Hear it pronouncedUniversity of California
| University of California | |
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| Motto: | Fiat lux (Latin) |
| Motto in English: | Let there be light |
| Established: | 1868 |
| Type: | Public university system |
| Endowment: | US$9.61 billion [1] |
| President: | Robert C. Dynes |
| Faculty: | 13,335 |
| Staff: | 90,296 |
| Undergraduates: | 159,000 |
| Location: | Oakland, California, USA |
| Campus: | 10 campuses under direct control (9 with undergraduate and graduate schools, 1 professional/graduate only), 1 affiliated law school, 1 national laboratory |
| Colors: | Blue & Gold |
| Website: | www.UniversityofCalifornia.edu |
The University of California (UC) is a public university system in the state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University system and the California Community Colleges system.
The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over US$9.6 billion[2], the seventh largest in the United States.
Its first campus, UC Berkeley, was founded in 1868, while its tenth and newest campus, UC Merced, opened in the fall of 2005. All campuses enroll both undergraduate and graduate students, with two exceptions: the University of California, San Francisco campus enrolls only graduate and professional students in the medical and health sciences, and the independently administered University of California, Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco enrolls only graduate and professional students in legal studies.
The University of California's campuses boast large numbers of distinguished faculty in almost every field. Nine of its ten undergraduate campuses are ranked among the top 100, and six among the top 50 U.S. universities by both the U.S. News and World Report and the Academic Ranking of World Universities.[3] The University is considered a model for public institutions across the United States.[4]
[ History
In 1849, the state of California ratified its first constitution, which contained the express objective of creating a complete educational system including a state university. Taking advantage of the Morrill Land Grant Act, the California Legislature established an Agricultural, Mining, and Mechanical Arts College in 1866. Although this institution was provided with sufficient funds, it lacked land.
Meanwhile, Congregational minister Henry Durant, an alumnus of Yale, had established the private Contra Costa Academy, on June 20, 1853 in Oakland, California. The initial site was bounded by Twelfth and Fourteenth Streets and Harrison and Franklin Streets in downtown Oakland. In turn, the Trustees of the Contra Costa Academy were granted a charter on April 13, 1855 for a College of California. State Historical Plaque No. 45 marks the site of the College of California at the northeast corner of Thirteenth and Franklin Streets in Oakland. Hoping both to expand and raise funds, the College of California's trustees formed the College Homestead Association and purchased 160 acres (650,000 m²) of land in what is now Berkeley in 1866. But sales of new homesteads fell short.
Governor Frederick Low favored the establishment of a state university based upon the University of Michigan plan, and thus in one sense may be regarded as the founder of the University of California. In 1867, he suggested a merger of the existing College of California with the proposed state university. The College's trustees agreed to merge with the state college to their mutual advantage, but under one condition — that there not be simply a "Agricultural, Mining, and Mechanical Arts College," but "a complete university." Accordingly, the Organic Act, establishing the University of California, was signed into law by Governor Henry H. Haight (Low's successor) on March 23, 1868.
The University of California's second president, Daniel Coit Gilman, opened the Berkeley campus in September 1873. Earlier that year, Toland Medical College in San Francisco had agreed to become the University's "Medical Department"; it later evolved into UCSF. In 1878, the University established its first law school in San Francisco with a US$100,000 gift from Serranus Clinton Hastings; it is now Hastings College of the Law.
In 1905, the Legislature established a "University Farm School" which would be located at Davis and in 1907 a "Citrus Experiment Station" at Riverside as adjuncts to the College of Agriculture at Berkeley. In 1959, the Legislature promoted the "Farm" and "Experiment Station" to the rank of "general campus," creating, respectively, UC Davis and UC Riverside.
In 1919, the Legislature arranged for an existing normal school in Los Angeles to become the University's "Southern Branch." In turn, the Southern Branch became UCLA in 1927. In 1944, the former Santa Barbara State College--renamed UC Santa Barbara--became the third general-education campus of the University of California system.
The San Diego campus was founded as a marine station in 1912 and became UCSD in 1959. Campuses were established at Santa Cruz and Irvine in 1965. UC Merced opened in fall 2005.
The California Master Plan for Higher Education of 1960 established that UC select from the top 12.5% (1/8th) of graduating high school seniors in California. Prior to the promulgation of the Master Plan, UC was to select from the top 15%. The university doesn't follow all tenets of this plan such as no campus is to exceed 27,500 in enrollment to ensure quality. Three campuses- Berkeley, UCLA, and Davis all currently enroll over 30,000.
