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Office
of the President November 11, 1998 TO MEMBERS OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON UC MERCED: ITEM FOR DISCUSSION For Meeting of November 19, 1998 UPDATE ON PLANNING FOR UC MERCED This report summarizes significant developments that have occurred since the July meeting of the Special Committee and serves as background for an oral presentation by Carol Tomlinson-Keasey, Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives and Senior Associate to the President for UC Merced. Academic Planning The final academic plan awaits the appointment of a Chancellor and the founding faculty and will evolve with the campus. Prior to the development of this more detailed plan, there are several steps that can be taken and several academic principles that can be affirmed to set the stage for the new campus. Foremost among these principles is the expectation that UC Merced will take its place as a peer among the other nine University of California campuses by meeting the standards of excellence that are their hallmark. Building areas of academic distinction that complement and reinforce those at the existing campuses will assure that UC Merced achieves prominence in the areas of teaching, research, and public service. Developing focused areas of excellence in the academic program will also ensure that UC Merced will be able to attract the distinguished faculty essential to a research university. A corollary to the first principle calls for UC Merced's research programs to lay the groundwork for outstanding graduate and undergraduate programs. In keeping with the principles of shared governance, these academic programs will be developed with the oversight and approval of the Academic Senate. 1. Establishing a Distinctive Research Identity UC's rich array of multicampus research organizations and its ties to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory offer pathways to a distinctive research identity. Multicampus research organizations bring the collective talents of the entire UC system to bear on important research issues. Livermore is home to unparalleled resources in engineering, science, and technology. By creating partnerships with these entities, UC Merced can build a base for attracting distinguished faculty members and building outstanding graduate and undergraduate programs. Sierra Nevada Research Institute. A Sierra Nevada Research Institute at UC Merced would take advantage of the resources of seven multicampus research units and programs that currently exist within the University of California and that consider issues involving the Sierra Nevada Mountains -- (1) the Centers for Water and Wildland Resources, (2) the Davis Institute for Transportation Studies, (3) the White Mountain Research Station, (4) the Natural Reserve System, (5) the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, (6) the Santa Barbara Institute for Computational Earth System Science, and (7) the Institute for Geophysics and Planetary Physics. Building from the research base of these groups, a Sierra Nevada Research Institute at UC Merced would acknowledge the campus's position at the juncture of the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada and would examine issues such as water and watersheds, biodiversity, population growth and development, air quality, climate change, fire ecology, resource management and policy, and public recreation. Research in these areas would be supported by sophisticated technology, including remote sensing and laser technology. This partnership could be the beginning of an outstanding array of undergraduate and graduate biological, physical, and social science programs that address current national and international issues. This partnership would also seek advice from federal, state, and private agencies concerned with the Sierra, including the National Park Service, the U. S. Forest Service, and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Partnership. Livermore's scientific mission capitalizes on interdisciplinary teams of scientists and engineers investigating an array of questions in areas from biology to engineering. UC Merced faculty will work in tandem with some of these interdisciplinary teams and focus on research that is of interest to both the campus and the laboratory. Initial discussions of possible curricula have focused on: * Environmental sciences,
with an emphasis on restoring healthy air and productive soil, and safe,
non-polluting transportation, This partnership would assist the development of strong physical sciences and engineering programs at UC Merced and would bring further strength to the Sierra Nevada Research Institute. Community and Policy Partnership. UC Merced planners have begun to work with a coalition of social science, humanities, and arts multicampus research organizations to examine research strengths that capitalize on the San Joaquin Valley's diversity of peoples and cultures. Although still in the early planning stages, this partnership, when developed, might serve as a standard for understanding diverse peoples and cultures around the world. 2. Coordinating with the Academic Senate Academic planning for the campus depends on the review and approval of the Academic Senate. Prior to the hiring of faculty and the formation of a UC Merced Division of the Academic Senate, the Senate has named a UC Merced Task Force as a means for on-going Senate consultation and participation as the campus is developed. The Task Force is chaired by former Academic Council Chair Fred Spiess, Professor Emeritus of Oceanography at the San Diego campus. Members include representatives from each of the nine campus divisional senates plus the vice chair of the Academic Council and representatives of system-wide Academic Senate committees on Academic Personnel, Educational Policy, Graduate Affairs, Planning and Budget, and Research Policy. This committee will help guide the academic planning for the new campus. The initial academic structure for UC Merced is designed to foster a high degree of collegiality among faculty, reflecting the fact that the number of faculty will be relatively small when the campus opens. The campus will initially be organized into divisions -- a Division of Science and Technology, a Division of Social Science and Public Policy, and a Division of Arts and Cultures -- but faculty might initially focus on issues that incorporate strands from all three divisions. For example, the issue of climate change might draw most heavily on faculty from Science and Technology, but social scientists might investigate the economic or policy aspects of climate change. As the campus grows, a departmental structure is expected to emerge. Professional programs will be incorporated into one of the three divisions until the campus has grown large enough to support separate schools. For example, engineering will initially be part of the Division of Science and Technology. Following the advice of the Academic Senate, the principal strategy for curriculum development will be to target a limited number of areas for hiring faculty. Disciplines selected for inclusion in the initial curriculum will reinforce one another with the goal of building research distinction. Current plans call for a staging of the campus with the Division of Science and Technology being the first to be developed. Early majors will likely grow out of the partnerships described above, in particular, the Livermore and Sierra Nevada partnerships. Other letters and science core programs will be phased in as the campus grows in enrollments and resources. 