Campus News

As finals week approaches Dec. 15-19, Cal Poly Humboldt students are gearing up for one last push before winter break. And while exams and projects take center stage, finishing strong is about more than study sessions; it’s about taking care of yourself, finding balance, and tapping into the support systems all around you.

Cal Poly Humboldt will honor its newest graduates at Fall Commencement on Friday, Dec. 19, marking a day of celebration, reflection, and promise.

On a warm August afternoon, on a quiet side street in Arcata, a group of Cal Poly Humboldt students are taking turns swinging a sledgehammer against a small steel plate on the ground. They pause for five seconds and strike again. Five seconds. Another.

The Winter Wishes program at Cal Poly Humboldt has always been about more than presents. It’s about the quiet magic that happens when a community rallies around local youth.

Cal Poly Humboldt has been honored with a bronze-level Bicycle Friendly University award by the League of American Bicyclists, the premier grassroots advocacy organization encouraging better bicycling, in recognition of the University’s achievements in promoting and enabling safe, accessible bicycling on campus.

When the recent government shutdown left many, including students, facing uncertainty over delays in federal SNAP benefits (known as CalFresh in California), the Cal Poly Humboldt community responded with compassion and resolve. In just a few weeks, donors gave more than $62,200 to support students through basic needs services.

A historic season for Cal Poly Humboldt Women's Soccer came to an end on Friday, Nov. 21, as the Lumberjacks fell 1-0 to defending national champion and 2025 CCAA regular-season winner Cal Poly Pomona in the first round of the NCAA Division II Tournament at Kellogg Stadium.

For the first time as a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), the Cal Poly Humboldt women's soccer team is heading to the NCAA postseason.

Cal Poly Humboldt currently has 85 active capital projects underway, including the construction of new facilities and the development of sustainable energy systems.

Long celebrated for its natural beauty and environmental values, Cal Poly Humboldt has once again been recognized for putting sustainability into action—earning a place among the nation’s most environmentally conscious campuses in The Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges.

For half a century, American Indian College Motivation Day (AICMD) at Cal Poly Humboldt has stood as a beacon of inspiration, empowerment, and cultural pride for Native students across Northern California. Since its founding in 1974, the program has helped thousands of Native students envision themselves on a college campus, connected to culture, community, and possibility.

What began as an educational journey has grown into a story of personal and academic empowerment for one Cal Poly Humboldt student, Stephanie Murillo. Behind Murillo’s transformational experience is the University’s Excelling & Living Independently Through Education (ELITE) Scholars Program, which helps former foster youth like Murillo succeed in higher education and beyond.

For many people, a traffic stop or roadside encounter can be stressful. But for those who experience communication differences, neurodivergence, or disabilities such as autism, epilepsy, or hearing loss, those moments can be especially overwhelming.

A new report from the Schatz Energy Research Center at Cal Poly Humboldt examines the entwined history of energy development and timber production in Humboldt County—and looks at how transmission system expansion for offshore wind could empower greater energy access on the North Coast.

Cal Poly Humboldt’s College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (CAHSS) launches its new My Best Lecture series, a showcase of compelling talks that University faculty have always wanted to give. 

Since 2011, Cal Poly Humboldt secured more than $1 billion in external funding, advancing breakthroughs in gene therapy, clean energy, climate science, community health, the arts, and student success programs while providing students hands-on opportunities to shape the future. 

Cal Poly Humboldt’s role in shaping a new statewide college access initiative was highlighted as Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 640 into law, formally expanding the California State University (CSU) Direct Admissions Program to school districts across the state.

When The New York Times published its story, “The Hunt for a 316-Year-Old Stradivarius Stolen in the Fog of War,” one of the central figures behind the discovery was Cal Poly Humboldt alum Carla Shapreau (‘83, Special Major).

Cal Poly Humboldt will welcome hundreds of prospective students and their families to the annual Fall Preview on Friday, Oct. 24.

This year’s Lumberjack Weekend brought a funkadelic burst of music, pride, and community spirit to Cal Poly Humboldt from October 2–5. 

Cal Poly Humboldt will celebrate the 27th Annual Campus & Community Dialogue on Race (CDOR), an annual event that brings together students, faculty, staff, and community members to explore issues of racial justice and systemic inequity from Monday, Oct. 20, to Friday, Oct. 24, 2025.

Cal Poly Humboldt is hosting the 2025 Indigenous Peoples Week (IPW) from Saturday, Oct. 11, to Friday, Oct. 17. Events are free and open to the public.

At 4:30 a.m., before the first rays of sun reach the waters surrounding the Galápagos Islands, trillions of phytoplankton drift in the dark, waiting for the light of dawn to trigger photosynthesis—the process that releases oxygen and energy into the ocean and the marine food web.

Cal Poly Humboldt has been recognized with multiple high rankings in U.S. News & World Report's prestigious 2026 Best Colleges rankings, highlighting its commitment to academic excellence and student success.

Get ready for an unforgettable, groovy weekend at Cal Poly Humboldt’s annual Lumberjack Weekend 2025. From Thursday, Oct.  2, to Sunday, Oct. 5, the campus will come alive with live music, carnival games, food trucks, and family-friendly activities.