Dear Faculty and Staff:
With our second semester rapidly winding down and preparations already under way for our 11th Commencement, I’d like to take a moment to provide a brief update on what is proving to be a very productive year for UC Merced. From our growing number of academic and research achievements to the enormous headway we’re making on our expansion plans, this has been a significant year for our campus on many important fronts.
Recognition
Research is a core function of every University of California campus, and UC Merced is no exception. In comparison to other UC campuses, our faculty cohort is relatively young. Even so, our professors and researchers are establishing impressive research and scholarship records and, importantly, many are involving our undergraduate students in processes of inquiry and discovery.
Earlier this year, UC Merced made its initial appearance on the Carnegie Foundation’s listing of the top research universities in the United States – as a “doctoral-granting university with higher research activities.” We are by far the youngest university to be included in this important classification (R2), putting us on par with roughly 100 other highly regarded but much older research universities throughout the country.
Our stellar faculty members have been racking up individual honors at an accelerating pace. To date, they have amassed 13 NSF CAREER awards, two MacArthur Foundation Chairs and our first Keck Award. They have also garnered three impressive grants in the past year from leading agencies including NIH, NASA and NSF (to be announced later this week) that will contribute to increasing the pipeline of advanced-degree graduates, especially those from underrepresented groups, from STEM disciplines.
In the arts and humanities, where extramural funding is scarce, members of the faculty are doing equally important work. For example, UC Merced’s Center for the Humanities has garnered significant donor support and is now attracting the attention of major foundations that support work in the humanities.
More recently, UC Merced was chosen as UC’s systemwide hub for a new center on drone research, part of the UC Centers of Excellence in Environmental Health and Safety program. Officially called the Center of Excellence for Unmanned Aerial Systems Operation, Safety and Risk Management, the new center is the fifth to be created under this program since 2010 and the first at UC Merced. We can be extremely proud that our campus joins UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz as systemwide hubs for research excellence in a given field.
These are wonderful accomplishments, and I’m sure many more will follow as we continue to build our core disciplines, foster inter- and transdisciplinary study, and recruit and retain faculty who are not only strong researchers but also committed to the distinctive mission, student populations and regional impact of our young campus.
Campus expansion
The ability to support recruitment of more faculty members and academic program growth is contingent on creating the facilities needed to accommodate that growth.
As I reported to you in my last update on the 2020 Project, essential elements of our plans to double the physical capacity of our campus by 2020 were unanimously approved by the UC Board of Regents in November. Their endorsement of the project allowed us to move quickly to the Request for Proposals phase, which is now nearing completion.
Responses to the RFP have been received and a robust internal review process, which I outlined in October, is underway, with a goal of selecting the preferred bidder in May. At that time, we will be able to share the preferred bidder’s campus master plan with you. This will be an exciting day for everyone associated with this project and for the future of our beautiful campus, which all of you are working so diligently to build.
In the meantime, I can report excellent progress on our new Downtown Campus Center, which will allow us to consolidate much of our administrative staff in a single location in the city center. We remain on track to break ground for this facility on June 8, with occupancy targeted for summer 2017. I invite you to review additional information about the Downtown Campus Center here.
Visioning Summits
Many of you have actively participated in one or more brainstorming exercises (visioning summits) we’ve undertaken in recent weeks to discuss the change-management process and help us define and unite around a compelling vision for UC Merced. Thank you for your participation and the rich exchange of ideas that resulted.
As you might imagine, suggestions and opinions on the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead are extensive, diverse and thought-provoking. But please don’t stop now—a final summit has been scheduled for this Thursday, April 21, and we need your continued insights to bring this process to completion. You can find additional information about the visioning and change-alignment process here.
This much is already clear: we all share an abiding passion for this campus and its potential to transform the San Joaquin Valley, to increase educational access throughout the region and the state, to change the way education is delivered, to showcase the wisdom of smart, efficient sustainable development and to push the boundaries of research for the benefit of all.
A future with great promise
As I near the end of my fifth year as your chancellor, I am very pleased by the progress we’re making on multiple fronts, but I also recognize that significant challenges remain.
We have severe resource constraints, many faculty and staff members report feeling overworked, internal processes at times are cumbersome and daunting, and campus communication (and thus transparency and feedback) remains a challenge. Staff members understandably want more professional development and upward mobility opportunities. Faculty members understandably want more support for their research and teaching. Increasingly, our students are demanding a variety of cultural spaces and more attention to intercultural understanding and celebration.
We are entering a very significant period in our mission to become the next great research university in the UC system – one that serves a remarkable and diverse student population and the first to blend the 150-year UC tradition of excellence with the spirit of change and innovation that defines the 21st century. We will get there with a clear focus on our core mission and shared vision, and a resolve to respond creatively to the challenges we face on our way.
As always, I want to thank you for all you do to make this most worthy venture possible.
Sincerely,
Dorothy Leland
Chancellor
