Kudos to UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz for leading an incredible State of the University address on Oct. 22 that provided significant recognition to local community members and leaders, as well as faculty, staff and students, who made the opening of the campus possible back in the fall of 2005.
The Grand Ballroom in the name of Dr. Vikram and Priya Lakireddy was filled with many of the most prominent names in the local community who enjoyed a wonderful meal and stunning digital presentations of all the great things that have come to fruition over the past 20 years, and many more that are on the way.
There would be no UC Merced without the pioneering spirit and can-do determination of many in attendance — people like Bob Carpenter, Jim Cunningham, Grey Roberts, Tim O’Neill, Kathleen Crookham, Hub Walsh and Roger Wood, just to name a few. They and other local residents were members of the University Committee of Merced. There was also a smiling Tony Coelho, the former U.S. congressman, and early visionary for the creation of our 10th University of California campus here in the valley. It was an honor to sit among these community giants and learn about the Merced Promise, and the enormous effort to lift the educational landscape of this Central Valley region, particularly for underserved communities, and for the benefit of all who live here.
A standing ovation erupted when Muñoz announced that one of UC Merced’s founding leaders made a generous contribution to the university’s future. Keith Alley and his wife, Jill, have pledged up to $2 million in support of undergraduate student research. Keith Alley was UC Merced’s first vice chancellor for research and graduate dean.
Muñoz also evoked the memory of founding Chancellor Carol Tomlinson-Keasey and the promise from 2005.
“She said, ‘Our university will not be finished in 20 years, not in 50 years, not in many lifetimes. But let us begin,’” Muñoz said. “I am so very proud of what we have become at UC Merced. I am in awe of what we can be.
“As my predecessor said 20 years ago, I say again today: Let us begin.”
State of University highlights:
• UC Merced’s economic impact totals $1 billion annually in Merced County and nearly $1.4 billion in California, according to a new study. A soon-to-be-released report by Beacon Economics, commissioned by the university, said UC Merced supports 1 in every 15 jobs in the county and more than 8,600 jobs statewide. The university’s research enterprise generates $158 million in economic output in California, with every research dollar UC Merced invests in research doubling in economic activity.
• UC Merced advanced in recent national college rankings. U.S. News & World Report placed the university 25th among public universities, and The Wall Street Journal ranked it 14th among all universities. Both reports placed UC Merced third for social mobility, which measures the improvement of students’ economic and social standing through knowledge, skills and opportunity.
• More than 95 percent of the student body is Californian, including nearly 40 percent from the Central Valley. In addition, 65 percent of new students in the current semester are the first in their families to attend college.
• The Merced Automatic Admissions Program, known as MAAP, offers a streamlined application to high school students who meet UC qualifications. Fresno Unified, the state’s third-largest school district, joined MAAP in September, adding to a list of about 40 districts statewide.
• Earlier this year, UC Merced reached the nation’s highest status for public research universities, attaining the R1 classification from the Carnegie Foundation. The university also earned Carnegie’s new “opportunity” status for emphasizing access to underrepresented or low-income students and for producing graduates who earn significantly above expectations. Only 21 universities nationwide and three in California hold both classifications.
• Other highlights from the chancellor included the growth of the Agricultural Experiment Station, the ongoing construction of the Merced Education Building and of the Promise Housing project for transfer students; and the start of the third cohort of students in the San Joaquin Valley PRIME+ pathway, designed to train physicians with Valley roots to practice in the region.