University of California, Merced

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Motto	Fiat Lux (Latin, "Let There Be Light")
Established	2005
School type	Public
Chancellor	Carol Tomlinson-Keasey
Location	Merced, California, USA
Enrollment	850 undergraduate, 50 graduate
Faculty	58
Endowment	$ USD
Campus	Rural, 910 acres (3.7 km²) under construction
Sports teams	-
Website	www.ucmerced.edu

The University of California, Merced (UC Merced), located in the San Joaquin Valley at Merced, California (Template:Coor d), is the tenth University of California campus. The campus groundbreaking ceremony was held October 25, 2002, and the first day of classes was September 6, 2005. UC Merced is the first American research university built in the 21st century.

1 Organization and Governance
2 Academics
3 Research Institutes
4 Campus Layout
5 Athletics
6 Student life
7 Student Government
8 Notable Faculty
9 Clubs
10 References
11 External links

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Organization and Governance

Like all UC campuses, UC Merced is headed by a Chancellor. The position has been held by Carol Tomlinson-Keasey since it was created in 1999. She will resign her position as Chancellor on August 31, 2006. She is said to be coming back as a psychology professor in 2007. [1]

Although located in a rustic area, Merced has strong intentions to focus on math, science, and engineering. The campus takes advantage of the surrounding environment by investigating issues relating to environmental systems of the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada, and of its youth by having programs in genetic research conducted in state of the art research labs.

Of note is that Merced operates on a semester basis rather than the quarter system for its academic term. The Berkeley campus is the only other UC campus on a semester system.

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Academics

Image:Ucmerced sciengbldg 20060130.jpg

It has three schools:

Some classes are taught via remote broadcast from other UC campuses.

The undergraduate majors that are offered include:

Applied Mathematical Sciences
Bioengineering
Biological Sciences (Fall 2006)
Chemical Sciences (Fall 2006)
Computer Science and Engineering
Earth System Science
Environmental Engineering
Human Biology
Management
Material Sciences and Engineering (Fall 2006)
Mechanical Engineering (Fall 2006)
Physics (Fall 2006)
Social and Cognitive Sciences (emphasis in economics, psychology, or public policy)
World Cultures and History (emphasis in history or literature)

The Graduate Programs that are offered include:

Quantitative and Systems Biology
Environmental Systems
Atomic and Molecular Science and Engineering
World Cultures and History
Social and Cognitive Sciences
Computer and Information Systems
Applied Mathematics

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Research Institutes

The Sierra Nevada Research Institute
The World Cultures Institute

Planned Institutes

MERI (Merced Energy Research Institute)
The Systems Biology Institute

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Campus Layout

The campus is bounded by Lake Yosemite on one side and two canals run through the campus. The buildings will be grouped into "neighborhoods" by academic discipline, much in the manner of the Irvine campus. The campus master plan, as well as its first buildings, were designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

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Athletics

Unlike other UC campuses, UC Merced does not have any offical athletic teams.

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Student life

Image:UC Merced Front.jpg Unlike other UC campuses, UC Merced does not have any year-round housing within walking distance of the campus. The campus is several miles away from the actual city of Merced.

Also, the on-campus housing system does not have kitchens for student use. The dining halls are closed during Thanksgiving weekend, Spring Break, Veterans' Day, Presidents' Day, and Cesar Chavez day.

The campus diversity in its first year: 37% Asian American, 25% Latino, 25% Caucasian, 6% African American, and 0.7% Native American. The remaining students declined to specify their ethnicity.

The campus is not as established as UC Riverside, and the city is not as active as Fresno, so there is a limited amount of activites to do off-campus around the Merced area. The university attempts to engage students in on-campus activities like dances and movie nights. Many students go to Lake Yosemite which is 50 yards away from the main campus. Students can walk, jog, picnic, barbeque, and swim at the lake. Merced has several artistic venues which host plays, concerts, and art shows. They include the Mainzer Theater, Merced Multicultural Arts Center, and Playhouse Merced. Castle Air Museum is within close driving distance from Merced. Merced is known as the "Gateway to Yosemite" and it is common for students to take day trips to Yosemite where they can hike, rock climb, and camp overnight.

Student publications include the upcoming "Prodigy" newspaper as well as the unofficial release "The Fury Shrimp Times".

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Student Government

The students of UC Merced are currently without a student government. Therefore, the Committee on Constitution and By-Laws was established in fall 2005 and is responsible for writing the constitution for the Associated Students of UC Merced (ASUCM).

On Tuesday, November 1, 2005 the committee ratified the constitution by a vote of 17 YES and 4 NO.

However, after receiving feedback from UCM Administration, UC Student Association, and students, the committee determined it was necessary to revise the constitution.

Currently, the Committee is in the process of revising the constitution and the deadline to complete the revision is Tuesday, March 7, 2006.

Elections for the ratification of the constitution is scheduled for mid-April 2006. If the constitution is approved by a majority of the student body, then it will officially establish ASUCM and it will serve as the official representative and voice of students at UC Merced.

For more information about the committee, visit http://www.asucm.org/.

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