owners and property managers to provide housing space for our students at a cost that is affordable to students and their families.

With only 2,000 beds on campus, we are challenged to recruit or house new students, who often wish to live on campus for their first semester or year. So our difficulty is clear. How can campus grow when it does not have enough space for students to live locally, either on-campus or off-campus? One way is to grow our online/virtual offerings, and we are doing that. However, we know that many students taking online classes are also taking in-person classes, and students who are solely virtual miss out on the wonderful benefit of living and learning in this area, even though they do get the benefits of an HSU education.

It’s clear that we need more student housing, and HSU is embarking on a very aggressive plan to build more, both on and off-campus. The recent state funding will help solve this challenge in immeasurable ways, including through one-time funding for major new student housing projects. As this region grows with more people from outside the area, HSU has to expand its housing in order to accommodate more students. That’s the reason you’ll hear news related to expanded student housing in coming months and years.

We also face challenges in finding housing for new employees. We have lost newer employees to the limitations of local housing and its availability, and we know that this is a challenge also faced by partners like College of the Redwoods and Providence/St. Joseph’s Health. New employees moving to the area want an affordable home, and that is becoming ever more difficult to obtain. Right now, HSU has several new employees who still reside in rentals or temporary executive properties, some well after a year. This means they remain at higher risk of leaving HSU and the area for better opportunities in more affordable areas across the country.

I believe this is a challenge that our region can address. It is also a challenge that the new budget allocations can help this region begin to solve. We just need to fully commit to it. Your continued support is needed as the area’s local employers seek to address this. Be well.

Dr. Tom Jackson Jr. is the president of Humboldt State University.