Dear UC Merced community,
This week, we begin offering admission to the University of California, Merced, to more than 22,000 young people and their families — the largest number of regular first-year admissions we have ever offered. This is an inflection point for their futures, and of course for the future of our university.
We know the UC mission of teaching, research and public service; we know that we pursue this important mission every day with passion and a fervent pursuit of excellence. And we know the fruits of our intensive labors: we are among the top universities in the United States, according to US News, for creating social mobility for our students, for the economic diversity of our undergraduates, for best teaching, for being innovative, and for providing overall value.
We are rising in the rankings not because we pursue rankings, but because external observers are increasingly aware of our momentum and success.
But new students are not simply passive recipients of our wisdom and experience. Each one adds to the intellectual, social and cultural life of our university. Each new member of our community enriches us and enlivens UC Merced, and upon graduation, burnishes our reputation and their own with their successes. The value that we offer to students is more than repaid by the value that students bring to our campus.
That is why the coming months are so critical for UC Merced. I am asking everyone — faculty, staff, students, administrators, alumni and so many others — to do your part in explaining our mission, passion, values, and transformative power to these young people who, with guidance from their families and friends, are trying to determine their best educational path forward.
Some of us will be asked for specific assistance, but I hope that all of us realize our role in growing the university. Everyone has a great story to tell about their time at UC Merced; I am asking you to share that story publicly, with pride, and help to guide the futures of not only this university but also of thousands of young scholars whose lives we will change for the better.
Sincerely,
