Decades after first shovel hit soil, UC Merced celebrates top rankings, key achievements
To say much has happened during the past two decades since UC Merced’s Oct. 25, 2002 groundbreaking would be a huge understatement.
Case in point, whereas only a handful of buildings dotted the horizon off Lake Road just a few years ago, today there’s a skyline of new, energy-efficient buildings with thousands of students darting between classes. Not to mention, pretty soon a new medical school will be included among those buildings.
During the last two decades athletics programs have grown, luminaries like Michelle Obama have heralded graduates, and the economic impact of the campus is felt from every corner of the county, from Snelling to Dos Palos.
Back when UC Merced’s planners first put shovel-to-soil 20 years ago, its first chancellor Carol Tomlinson-Keasey was the school’s greatest champion. The late Tomlinson-Keasy overlooked every step of the university’s growing pains from the campus’ groundbreaking to the arrival of its first class a few years later.
On Wednesday, UC Merced’s leaders celebrated key moments, while also looking ahead to the future, as the campus marked the 20-year anniversary of its groundbreaking.
UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sanchez Munoz was joined by more than 40 founding faculty and staff, plus hundreds of community members, to celebrate the occasion at the Dr. Vikram and Priya Lakireddy Grand Ballroom.
“Colleagues, friends, founding faculty and staff, barley 20 years from our groundbreaking and only 17 years into our teaching history as a university I say to you with great pride, appreciation and confidence that the state of UC Merced today is indeed excellent,” Munoz said.
During his remarks, Munoz spoke about UC Merced being recognized as one of the top 100 national universities by U.S. News and World Report for the third consecutive year and placing in the top 50 of the ranked public universities.
“Think about the thousands of public universities and in 17 years of teaching, top 50. There’s simply no arguing that there is a world class education available for any student and family that wants to be part of UC Merced,” Munoz said.
Funding boost for future growth
Munoz on Wednesday also announced the university, in working with the office of University of California President Michael Drake, will receive an additional $24 million in one-time funding dedicated to adding new faculty and staff over the next few years.
In addition to the $24 million, Munoz said he has approved the use of $10 million from a loan received from Drake’s office. That money will be used exclusively to hire support staff to help reduce administrative burden to faculty and academic schools, thus enabling them to focus more on students and research.
An additional $1 million will be provided to the Office of Research and Economic Development for new staff to assist faculty in areas like patent development, tech transfer and commercialization of IP, according to Munoz.
The campus has been recognized for its sustainability efforts and placed in the top 10 in multiple categories in the 2022 Sustainable Campus Index. The annual report is published by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
According to Munoz, over the next 20 years he anticipates UC Merced to see a dramatic growth in enrollment and graduate programs as well as a medical school to serve the Valley.