3. Developing Distributed Learning Centers and a Division of Professional Studies UC Merced's undergraduate and graduate courses and degree programs will be developed by faculty. The current goal is to develop a Central Valley network of learning opportunities and to provide off-site locations for UC Merced courses. The 1998-1999 state budget includes 1.5 million dollars to help develop the distributed learning centers that are part of the vision of UC Merced as a networked campus. The UC Center in Fresno, which opened in September 1997, is the first Center in the network and it continues to expand its programs to serve residents throughout the Central Valley. The establishment of the Tri College Center at Merced College in February 1999 will enable the campus to enhance its programmatic linkages with CSU Stanislaus and Merced College. Programs at the Center will be aimed at increasing the number of transfer students from Merced College to CSU Stanislaus and UC. By Summer 1999, UC Merced will begin offering programs at Stanislaus County's new Agricultural Center in Modesto. The Center houses all of the major governmental agencies involved in agriculture, including UC Cooperative Extension. Finally, a fourth distributed learning center in Bakersfield is planned to open late in 1999. The distributed learning centers will allow UC Merced to provide academic programs, UC Extension courses, and certificate programs throughout the Central Valley. The courses offered to date have focused on the following post-baccalaureate areas: agriculture, education, business, health, land use, environmental management, and computer training. By early 1999, more than 1,000 students will have enrolled in UC Merced sponsored courses. The early success with extension programs imported from other UC campuses has provided the base to develop a UC Merced Division of Professional Studies during the 1998-1999 academic year. This version of extended studies will enable UC Merced to increase its offerings significantly throughout the region. Other efforts are underway at the distributed learning centers to increase the eligibility of Valley students for UC through new school partnerships involving both student development and teacher professional development programs. California Post-secondary Education Commission An important step in the development of the campus is endorsement by the California Post-secondary Education Commission (CPEC). In 1997, CPEC reviewed and approved a UC letter of intent to build a new campus. Earlier this month, the UC Merced administrative team submitted information establishing the need for the new campus and asking for formal CPEC endorsement to build the campus. Members of the Regents' Special Committee on UC Merced will receive a copy of the complete study. As part of this "needs" study, UC prepared an enrollment estimate for UC Merced for the first ten years, building from Department of Finance 1997 projections of public high school graduates. Key features include: * A total enrollment of 1,000
graduate and undergraduate students in Fall 2005, growing to 7,000 students
in 2014-15 These figures are estimates based on analyses of California and San Joaquin Valley demographics and current and historical patterns of UC participation by region and campus. Experience shows that on any campus, enrollment patterns and academic offerings must be compatible. UC Merced and other UC faculty will develop courses and degree programs for the new campus with enrollment targets in mind, but the targets may be adjusted as faculty craft the best courses and curricula for the campus to offer. The CPEC study also chronicles the site selection process, projects the economic impact of UC Merced on the Central Valley, examines funding strategies for the campus, provides information about the Student Planning Advisory Committee which is examining student recruitment and support services for UC Merced, and offers a preview of the academic planning process. Physical Planning Preparation of a development concept for the 10,300-acre University Community which encompasses the UC Merced campus has been underway since April 1998. This collaborative effort is being undertaken by the University, the County of Merced, the Virginia Smith Trust, the Cyril Smith Trust, the City of Merced, and the Merced Irrigation District. A status report on the progress of this process is attached, providing an overview of the steps in the planning process, the progress to date, and next steps. A major public outreach event was held in Merced in late September. Approximately 450 persons provided opinions about the design and character of the proposed new community. Three alternative development concepts have been outlined, which now are being assessed to determine the costs of infrastructure, transportation, and public service elements; the environmental impacts of each alternative and associated mitigation costs; the market feasibility of each option; and consistency with the vision statement and development principles. A second public workshop will be held in early December to present these alternative concepts for public review. The concept planning process is scheduled to be completed in March 1999. The Special Committee on UC Merced will receive a comprehensive update on physical planning at its March meeting. Funding The 1998-99 state budget includes $9.9 million in core operating support for UC Merced programs and planning activities, an increase of $5 million over the level provided in 1997-98. An additional one-time appropriation of $1.5 million was made in 1998-99 to support the development of the network of previously mentioned distributed learning centers. Increased funding is available for outreach programs in the San Joaquin Valley in 1998-99 as well, with $1.5 million in state funds targeted for this purpose. Academic program staff for UC Merced are also involved with the Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz campuses in the development of expanded outreach programs in the Valley. Proposition 1A, approved by the voters on November 3, 1998, provides more than $830 million in general obligation bond funding for the University's capital program over the four-year period 1998-99 to 2001-02. Of this, $55 million is designated for development of UC Merced beginning in 2000-01. This page was last updated on April 18, 2002 |
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