By Cynthia Hubert

September 27, 2024

Robert “BJ” Snowden began his college career at Sacramento State, where he forged a friendship with a fellow student named Luke Wood.

Though he earned his undergraduate degree at another CSU, San Jose State, Snowden’s connection to Sac State and to Wood remained strong.

While Snowden built his career in the community college system in the Sacramento area, Wood was on a path that led him to become Sac State’s ninth president.

Now the two men are reuniting on campus as Snowden begins his role as leader of the new CSU Statewide Central Office for the Advancement of Black Excellence, based at Sac State.

“It is a phenomenal set of circumstances that brought us here,” said Snowden. “It really is a dream come true for me.”

CSU selected Sac State as home for the new success center based on its record of supporting Black students, staff and faculty, as well as the University’s efforts to address inequities and achievement gaps.

Those efforst include the creation of the nation’s first Black Honors College, which welcomed its inaugural cohort of students this fall. The college offers scholars of all races, cultures and majors a comprehensive curriculum focusing on the Black and African American experience.

“We are deeply honored by the trust and support from the CSU in selecting Sacramento State as the home for the Black student success center,” said Michael V. Nguyen, the University’s interim chief diversity officer. “Under Dr. Snowden’s leadership, we are confident that this center will have a transformative impact.”

The center, which will receive $8 million in annual funding from the CSU Chancellor’s Office, will oversee and implement recommendations in the CSU’s 2023 Black Student Success Report. The report, which reflected information from all 23 of the system’s universities, identified barriers to Black student success and strategies to address them.

Snowden, who most recently served as associate vice president of Equity, Institutional Effectiveness, and Innovation at American River College, is set to begin his new position at Sac State in the coming weeks.

His wife, Michele Foss-Snowden, is a Sac State professor of Communication Studies and a Black Honors College faculty member.

Born in the San Francisco Bay Area, BJ Snowden moved to the Sacramento area at age 13 and attended Elk Grove schools.

He said that during his first semester at Sac State, he lacked focus and found himself on academic probation. He worked to improve his grades, then transferred to San Jose State to study film production. After obtaining his bachelor’s degree there and teaching media production, Snowden earned a master’s degree in Educational Technology from Pepperdine University and a doctorate in International and Multicultural Education from the University of San Francisco.

“Spending time teaching motivated me toward a path where I could thrive and motivate others,” he said.

Through the years, Snowden and Wood maintained contact, sharing ideas and projects.

It feels right that they are officially colleagues, Snowden said.

“President Wood is bringing so much energy and such a student-centered focus to the institution,” he said. “I feel extremely lucky that my career has crossed paths with the University and what he is doing.

“Everything that I have done ties in brilliantly to the work that lies ahead of me.”

Snowden said the new center’s mission will focus on ideas and issues highlighted in the Black Student Success Report. Contributors cited the need for safe spaces on campus, increased support for faculty and staff members, and innovative ways for Black students to “find community, and find themselves in the curriculum,” he said.

“We want to create a perfect ecosystem for students to be successful.”  

Snowden, who plans to connect with leaders at all 23 CSU campuses to better understand specific projects and ideas, said he is thrilled he will be anchored at Sac State.

“I’m so excited to be coming home to the place where I started my academic journey, and being part of the Hornet Family,” he said.

Nguyen called Snowden “an ideal choice” to lead the new center.

“Dr. Snowden’s leadership will be pivotal in identifying and scaling effective practices across the CSU system, fostering cross-campus collaboration, and ensuring that Black students have the resources and support they need to thrive,” he said.