University of California
From Wikinfo
The University of California (UC) has nine campuses around the state, with a combined student body of more than 192,000; a tenth campus is under construction near the city of Merced and is scheduled to open in 2004. The flagship and original campus is in the city of Berkeley.
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History
When the state of California wrote its Consitution 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 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. A "southern campus" was opened in Los Angeles in 1919. The Riverside campus was opened in 1954, Santa Barbara in 1958, San Diego (actually in the suburb of La Jolla) and Davis in 1959, and Santa Cruz and Irvine in 1965.
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. The current UC President is Richard C. Atkinson.
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
- Health sciences only
- University of California, Santa Barbara
- University of California, Santa Cruz
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
See also: Colleges and universities
External links
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "University of California" http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California August 11, 2003
