Multimedia
Chancellor George Blumenthal
Presentation to UC Board of Regents
Committee on Educational Policy
UCSF Mission Bay Campus
September 16, 2009
Good morning.
Two months ago, you heard me describe - in fairly bleak terms - the harm that declining state support is imposing, and will continue to impose, on UC Santa Cruz.
Today, I want to share the rest of the story.
The story of a young, vibrant campus continuing its ascent within the prism of tough economic realities.
The story of a dynamic research university uncommonly able to equip students for lives of purpose.
You'll hear about some of our strengths. About steps we have taken, and are taking, to invest in people and programs with the greatest impact.
Let's start with location.
As some of you know, we're in college-ranking season. The Newsweek/Kaplan 2009 College Guide describes our campus as a place "For Overachievers Who Need to Stop and Look Around."
When our students do stop to look around, they see a campus nestled amid 2,000 acres of redwoods. Vistas that overlook the Santa Cruz Mountains. The nearby Pacific Ocean.
Our location has also influenced the focus and reach of a world-renowned research portfolio.
Our Marine Sciences campus overlooks the Pacific Ocean - the world's largest marine laboratory. In a single location, UC Santa Cruz brings together a modern marine field station, the Long Marine Research Lab, a public outreach center, and many other assets of a world-class research university.
Our proximity to Silicon Valley spawned a multi-faceted $330 million research agreement with NASA, the largest competitive research contract ever awarded by that federal agency to a research university.
With Foothill-DeAnza Community College and other academic institutions, we are advancing plans - approved by the Regents - to develop a research park at NASA/Ames. It will include multiple academic programs. A sustainable living community. And collaborative research involving academic, industrial, and NASA scientists and engineers.
On behalf of the UC system, Santa Cruz astronomers and astrophysicists - my own academic colleagues - oversee Lick Observatory at Mount Hamilton. They ensure that Lick remains a state-of-the-art resource.
In addition to planning and research, our uncommon location has imbued UC Santa Cruz with a deep commitment to ecological and environmental action.
More than half of our 2,000-acre campus is preserved as natural habitat. All capital construction preserves tree lines and scenic vistas. Some have described campus buildings as having been "dropped in" among the trees. That's not literally true, of course, but it paints a picture.
The Sierra Club rates UC Santa Cruz among America's 10 most eco-enlightened universities. A prominent environmental publication rates our dining services the nation's greenest.
And, last year, we reached an accord with our local community on future growth. Our long-range plan is hailed as a model for town-gown relationships. It allows responsible growth while mitigating the impacts of growth.
In a moment I'll discuss our academic plan and what's at risk if the state continues to disinvest in UC. First, I want to offer a snapshot of our considerable research impact.
UC Santa Cruz researchers are already known as leaders in major disciplines. Biochemistry and molecular biology. Environmental studies. Geosciences. Astronomy and astrophysics. Literature. International economics.
By strategically hiring academic "rising stars," we've become strong in other areas, as well.
A legitimate measure of research impact is how frequently a university's research is cited in other's research. Based on citations per research paper, our campus ranks 4th in overall impact among non-medical school campuses.
And among public universities without medical schools, UC Santa Cruz ranks first using this measure of research impact.
Another measure is federal research funding. Compared to other major research institutions without medical schools, UC Santa Cruz ranks 9th in federal research dollars per faculty member.
We've attracted over $100 million in research grants annually for four straight years. Private research awards have risen 400% in 12 years. Indeed, three weeks ago, the Chronicle of Higher Education ranked Santa Cruz the fourth-biggest gainer in federal funds for academic research and development from 2000 to 2007.
Just this month, we broke ground on a new Biomedical Sciences center. It will house Santa Cruz health researchers, including those who have garnered over $19 million in stem cell research grants from the Center for Regenerative Medicine.
Our impact is matched by an uncommon commitment to involving undergraduates directly in research.
Nearly six in 10 Santa Cruz students assist faculty with research.
A great example is NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Launched in May 2008, it has the potential to answer some of science's most fundamental questions.
Its gamma-ray detecting system was developed at Santa Cruz. Nearly two-dozen undergraduate and graduate students and post-docs contributed to this effort, led by Professor Robert Johnson.
By working on important original research like this, our undergraduates help create knowledge while learning to appreciate its global impact.
UC Santa Cruz was conceived as an uncommon research university where educational programs would not simply co-exist, but be enriched by the research environment.
