Office of the President

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President Richard A. Carvajal

Dr. Richard A. Carvajal became the ninth president of Cal Poly Humboldt in January 2026, marking a return to his first home on the North Coast and highlighting his journey as a distinguished leader in higher education. 

Raised in Humboldt County, where he dreamed of one day attending Humboldt State University, Carvajal returned to the region after a successful nine-year run as president of Valdosta State University in Georgia. During his tenure, Carvajal navigated the university through multiple challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, two Category 5 hurricanes, and a global cyberattack. Despite those challenges, enrollment and student retention both increased, numerous construction and renovation projects were completed, a center for regional impact was established to strengthen connections with regional communities, and a highly successful online college was launched.

Carvajal also served as president of Darton State College, where he co-led a historic consolidation with Albany State University, a historically Black university, to form a new master’s degree-granting regional university. Prior to Darton State College, he was president of Bainbridge State College, where he worked with others to increase student success and community connections. Collectively, those roles made Carvajal the longest-serving president in Georgia’s university system. His leadership earned widespread recognition, including being named one of Georgia Trend magazine’s Most Influential Leaders four times and receiving the Georgia Chamber’s prestigious Rural Impact Award. 

Carvajal is a graduate of both Leadership Georgia and Leadership Kansas. He, and he was a Lyndon B. Johnson Congressional Fellow, a Washington Center Minority Fellow, and a World Affairs Council Fellow. He earned a doctorate in Higher Education Administration from the University of South Carolina, a master’s degree in College Student Personnel Administration from Southern Illinois University, and a bachelor’s degree in Communication and Sociology from East Central University in Oklahoma.

A first-generation college graduate, Carvajal grew up in poverty and overcame significant obstacles, and his story is living proof of the transformative power of higher education. He is honored to join an outstanding group of faculty and staff leading Cal Poly Humboldt as it completes its historic transformation to a polytechnic university, expands experiential learning, increases student success, and deepens regional connections.

“Cal Poly Humboldt has long been a very special place,” Carvajal says, “but working together with so many during what can only be described as a historic time for our university, I know that the best is yet to come.”

He is married to Dr. Cheryl Carvajal, an accomplished educator and writer, and together they have two children. In his free time, he loves celebrating his heritage by cooking and enjoying Mexican cuisine, attending campus and regional arts events, and cheering on Lumberjack student-athletes.