Dear Colleagues:
As you may recall, UC Merced recently retained the Urban Land Institute to help us determine the most cost-effective and programmatically viable alternatives for expanding our physical capacity during a period of ongoing financial uncertainty at the state level. (The ULI is a nonprofit land-use and planning organization.)
We asked ULI to consider options, both on and off campus, for accommodating our projected enrollment of 10,000 students, along with the requisite numbers of faculty and staff, over the next eight to 10 years.
On Friday, the ULI advisory panel concluded its week-long visit with a set of preliminary ideas to be more fully developed in the near future. I'd like to share some of their suggestions with you, along with my initial thoughts on how we may proceed in the coming weeks and months.
First, I'm very pleased to report that the ULI panel applauded the work we've completed to date, noting the attractiveness and sustainability of our campus buildings and the remarkable overall progress we’ve made while dealing with a difficult state economy. This is a great credit to all of you and a strong indication that our initial approach to building a 21st century research university has been very sound.
Going forward, we expect to draw on ULI's recommendations to help us manage our physical growth, whether on or off campus, with greater creativity, resourcefulness and flexibility than ever. Importantly, ULI believes that we can provide the facilities needed to grow to 10,000 students without the costly infrastructure expansion (roads, water, sewer, electricity, etc.) imagined in our current Long-Range Development Plan (LRDP). We can do this through a two-fold strategy of making more efficient use of the remaining buildable space on our current “golf course” footprint and by consolidating administrative support space in a downtown campus location. Some of ULI’s specific recommendations include:
- making more efficient use of existing on-campus facilities by prioritizing space for academic, research, and student support needs
- acquiring or building new facilities downtown for consolidating administrative support space and creating a stronger community presence
- getting maximum benefit out of remaining buildable land on the 104 acres of campus that has already been developed; for example, by building taller buildings and finding parking solutions that require a much smaller footprint
- driving down costs and enhancing efficient delivery by delivering bundles of buildings concurrently
- leveraging private investment and appropriate public-private partnerships to achieve campus development objectives
- further committing to a holistic approach to sustainable development that includes more than building design
The implementation of some of the strategies recommended by ULI will require modifications to our current LRDP, and strong collaboration with UC Office of the President, city and county leaders, and other stakeholders. It won’t be easy at times, and it will require the creativity, flexibility and the entrepreneurial spirit that characterized our campus at its founding. But as we approach the 10th anniversary of Founders Day, which marks the initial groundbreaking for UC Merced, I’m encouraged by prospects for sustained, affordable growth for our campus consistent with our long-term mission.
There are ancillary benefits to the development strategy recommended by ULI as well. In addition to maximizing the use of buildable land on our current footprint to support the facilities needs of our academic and research programs, the development strategy recommended by ULI also seeks to strengthen our connection to the community. For example, developing facilities for administrative staff downtown, which many other universities have done, will help invigorate the downtown economy and increase the sense of shared benefit that’s been difficult to achieve from our remote location.
We expect to have a fully developed set of recommendations from ULI in hand in the next month or two, and we will begin the process of evaluating them at that time. I will provide additional updates as we consider these recommendations and a new path for meeting the facilities needs of our growing campus. I recognize the importance of frequent, open communication during this transitional period and will make every effort to keep everyone informed along the way.
Meanwhile, we are hopeful that Gov. Jerry Brown will sign Senate Bill 1028, which provides initial planning and design funds for our next classroom and office building. Thanks to the good efforts of Patrick Lenz, the systemwide vice president for budget, UCOP state relations staff, our own Cori Lucero, executive director of government and community relations, and elected officials, we were able to secure passage of Senate Bill 1028 in the final minutes of the recently completed legislative session.
Additionally, current on-campus construction projects continue as planned, including the Student Services Building, Science and Engineering Building 2 and Housing 4.
Along with the recently opened Students Activities and Athletics Center, these projects will expand our on-campus physical facilities by approximately 25 percent and provide much-needed research, academic, housing and recreational space.
As always, I appreciate your dedication and commitment to the UC Merced mission and thank you for all you’ve done to bring us this far.
Dorothy Leland
Chancellor
