Dear Faculty and Staff,
As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday and a well-earned break, I want to express how much I appreciate the truly inspirational dedication you have shown to the growth and success of this university and its students.
We are a university on the rise, as evidenced by the increasing national and international recognition of our faculty research, tremendous success of our students, and innovation in campus construction, operations and sustainability. UC Merced is a special place, and you all play a role in that.
If you sometimes find yourself putting in long hours, doing the work of two or three people, and filling in wherever you see a need, please know that you are not alone.
I know that many of you, in many different ways, have felt a bit of strain lately. There is energy and excitement about the future, but also fear of the unknown and frustration at how slow progress can sometimes feel. UC Merced has hit its growth spurt, and with that come growing pains.
By this time next year, UC Merced will be a teenager. Those of you who have been here from the beginning have seen this campus as a precocious toddler, as a fearless adolescent, and sometimes as a gangly tween, still trying to find its place in the world — aspiring to be like its older siblings while also being uniquely itself and a product of its own time and place.
The good news, as any parent knows, is that growth spurts eventually end. That teenager comes away stronger, more stable and more self-assured, ready to take on the next challenge in their journey. We are not there yet, but the work you are putting in day and day out — and your ability to adapt to an ever-changing environment — will ensure our success.
Just three months from now, nearly 300 staff members will relocate to our Downtown Campus Center — beautiful, beyond doubt, but also new and different; full of opportunities, but also adjustments.
Next fall, the first three buildings of the Merced 2020 Project will open. Then comes Phase 2, and then Phase 3 — three consecutive years of new buildings, new locations to learn, new research labs, new meeting rooms to book, new venues for events, new residence halls, new places to park and new recreational facilities.
Our student population is growing, our academic offerings are expanding, our business systems and processes are being modernized, and our mission, vision and goals are evolving.
The months and years ahead will bring new opportunities and new challenges. As the University of California prepares to celebrate its 150th anniversary, imagine UC Merced at its 150th birthday. Our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will look on this campus and know that we were here in the beginning — that we built this amazing place that changed the region and the state and the world. I am so proud to be a part of this with all of you.
Sincerely,
Dorothy Leland
Chancellor
