Thursday, September 08, 2005
Focus: UC Merced
UC Merced recently officially started classes. Officially started teaching. Started having lunch breaks taking advantage of nearby restaurants. Started having hotel stays by parent dropping off freshmen.
There are big expectations for UC Merced. Definitely, the expectations are beyond the simple direct economic benefit of having 10-20 thousand students and thousands of staff in the area. Some people are expecting it to be the economic savior of the Central Valley. There is an expectation that the University of California's presence south of San Francisco and north of Santa Cruz will be an engine of development for the valley, which is poorest region in the state. UCs Davis and Riverside are the only other UCs away from the coast. The hope is that it attracts businesses, scientists, technology, and the usual suspects who usually throng to a large state research institution. Oddly enough, supporters of the new school have not mentioned other necessities for colleges, like liquor stores and bars, low cost apartments, and Laundromats.
Furthermore, a lengthier benefit of having the UC is to have a higher educated populace in the Fresno area. The theory is that alumni will settle in the area, or at least be more likely to start businesses there. The hope of the developers in nearby farmland is to be able to quickly develop nearby parcels of land.
Will Merced be like Davis, and severely restrict growth? My belief is that they will not. There is too much pressure from the growing population in the state, as well as a sense that the University is to be used to drive the economy of Merced, rather than to focus on academic ideas of environmentalism and heritage preservation. This may all change with the staff and students who attend the school. Not all of them will be from the nearby counties, and will desire all of the amenities they are accustomed to having in their home towns in the Bay Area or Los Angeles.
How will this affect other valley schools? I don't think it will do much for a while, other than give some students another choice for grad school. Fresno State will probably be even more drained of area students with high academic potential. UC Davis and Pacific most likely would be more affected with added competition to their grad programs. This is especially true for Davis, which, as a UC, will have to distinguish itself. For the time being, though, Merced will have the burden of establishing itself to attract scholars.
The good thing about a UC is that they often feel they must uphold a high standard. Students must be academically focused. Professors must do research. As they have this attitude, they will most likely adopt that which justifies the attitude. Fresno State must always compare itself, often by simply acknowledging that they are not a UC, and therefore have lower standards. The comparison is not always fair or true (Compare UC Santa Cruz to Cal Poly), but attitude is very important as it becomes a school's identity. Students are buying into that identity.
UC Merced will no doubt become the economic force it is designed to be. However, the most important benefit of this new UC is for the state to add opportunities to a burgeoning incoming freshman class.
There are big expectations for UC Merced. Definitely, the expectations are beyond the simple direct economic benefit of having 10-20 thousand students and thousands of staff in the area. Some people are expecting it to be the economic savior of the Central Valley. There is an expectation that the University of California's presence south of San Francisco and north of Santa Cruz will be an engine of development for the valley, which is poorest region in the state. UCs Davis and Riverside are the only other UCs away from the coast. The hope is that it attracts businesses, scientists, technology, and the usual suspects who usually throng to a large state research institution. Oddly enough, supporters of the new school have not mentioned other necessities for colleges, like liquor stores and bars, low cost apartments, and Laundromats.
Furthermore, a lengthier benefit of having the UC is to have a higher educated populace in the Fresno area. The theory is that alumni will settle in the area, or at least be more likely to start businesses there. The hope of the developers in nearby farmland is to be able to quickly develop nearby parcels of land.
Will Merced be like Davis, and severely restrict growth? My belief is that they will not. There is too much pressure from the growing population in the state, as well as a sense that the University is to be used to drive the economy of Merced, rather than to focus on academic ideas of environmentalism and heritage preservation. This may all change with the staff and students who attend the school. Not all of them will be from the nearby counties, and will desire all of the amenities they are accustomed to having in their home towns in the Bay Area or Los Angeles.
How will this affect other valley schools? I don't think it will do much for a while, other than give some students another choice for grad school. Fresno State will probably be even more drained of area students with high academic potential. UC Davis and Pacific most likely would be more affected with added competition to their grad programs. This is especially true for Davis, which, as a UC, will have to distinguish itself. For the time being, though, Merced will have the burden of establishing itself to attract scholars.
The good thing about a UC is that they often feel they must uphold a high standard. Students must be academically focused. Professors must do research. As they have this attitude, they will most likely adopt that which justifies the attitude. Fresno State must always compare itself, often by simply acknowledging that they are not a UC, and therefore have lower standards. The comparison is not always fair or true (Compare UC Santa Cruz to Cal Poly), but attitude is very important as it becomes a school's identity. Students are buying into that identity.
UC Merced will no doubt become the economic force it is designed to be. However, the most important benefit of this new UC is for the state to add opportunities to a burgeoning incoming freshman class.