Both our structure and our planning honor this vision.
We hire faculty who want to teach and conduct quality research. We continue to invest in 10 intimate Colleges - vibrant living and learning communities, each led by a Provost with a faculty appointment.
Each College offers a distinctive, interdisciplinary academic theme, co-curricular programs, academic advising and support. All first-year students take a "core course" within their College, exposing them to new ideas and closer relationships with faculty and fellow students.
In sum, UC Santa Cruz students experience the intimacy of a small liberal arts college and the intellectual heft of a major research university.
I'm proud that our campus in many ways reflects the diversity of the state we serve. One-quarter of this year's frosh class is of Asian descent. Another quarter comprises under-represented ethnic groups.
Santa Cruz has the highest percentage of women among its faculty of any campus in the UC system.
Intimacy and diversity contribute to our students' success.
And they do succeed.
In 2007 - 08, Santa Cruz had eight Fulbright scholars out of 14 applicants. That's a remarkable success rate. By comparison, Princeton had eight winners that year as well - from a nominee pool four times larger.
Our graduates flock in unusual numbers to public service. This year, UC Santa Cruz ranked second in the nation among medium-sized universities for graduates serving in the Peace Corps.
And in a recent study of alumni who earn doctorates, Santa Cruz placed among the top 50 globally and second among UC's
Santa Cruz students are bright. Uncommonly motivated. And they leave us equipped to make the world a better place.
Santa Cruz students are also the face of California.
Many come from families of modest means. Over a quarter receive Pell grants. Most could not attend college without federal and state support.
More than a third of our frosh, and nearly four in 10 transfer students, are first in their families to attend college.
This is Irene Vasquez, a 2009 Santa Cruz graduate. Irene double-majored in environmental studies and economics. She hopes to pursue a career with the National Park Service -- partly to protect her native Miwok and Paiute tribes.
This is Sequilla Lee, another recent grad. She grew up in foster homes before coming to Santa Cruz. A sociology major, Sequilla plans to return to her southern California hometown to teach history and start a non-profit serving other foster youth.
We expect 3,200 new undergraduates to enroll this fall and in each of the next several years. That is 750 fewer than 2008, one of our largest classes ever. UC Santa Cruz enrolled hundreds of students last year for which we received no state funding.
Santa Cruz continues to grow more popular and increasingly selective. We would love to be able to admit additional students. But, please understand: Until the state reinvests in UC, our campus will have to close its doors to hundreds of qualified students like Irene and Sequilla.
Let me now share six ways we are acting strategically to maintain momentum for our academic plan in this difficult climate.
First: Our Academic Senate last year adopted meaningful and practical enhancements to our general education requirements.
Every UC Santa Cruz undergraduate in every major - from engineering to economics, from music to microbiology - will complete a rigorous series of core courses across diverse disciplines.
By graduation, Santa Cruz students will demonstrate proficiency in ten skill areas. For example, one such skill area is statistical reasoning - a relevant skill for the 21st century, no matter what your career path.
All Santa Cruz students will also take at least one junior or senior level course in disciplinary communications. Each of our graduates will understand how to write and speak in a manner relevant to their chosen field of study.
Second: We are investing in graduate programs. Over the past 15 years, our campus has more than doubled its array of Ph.D. programs, as our doctoral degrees awarded also doubled. Because of the importance of these graduates to our state, I am committed to further growth in our graduate programs.
Third: We are being realists. To protect and strengthen other core academic programs, we've had to stop funding other promising initiatives, including a nascent center for global science policy. We are also taking a hard look at non-academic programs that serve our community and region well.
If I'm forced to choose between saving valuable non-academic community programs or preserving access for deserving students, I really have no choice at all.
So, we are enhancing our undergraduate curriculum. Expanding graduate education. And doing everything we can to protect core academic programs.
The fourth step that we are taking is reevaluating our strategic academic plan that was distributed to all of you. Our plan is organized around six core themes.
All six were developed to leverage Santa Cruz academic and research strengths. They remain relevant today.
But this plan was developed when the economy was reasonably stable. Given the times, we are working to assure that our best programs remain strong while finding ways to invest in those others having great promise.
UC Santa Cruz has always been innovative and agile. The genome browser was a byproduct of David Haussler's groundbreaking work on the human genome. As his work was progressing, we were developing what has become an internationally recognized Bioinformatics program.
