Uc Merced
During the Fall 2005 semester, while construction on the Classroom and Science/Engineering buildings was still going on, all academic courses were conducted in the library. Its official motto is "Not what other research libraries are, what they will be."
The Library building is named for Leo and Dottie Kolligian.
The first floor of the library was dedicated by Ed and Jeanne Kashian. The McFadden-Willis Reading Room is located on the fourth floor and named in honor of the McFadden and Willis children by Christine McFadden.
The Library also has a technology classroom dedicated by Doris Gonella in honor of her late husband Louis, The Gonella Discovery Room.
There is a café located on the first floor, and doors roll up in good weather providing an indoor/outdoor feel. Currently, the electronic holdings are nearly three times the size of the print holdings, consisting of about 20,000 online journals and 540,000 electronic books, in addition to 70,000 print books.
Research institutes
UC Merced's Central Plant
Sierra Nevada Research Institute (SNRI) in Yosemite
Planned institutes
MERI (Merced Energy Research Institute)
The Biomedical and Systems Biology Research Institute
National Parks Institute
In 2007, UC Merced researchers obtained nearly $7 million in funding from the National Science Foundation.
Campus layout
The Science and Engineering Building.
The campus is bounded by Lake Yosemite on one side, and two irrigation canals run through the campus.
The buildings will be grouped into "neighborhoods" by academic discipline, much in the manner of the Irvine campus. However, UC Merced will be developed on a grid plan similar to historic Central Valley towns, whereas UC Irvine developed along a wheel-and-spoke plan.
Much of Student life in the Residence Halls is run by the Residence Assistants (R.A.s) through various programs and activities.
Valley Terraces Dormitory
The campus diversity in 2007-2008 was:
32% Asian American
28% Latino
25% Caucasian
6% African American
1% Native American
The remaining students were nonresident aliens or declined to specify their ethnicity.
The campus isn't as established as the other UC schools, and the city is not currently active as a college town. Additionally, many students go to Lake Yosemite which is near the main campus.
They include The Mainzer Theater, The Partisan, Merced Multicultural Arts Center, and Playhouse Merced. Merced is known as the "Gateway to Yosemite" and it is common for students to take day trips to Yosemite where they can hike, snowboard, rock climb, and camp overnight.
Student publications include "The Prodigy" newspaper, parody newspaper "The Other Child", the College Republicans' publication "The Right Side" and literary journals "The Kumquat" and "Imagination Dead Imagine".
Student government
The student governments at UC Merced comprise the Graduate Student Association (GSA) and the undergraduate body called the Associated Students of UC Merced (ASUCM).
The founding graduate students, who joined the Graduate School of UC Merced in early 2004, initiated the GSA in that year, before the university officially opened its doors to undergraduate students in the fall of 2005.
The Committee on Constitution and By-Laws was established in fall 2005 and was responsible for writing the constitution for the Associated Students of UC Merced (ASUCM).
Elections for the ratification of the constitution were held in April, 2006. The constitution was approved by a majority of the student body, officially establishing ASUCM, which serves as the official representative and voice of students at UC Merced.
Clubs
There are approximately 74 student run clubs, including a Business Society, Math Society, American Medical Student Association, Chinese Student Association, Circle K International, Dance Coalition, Democrats at UC Merced, HHM (Hip Hop Movement), Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Martial Arts Club, Muslim Student Association, NORML, Persian Student Association of UC Merced (PSAUCM), Pilipino American Alliance (PAA), Republicans at UC Merced, South Asian Student Association, Rotaract, rock climbing, and Bakery clubs.
Greek life
There are currently six Greek Organizations that are on track to be established by Summer 2009.
Sigma Chi was the first fraternity on campus, forming an interest group in February of 2008, and was chartered March 14, 2009.