Dear Campus Community,
It is hard to believe, but in just six months the first buildings of UC Merced’s unprecedented, international award-winning campus expansion will open. When the project is entirely complete in Fall 2020, it will provide much-needed space for teaching, research, student housing, athletics and student life.
Yet, even as the construction team works toward our 2020 milestone, I am writing to let you know that planning has already begun in order to shape what UC Merced’s physical environment will look like in 2030 — when our campus will turn 25 years old.
To prepare for the decade ahead, a new version of UC Merced’s Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) will be developed by the university’s planning team as part of a campuswide process over the course of the spring and summer, culminating during the Fall 2018 semester.
Engaging in this effort at this point in time is designed to prepare the University for future opportunities that may arise in the years ahead as the campus matures. When complete, the document, its maps and its guiding principles will be a tool used by architects, planners and the campus community to inform decisions regarding the use of our campus’s land for future buildings, open space and infrastructure.
To craft the document, the planning team will seek input regarding a range of environmental, transportation and infrastructure issues that will influence how we physically grow in the future. I encourage your participation as planning events and workshops are scheduled and advertised by the department of Physical Operations, Planning and Development over the coming months.
From its beginnings, UC Merced has been fortunate to be the steward of an extensive portfolio of land. My hope is that the new Long Range Development Plan that results from this effort will ultimately produce a campus that advances our academic vision and enhances student life in a creative, cost-effective and sustainable manner.
Sincerely,
Dorothy Leland
Chancellor
