December 9, 2020
Re: Building on the Legacy of Our Founders
To: All faculty and staff
Dec. 9, 2020
Dear Campus Colleagues,
Over the last few weeks I had the opportunity to meet some of our founding faculty and staff to learn more about the early days of UC Merced. I was truly inspired by what they told me. Their vision for what this university could one day become helped them through some tough experiences — including the leap of faith that untenured faculty and staff took by coming to UC Merced, knowing that there were no guarantees that they would have jobs if the university failed to flourish.
Faculty and staff alike remember working at the former Castle Air Force Base and seeing the campus site for the first time when it was nothing more than muddy swath of land. But they held tight to the vision of what UC Merced could become, and their vision is now a reality — a top-100 university with a well-earned reputation for creating both new knowledge for humanity and social mobility within California.
Their unwavering support has sustained us and brought us to where we are today. More than that, it provides a beacon of hope as we weather the stormy seas of 2020. A campus community with a common vision and a shared commitment to the future has untold power to shape its own destiny, and I believe that is what we have today at UC Merced.
The founding staff and faculty built this university with pluck and passion. We will build upon their legacy and example with pride and purpose, and we will continue to rise together.
Sincerely,
Juan Sánchez Muñoz, Ph.D.
Chancellor
Remarks and Addresses
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