University of California Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description

The University of California (UC) is a public university system within the State of California. It has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students and over 1,340,000 living alumni. The first campus was founded in 1868 at the city of Berkeley while a tenth campus is scheduled to open in Fall 2005 near the city of Merced. Collectively and individually, the University of California's campuses boast large numbers of distinguished faculty in most every field. The system is considered a model for public universities across the United States, although as of 2002-03 only 38% of its total budget comes from the State. All campuses enroll both undergraduate and graduate students with the exception of the San Francisco campus, which enrolls only graduate students in the medical and health sciences.

Table of contents

1 History 2 Academics 3 Governance 3.1 List of UC Presidents 4 Campuses 5 Administration 6 National Laboratories 7 Observatories 8 Affiliated institutions 9 See also 10 External links

History

When the state of California wrote its Constitution in 1849, it stipulated for an educational system complete with a university. Taking advantage of the Morrill Land Grant Act, the legislature established an Agricultural, Mining, and Mechanical Arts College in 1866. However, although this institution was provided with sufficient funds, it lacked land.

Beforehand, Congregational minister Henry Durant had established the College of California in Oakland, California in 1855. With an eye for expansion, the college's trustees purchased 160 acres (650,000 m²) of land in where is now Berkeley in 1866. But unlike the state's Agricultural, Mining, and Mechanical Arts College, it lacked the funds to operate.

The trustees offered to merge with the state college to their mutual advantage, but under one condition--that the there be not simply a "Agricultural, Mining, and Mechanical Arts College," but a "a complete university." Accordingly, the Organic Act was signed into law establishing the University of California on March 23, 1868.

The University of California opened its first medical school on February 20, 1873 in San Francisco. In 1908, a "University Farm" for the College of Agriculture was established at Davis, which became UC Davis in 1959. A "Southern Branch" was opened in Los Angeles in 1919 and became UCLA in 1927. The Riverside campus was founded as the Citrus Experiment Station in 1907 and was elevated in 1954. The San Diego campus founded as a marine station in 1912 and became UC San Diego in 1959. Campuses were established in Santa Barbara in 1958 and Santa Cruz and Irvine in 1965 as well.

Academics

The University of California, particularly the Berkeley, Los Angeles, and San Diego campuses, is exceptionally distinguished and influential within academia. Of the ten campuses, six campuses—Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Barbara—are members of the Association of American Universities. UC researchers and faculty are responsible for 5,505 inventions and 2,497 patents.

Collectively, the system currently counts amongst 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
• 28 Nobel Laureates
• 106 members of the Institute of Medicine

Governance

The University of California is governed by the Regents of the University of California, as stipulated by the Constitution of the State of California. 18 regents are appointed by the governor for 12-year terms. One member is a student appointed for a one-year term. Then there are 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 UC president.

The Academic Senate, made up a faculty members, is empowered by the Regents to set academic policies. In addition, the faculty systemwide chair and vice-chair sit on the board as non-voting members.

The Regents appoints a president to run the entire system, while individual campuses are assigned chancellors, who are given a great degree of autonomy.

List of UC Presidents

1. John LeConte (1868-1870, acting); Henry Durant (1870-1872)
2. Daniel Coit Gilman (1872-1875)
3. John LeConte (1876-1881)
4. W.T. Reid (1881-1885)
5. Edward S. Holden (1885-1888)
6. Horace Davis (1888-1890)
7. Martin Kellogg (1890-1893, acting) (1893-1899)
8. Benjamin Ide Wheeler (1899-1919)
9. David Prescott Barrows (1919-1923)
10. William Wallace Campbell (1923-1930)
11. Robert Gordon Sproul (1930-1958)
12. Clark Kerr (1958-1967); Harry R. Wellman (1967, acting)
13. Charles J. Hitch (1968-1975)
14. David S. Saxon (1975-1983)
15. David P. Gardner (1983-1992)
16. Jack W. Peltason (1992-1995)
17. Richard C. Atkinson (1995-2003)
18. Robert C. Dynes (2003-present)

Campuses

• University of California, Berkeley
• University of California, Davis
• University of California, Irvine
• University of California, Los Angeles
• University of California, Merced
• University of California, Riverside
• University of California, San Diego
• University of California, San Francisco
• University of California, Santa Barbara
• University of California, Santa Cruz

Administration

While the UC campuses are operated fairly efficiently, the system does have a reputation among its students and alumni for mediocre customer service. 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 always required for everything.

In turn, its customer service problems may have something to do with the fact that UC campuses generally lag behind comparable universities, in terms of the percentage of alumni that give back to their alma mater.

National Laboratories

The University of California manages three national laboratories on behalf of the United States Department of Energy:

• Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• Los Alamos National Laboratory

The UC's ties to the laboratories have occasionally sparked controversy and protest among the academics and students within the system, as all three laboratories have been intimately linked with the development of nuclear weapons (Lawrence Berkeley Lab worked on separating uranium isotopes during World War II; the Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore labs exclusively designed the nation's nuclear weapons until their shift into stockpile stewardship at the end of the Cold War). The UC ties to the labs, however, have outlasted all periods of internal controversy, though recent questions about improper oversight procedures may call the relationship into question again, and the Department of Energy has for the first time opened the Los Alamos contract up for bidding to vendors besides the University of California.

Observatories

The University of California manages two observatories as a multi-campus research unit headquartered at its Santa Cruz campus.

• Lick Observatory
• Keck Observatory

Affiliated institutions

• Hastings College of the Law
• San Francisco Art Institute
• The University of California Center for Animal Alternatives

See also

• Colleges and universities
• California State University - The other university system in California

External links

• Official site
• Office of the President
• Charter
• UC Observatories

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