Dear Colleagues,
I hope the semester is going smoothly for you. With spring fast approaching and the academic year's end just two months away, our beautiful campus seems more energized than ever. On a recent weekend, I took a stroll through campus and was struck again by its beauty and the wonder that it was able to emerge here in Merced despite enormous challenges. As we rush through our workdays, focused on the multiple demands that sometimes consume us, we need to pause long enough to soak up the sights and enjoy what we’re building here. It is truly glorious.
This is the time of year when our attention is on Sacramento and the activities of the state legislature. We are continuing to monitor the state's revenue picture very carefully. You may know that the revenue forecasts have not been as positive as many had hoped. In fact, California revenues forecasted for March are $22 million below what Gov. Jerry Brown expected in his proposed budget for fiscal year 2012-13, due largely to lower estimated tax payments and more income tax refunds than were expected. That proposed budget includes a modest increase for the University of California, contingent on better revenue figures and tax measures subject to the ballot initiative process.
Until recently, there were three competing tax proposals on the table — making it less likely that any of these initiatives would prevail with voters. However, the governor and leaders of the Restoring California Coalition's "Millionaire's Tax" have come to a compromise on a revised initiative, and this leaves only one other competing tax proposal. We will continue to watch this situation closely. Also, we are keeping an eye on several bills that have been submitted to provide financial relief to UC and California State University students from middle-income families. While the spirit of the bills is laudable, the challenge once again will be to find the state resources to fund the plans.
The prolonged period of financial stress in California has created significant hardships for the University of California and its students, and I join you in hoping that the state can return to strong fiscal health as rapidly as possible. Fortunately, there are signs of economic recovery on the horizon. Job growth in the Silicon Valley is very strong, with ripple effects beginning to appear elsewhere in the San Francisco Bay Area. For example, the city of San Jose is actually projecting a $10 million surplus in next year's budget. We are starting to see progress locally, too. According to the Milken Institute, which ranks U.S. metropolitan areas each year by how well they are creating and sustaining jobs and economic growth, the Merced community recorded the biggest gain of all 379 cities surveyed last year — up 105 places to 63rd on the list.
We can all take pride in that accomplishment, as UC Merced's growth and local economic impact have surely been driving factors in this improvement. The campus' economic and intellectual contributions to the region are beginning to make an important difference — not just in overall growth, but in the type of growth we're seeing.
For example, a study by an organization called Next 10 — a nonpartisan group focused on the intersection between the economy, the environment and quality of life issues for Californians — revealed that the state's "green" business sector fared better during the recent recession than many other traditional industries because the products and solutions it offers are attractive to companies and public sector entities looking to cut costs, become more efficient and emerge stronger from the economic downturn. Not coincidentally, our faculty, students and research institutes are already making discoveries and inventions with potential to propel this sector to prominence. Their research, as it matures and is brought to market through practical applications, has the potential to make the San Joaquin Valley a global leader in the emerging green economy and position the region and state for sustained economic growth and diversification.
We are continuing to see strong interest throughout the Valley in a future medical school at UC Merced, for understandable reasons. The physician shortage in the region is severe and the health disparities alarming. But the cost of an independently accredited medical school — including support for faculty and facilities in the basic sciences, public health and biomedical research — remains a significant challenge. The total estimated cost of approximately $200 million will require significant support from the state, the healthcare sector and private philanthropy.
The UC Merced San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education was created last year as a partnership with UC Davis and UC San Francisco to begin addressing the physician shortage in the Valley while UC Merced builds its own independent capacity to deliver medical education. During its first four years, the program will enroll approximately 20 medical students who are committed to serving their communities in the region and who are provided with a curriculum and research opportunities that will enhance their abilities to do so effectively. Although these students are officially enrolled in the UC Davis medical program, they will take the clinical component of their medical education curriculum at UCSF's Fresno site. As the program matures, these students also will have opportunities to work with UC Merced faculty on research related to health disparities, public health and the application of biological and other natural science principles to clinical practice. The program is governed by a memorandum of understanding between the three institutions and an advisory committee comprised of representatives from these institutions and external members. UC Merced's representatives on the advisory committee are nominated by the UC Merced Divisional Council of the Academic Senate. The current UC Merced representatives are professors Rudy Ortiz and Jan Wallander.
I also want to provide an update on the two executive searches we are currently conducting. Since last fall, a number of your colleagues have contributed considerable time by participating on the search committees for the next Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor and a new Vice Chancellor for Development and Alumni Relations. The quality of the pools is exceptional, and I am heartened by progress so far. The search committees are conducting in-person interviews with candidates this month, and we expect some candidates to visit campus in late March and April. Our intent is to fill both positions by the beginning of the new fiscal year.
I thank the faculty and staff for your hard work and your dedication to the mission of the university.
Sincerely,
Dorothy Leland
Chancellor