[ Academics
UC researchers and faculty are responsible for 5,505 inventions and 2,497 patents. UC researchers create 3 new inventions per day.[5]
The University of California and most of its campuses are members of the Association of American Universities (AAU). Collectively, the system counts among its faculty (as of 2002):
- 389 members of the Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 5 Fields Medal recipients
- 19 Fulbright Scholars
- 25 MacArthur Fellows
- 254 members of the National Academy of Sciences
- 91 members of the National Academy of Engineering
- 13 National Medal of Science Laureates
- 32 Nobel laureates. Nobel laureates are present at all campuses except Davis, Merced, Riverside, and Santa Cruz. The largest number received by any UniversityNobel Laureates and Universities. The Nobel Foundation (2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
- 106 members of the Institute of Medicine
Eight campuses operate on the quarter system, while Berkeley and Merced are on the semester system. However, the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and all UC law schools operate on the semester system.
[ UC Libraries
At 34 million items[6], the University of California library system contains the third largest collection in the world, after the Library of Congress and the British Library.[citation needed] Each campus maintains its own library catalog and also participates in the systemwide union catalog, MELVYL. Besides on-campus libraries, the UC system also maintains two regional library facilities (one each for Northern and Southern California) which each accept older items from all UC campus libraries in their respective region. As of 2007, Northern Regional Library Facility is home to 4.7 million volumes, while SRLF is home to 5.7 million.
[ Governance
The University of California is governed by the Regents of the University of California, as required by the current Constitution of the State of California. Eighteen regents are appointed by the governor for 12-year terms. One member is a student appointed for a one-year term. There are also 7 ex officio members — the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the Assembly, Superintendent of Public Instruction, president and vice president of the Alumni Associations of UC, and the UC President. According to a recent report issued by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, the UC system has "significant problems in governance, leadership and decision making," with much "confusion about the roles and responsibilities of the university president, the regents and the 10 campus chancellors with no clear lines of authority and boundaries."[7]
The Academic Senate, made up of faculty members, is empowered by the Regents to set academic policies. In addition, the system-wide faculty chair and vice-chair sit on the Board of Regents as non-voting members.
Originally the President was directly in charge of the first campus, Berkeley, and in turn, all other UC locations (with the exception of Hastings College of the Law) were controlled by the Berkeley campus. In 1952, the system was reorganized so that day-to-day "chief executive officer" functions for each campus were transferred to Chancellors who were entrusted with a high degree of autonomy. In turn, all Chancellors (again, with the exception of Hastings) report as equals to the UC President. Today, the UC Office of the President and the Office of the Secretary of the Regents of the University of California share an office building in downtown Oakland which serves as the UC system's headquarters.
Besides substantial six-figure incomes, the UC President and all UC chancellors enjoy a number of controversial perks, such as free housing in the form of university-maintained mansions.[8] In 1962, Anson Blake's will donated his 10 acre estate (Blake Garden) and mansion (Blake House) in Kensington to the University of California's Department of Landscape Architecture. In 1968, the Regents decided that Blake House would become the official residence of the UC President. As of 2005, it currently costs around US$300,000 per year to maintain Blake Garden and Blake House; the latter, built in 1926, is a 13,239-square-foot (1,229.9 m²) mansion with a view of San Francisco Bay.[9] Also, all UC chancellors live for free in a mansion on or near campus that is usually known as University House. UCSD's mansion has been closed due to its age and poor condition, but the university plans to replace it.
