Cal Poly Humboldt dean tapped for state science policy panel

California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot named Cal Poly Humboldt dean Eric Riggs to the California Ocean Science Trust’s Board of Trustees, putting a North Coast academic leader into a state science-policy role with direct ties to coastal decision-making.

Riggs, who has served as dean of the College of Natural Resources & Sciences since July 15, 2021, joins University of California, Santa Cruz’s Michael W. Beck on the board. Cal Poly Humboldt said Riggs previously worked as a professor of geoscience education at Texas A&M University, a background that fits the trust’s emphasis on marine STEM education and the translation of research into public policy.

The California Ocean Science Trust describes itself as a Sacramento-based organization with staff across California, working to bring science together with state and federal policymakers to speed progress toward a healthy and resilient coast and ocean. Its work includes science advice for policymakers, bringing science to lawmaking, supporting student research and stewarding investments in ocean science. The trust also operates policy-facing tools such as a California Ocean Bill Tracker and policy roundups.

For Humboldt County, the appointment matters because the region’s biggest environmental questions rarely stay local for long. Fisheries, forests, water, wildfire risk, coastal erosion and tribal partnerships all depend on how scientific evidence is interpreted in Sacramento. A dean from Cal Poly Humboldt on a board built to bridge science and policy gives the North Coast a voice inside a group that helps shape how ocean and climate knowledge reaches lawmakers and regulators.

The trust said Crowfoot chose Riggs and Beck for expertise in marine STEM education and coastal climate resilience. Beck is director of UC Santa Cruz’s Center for Coastal Climate Resilience and holds the AXA Chair in Coastal Resilience, adding another coastal scientist to a board that sits squarely at the intersection of research and government action.

The appointment also underscores how Cal Poly Humboldt has positioned itself beyond a regional campus. With a dean serving on a statewide trust created by legislation, the university is now linked to the machinery that helps decide how California responds to ocean health, climate stress and coastal management. For Humboldt County, that could mean more visibility when North Coast science is translated into policy, and more direct access to the conversations that shape the future of the California coast and ocean.