Dear Students,
Welcome to an exciting new year at UC Merced!
I’d like to extend a special welcome to our new first-year, transfer and graduate students. Although your first days on a new campus can be daunting, soon you will develop new relationships, learn how to get around and find everything you need, and begin exploring the many opportunities open to you here and in the community.
You are joining the UC Merced community in the middle of a truly unprecedented campus expansion project. This year, we opened a new dining facility, two new residence halls with ground-floor classrooms and student life spaces, new recreation fields, and new parking. Two years from now, when the Merced 2020 Project is complete, we will have added 13 new buildings and expanded our capacity to serve up to 10,000 students.
Soon, we will be opening even more spaces for students as we complete renovations to the third floor of the library. Spaces on the first floor of the library will also soon become the home for our multicultural center. The ground floor of our new Granite Pass residence hall also contains spaces for student clubs and organizations. If you haven’t done so already, check it out!
Our returning students already know what life is like at UC Merced. It is occasionally inconvenient and challenging, and it demands some patience and flexibility as our young campus continues to grow and mature. But it is never boring, and it is full of opportunity and possibility.
As a UC Merced student, you are a part of an intellectual community that strives to promote inquiry, discovery and learning. We are committed to academic freedom, and to fostering an intellectual climate where diverse views are debated and examined. We seek to provide students with the intellectual tools they need to make informed and well-reasoned independent judgments. This occurs inside the classroom and also through broader campus discussions on a range of topics, some of which can be politically divisive.
At UC Merced, we also are guided by our Principles of Community , which begin by affirming the dignity and value of each member of our community and the importance of cultivating a campus climate rooted in mutual respect and compassion. Inherent in these principles is a commitment to openness and a culture of dialogue, understanding and civility that is at the heart of intellectual inquiry and debate. Maintaining that culture requires all of us to express our views in ways that don’t unnecessarily hurt or provoke others.
You, our amazing students, are a big part of what makes UC Merced such a special place. Each of you can forge your own path here through your academic studies, extracurricular activities, friendships and community service. Each of you has the capacity to create your own experiences, and to leave legacies for those who follow.
I can’t wait to see all the great things you accomplish this year!
Sincerely,
Dorothy Leland
Chancellor