[ UC Presidents
On 13 August 2007, President Dynes announced that he will step down effective June 2008, or until his replacement is selected. However, he also announced that Provost Wyatt (Rory) Hume will take over as the system's chief operating officer, effective immediately. Three state lawmakers had publicly demanded his resignation for his handling of the executive pay compensation scandal that stemmed from UC system Provost M.R.C. Greenwood's violation of UC conflict-of-interest rules. (She had created a management job at UC headquarters for a friend with whom she owned rental property, and a subordinate, Winston Doby, improperly helped create an highly-paid year-long internship for her son at UC Merced.)[10][11][12]
Incoming President Mark Yudof is due to take over on June 16, 2008.[13]
[ Finances
The state of California currently spends US$3.3 billion or 3.2% of its annual budget on the UC system. In May 2004, UC President Robert C. Dynes and CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed struck a private deal, called the "Higher Education Compact," with Governor Schwarzenegger. They agreed to slash spending by about a billion dollars (about a third of the University's core budget for academic operations) in exchange for a funding formula lasting until 2011. The agreement calls for modest annual increases in state funds (but not enough to replace the loss in state funds Dynes and Schwarzegger agreed to), private fundraising to help pay for basic programs, and large student fee hikes, especially for graduate and professional students. A detailed analysis of the Compact by the Academic Senate "Futures Report" indicated, despite the large fee increases, the University core budget would not recover to the levels it was at in 2000.[14] Undergraduate student fees have risen 90% from 2003 to 2007.[15]
The First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco recently ruled that the University of California owes nearly US$40 million dollars in refunds to about 40,000 students who were promised that their tuition fees would be held steady but were hit with increases when the state ran short of money in 2003.[16]
[ Faculty pay
Salaries for UC faculty increased in late 2007 and are slightly higher than in the California State University system. As of September, 2007 instructors earn up to $53,200, assistant professors up to $80,300, associate professors up to $97,100 and full professors up to $164,700.[17]
[ Campuses and rankings
At present, the UC system officially describes itself as a "ten campus" system consisting of the campuses listed below except Hastings.[18] Only campuses under the direct control of the Regents and President are included in the official count. The entire UC system is considered part of the original eight Public Ivys.[19]
Although affiliated with the UC system, the Hastings College of Law is not controlled by the Regents or President; it has a separate board of directors and must seek funding directly from the Legislature. However, under the California Education Code, the Juris Doctor from Hastings is awarded in the name of the Regents and bears the signature of the President.[20] Furthermore, Education Code section 92201 states that Hastings "is affiliated with the University of California, and is the law department thereof."[21]
Some campuses are more well known around the world than others, especially Berkeley and UCLA. According to UCLA's Daily Bruin campus newspaper, UCLA is so well-known in Asia that the university has licensed its trademark to 15 UCLA-branded stores across East Asia.[22]
| Campus | Acreage [23] | Founded | Enrollment [24] | Operations [25] | Athletics Nickname | USNews [26] | ARWU [3] | NSF[27] | Wash. Monthly [28] | NCAA Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkeley | 1,600 | 1868 | 33,558 | 1.59 billion | Golden Bears | 21 | 3 | 13 | 3 | Div I Pac-10 |
| Davis | 3,697 | 1959 | 29,637 | 2.27 billion | Aggies | 42 | 43 | 17 | 8 | Div I Big West |
| Hastings | not known | 1878 | 1,300 | not known | none | 36 [29] | not ranked | NA | NA | NA |
| Irvine | 1,400 | 1965 | 25,024 | 1.42 billion | Anteaters | 44 | 45 | 59 | 49 | Div I Big West |
| Los Angeles | 419 | 1882 | 37,221 | 3.39 billion | Bruins | 25 | 13 | 2 | 2 | Div I Pac-10 |
| Merced | 2,160 [30] | 2005 | 878 | 0.07 billion | Golden Bobcats | not ranked | not ranked | NA | NA | NA |
| Riverside | 1,160 | 1954 | 16,622 | 0.46 billion | Highlanders | 96 | 102-150 | 115 | 15 | Div I Big West |
| San Diego | 2,124 | 1959 | 25,938 | 2.08 billion | Tritons | 38 | 14 | 7 | 4 | Div II |
| San Francisco | 135 | 1873 | 4,174 | 2.48 billion | Bears | 5 [31] | 18 | 5 | NA | NA |
| Santa Barbara | 990 | 1944 | 21,016 | 0.62 billion | Gauchos | 44 | 35 | 96 | 36 | Div I Big West |
| Santa Cruz | 2,950 | 1965 | 15,012 | 0.45 billion | Banana Slugs | 79 | 102-150 | 124 | 76 | Div III |
UCLA, Berkeley, and Santa Cruz were named in the top 20 gay-friendly campuses in the nation by The Advocate magazine.[32]
UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, and UC Davis were named by the magazine Washington Monthly as four of top 10 campuses in the country based on social mobility and community service.[33]
[ Fictional campuses
Several characters in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer attend the "University of California, Sunnydale", located in the fictional city of Sunnydale, California. UC Sunnydale appears to be a composite of several UC schools: two of UC Sunnydale's dormitories are named "Kresge" and "Stevenson" (which are actual colleges on the campus of UC Santa Cruz), many of the UC Sunnydale external scenes were actually filmed at UCLA, and "Sunnydale" itself is located in the approximate geographic position of Santa Barbara.
One episode of the FX crime drama, The Shield, made reference to UC Northridge, which might actually have been California State University Northridge.