Our Jack Baskin School of Engineering doesn't look like most engineering schools. For example, it offers no civil or mechanical engineering. Baskin's curriculum and research are instead focused in areas most relevant to our physical location near Silicon Valley.
These include renewable energy solutions, and our newest graduate program in information technology management, which will be based in Silicon Valley.
Recognizing a critical shortage of health professionals along California's central coast, UC Santa Cruz created a health sciences undergraduate major whose enrollment has become impacted in just a few years. Unlike traditional pre-professional programs, ours requires medical Spanish and a field internship.
Actually, I've visited clinics where Santa Cruz health science majors intern. Seeing them work, speaking with them, and hearing their enthusiasm has been an enlightening experience as this program addresses a major regional need.
Our fifth strategic action is identifying and attracting faculty who bring passion and intellect, and who are committed to teaching and research.
Faculty are the core of a great university and I want you to meet just a few of them:
This is Professor Michael Mateas. An expert on computational media and computer game design, he recently was named the first holder of the MacArthur Foundation Chair at UCSC.
Michael is redefining the expressive power of "serious games." Like computer simulations that help train firefighters. And interactive programs that help psychologists better understand interpersonal dynamics.
Meet Nate Mackey, professor of literature, poet, literary critic, fiction writer, and journal editor. His accomplishments include a National Book Award for the book "Splay Anthem."
And meet Terrie Williams, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and winner of a Women of Discovery Award. Terrie studies the phsyiology of marine mammals. If you're ever in Antarctica, you might visit "Terrie Bluff," overlooking a large penguin rookery. It was named for her, in 2006.
Next, Professor of Electrical Engineering Wentai Liu. He collaborated on an artificial retina that is now in clinical trials. Wentai's efforts have succeeded in restoring sight to the blind.
Next, meet David Yager, Dean of the Arts. In addition to his appointment at Santa Cruz, David holds a faculty appointment at Johns Hopkins. There, he is collaborating with research and clinical physicians on a visual sensory device that will help ameliorate pain during medical procedures.
And, meet Art Ramirez, Dean of the Baskin School of Engineering. We plucked Dean Ramirez out of Bell Labs. He brings a true passion for using applied research to solve real-world problems. Art will be key to developing deeper partnerships in Silicon Valley.
Meet Carl Walsh, professor of economics, who delivered the principal paper on monetary policy at the recent Central Bankers meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Walsh's analysis of the Fed's interest rate policies attracted international focus.
Now, meet two of our younger academic stars.
Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz is Assistant Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, a Packard fellow, and early career-development honoree from the National Science Foundation. Enrico is using proceeds from his NSF grant to increase college graduation rates among Hispanic youth in Salinas.
Next, anthropologist Nate Dominy, another Packard fellow. What makes Nate an especially good fit for Santa Cruz is his active commitment to working with undergraduates. Students who traveled with Nate to Costa Rica to study primates described the experience as life changing. Some are now pursuing PhD's of their own.
At the July Regents meeting, you heard from University Professor Sandra Faber, one of the world's most renowned astrophysicists and one of our campus's homegrown National Academy of Science members. Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz and Nate Dominy are among the "rising stars" Professor Faber spoke of -- faculty UC is at risk of losing without renewed state support.
Finally, we've stepped up fund raising. Giving to UC Santa Cruz has risen 40 percent over the last three years. As state support declines, that trend must continue.
We've invested in infrastructure to support overall philanthropy, and are preparing for UCSC's first comprehensive campaign. We are protecting our investment in fundraising, even as we cut elsewhere.
The campaign for UCSC will broaden its reach and its global impact as the campus approaches its 50th year, in 2015.
UCSC is a major research university, generating big ideas and important breakthroughs. Our faculty understands not only how to transmit knowledge and hone skills, but how to ignite curiosity, inflame desire, and unleash genuine care.
They transform Santa Cruz students into alumni who want to transform the world and give back to our state and nation.
We are all understandably concerned by budget cuts and furloughs.
But I truly believe that 20 years from now, people will remember the progress achieved at Santa Cruz during this period much more clearly than the pain we shared.
A doubling of library capacity. New facilities for the Humanities, Digital Arts and Engineering. A biomedical research center for health and stem cell research.
Stellar new faculty. Curricular enhancements. New knowledge acquired through innovative research.
A campus strengthened and primed for future opportunities as resources grow again.
As you've seen today, UC Santa Cruz has made extraordinary progress. We are a campus on the move. Fulfilling our enormous potential and focused on defining the future.
Thank you.
