Re: Twenty Years AgoTo: All campusOct. 25, 2022
Dear Campus Community,
Twenty years ago today, ground was broken for what would eventually become UC Merced: a beacon of exploration and knowledge, shining in the fertile valley. Faculty members and graduate students began to arrive in 2003 and began setting up research laboratories and programs at UC Merced’s ancillary research facility on the former Castle Air Force Base, biding their time until buildings were ready on campus. The first graduate courses began in fall 2004 and the campus celebrated the arrival of its first undergraduate students in September 2005.
In twenty years, we have come a long way. We started with just 874 students in that first semester of fall 2005 and have since grown to a thriving campus of 9,104 students, 3 schools, and several institutes and research centers. And we continue to broaden our horizons with each passing year.
We are planning a campus event to celebrate the founding of our beloved campus and how far we've come and will communicate the details shortly. In the meantime, I invite you to revisit our campus's history in this brief video featuring first and former Chancellor Carol Tomlinson Keasey, and to read the second edition of UC Merced Magazine, which includes a lively narrative from recently retired Deputy Librarian Donald Barclay of what campus was like at that time.
Go 'cats!
Juan Sánchez Muñoz, Ph.D.Chancellor