[ Administration
While the UC campuses are operated fairly efficiently, some—especially UC Berkeley—do have a reputation among their students and alumni for mediocre customer service.[34][35] The most common symptoms are the long lines which students often must stand in to get even the simplest administrative tasks accomplished, the long wait times before phone calls are answered, and the overcomplicated paperwork that is often required. In August 1990, UC Berkeley attempted to ease the tedium of standing in line by setting up televisions which showed comedians making jokes about standing in line.[36]
[ Labor unions
Some UC employees are represented by labor unions. Unions in the UC system include:
- University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE) - health care, technical and research workers
- Coalition of University Employees (CUE) - clericals
- University Council-American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT) - faculty and librarians
- United Auto Workers (UAW) - Academic student employees
- American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) - service workers and patient care technical employees.
- California Nurses Association (CNA) - Nurses
- Society of Professionals, Scientists and Engineers [2] - UC Scientists and Engineers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
[ Admissions
Each UC school handles admissions separately, but a student wishing to apply for undergraduate admission uses one application for all UCs. If it is not already in electronic form, the application is then scanned into a computer and distributed to the individual campus undergraduate admission offices. Graduate and professional school admissions are handled directly by each department or program to which one applies.
Prior to 1986, students who wished to apply to a UC for undergraduate study could only apply to one campus. If the student was rejected at that campus, but otherwise met the UC minimum eligibility requirements, he or she would be redirected to another campus with available space. For students who did not wish to be redirected, the application fee was returned. In 1986, that system was changed to the current "multiple filing" system, in which a student can apply to as many or as few UC campuses as he or she wants on one application, paying a fee for each campus. This system significantly increased the numbers of applications to the Berkeley and Los Angeles campuses, since students could choose which campus they wanted to attend after they received acceptance letters, without the fear of being redirected to a campus they did not want to attend.
The University of California accepts fully eligible students from among the top eighth of California public high school graduates through regular statewide admission, or the top 4% of any given high school class through Eligibility in the Local Context (see below). All eligible California high school students who apply are accepted to the University, though not necessarily to the campus of choice.[citation needed] Eligible students who are not accepted to the campus(es) of their choice are placed in the "referral pool", where campuses with open space may offer admission to those students; in 2003 10 percent of students who received an offer through this referral process accepted it.[37] In 2007, about 4,100 UC-eligible students who were not offered admission to their campus of choice were referred to UCR and UC Merced, the system's newest campus.[38]
Undergraduate admissions are conducted on a two-phase basis. In the first phase, students are admitted based solely on academic achievement. This accounts for between 50 to 75% of the admissions. In the second phase, the university conducts a "comprehensive review" of the student's achievements, including extracurricular activities, essay, family history, and life challenges, to admit the remainder. Very rarely, students who do not qualify for regular admission are "admitted by exception." In 2002, 2% of these exceptions were granted.[citation needed]
The process for determining admissions varies. At some campuses, such as Davis, Santa Barbara, San Diego, and Santa Cruz, a point system is used to weight grade point average, SAT Reasoning or ACT scores, and SAT Subject scores, while at Berkeley, Irvine, and Los Angeles, academic achievement is examined in the context of the school and the surrounding community.
Race, gender, national origin, and ethnicity have not been used as UC admission criteria since the passing of Proposition 209. However, this information is collected for statistical purposes.
[ Eligibility in the Local Context
Eligibility in the Local Context, commonly referred to as ELC, is met by applicants ranked in the top four percent of their high school class in terms of performance on an 11-unit pattern of UC-approved high school courses. Beginning with fall 2007 applicants, ELC will also require a UC-calculated GPA of at least 3.0. Fully eligible ELC students are guaranteed a spot at one of UC's undergraduate campuses, though not necessarily at their first-choice campus or even to a campus to which they applied.[39]
[ Statistics: Freshman Admission Profile (Fall 2008)
Published by thee University of California:[40]
| Campus | Applicants | Admits | Admit Rate | GPA Avg | ACT | SAT Reading | SAT Math | SAT Writing | SAT Composite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Berkeley | 48,462 | 10,382 | 21.4% | 4.18 | 29 | 665 | 696 | 674 | 2034 |
| UC Davis | 40,612 | 21,256 | 52.3% | 3.94 | 27 | 604 | 642 | 614 | 1860 |
| UC Irvine | 42,429 | 20,429 | 48.5% | 3.95 | 26 | 594 | 639 | 606 | 1839 |
| UC Los Angeles | 55,406 | 12,574 | 22.7% | 4.15 | 29 | 653 | 686 | 664 | 2003 |
| UC Merced | 10,425 | 8,544 | 82.0% | 3.54 | 23 | 537 | 577 | 540 | 1654 |
| UC Riverside | 22,390 | 16,816 | 75.9% | 3.58 | 23 | 536 | 576 | 544 | 1656 |
| UC San Diego | 47,407 | 19,010 | 40.1% | 4.07 | 28 | 630 | 671 | 642 | <