A biweekly publication for faculty and staff

UC Announces New Framework Project for Support, Growth

March 2, 2017

Flags for the State of California, the United States and the University of California fly in the wind at UC Merced.The University of California is launching a new sytemwide initiative, the Framework for UC’s Growth and Support project.

The Framework project is designed to develop a vision for the UC regarding academic and enrollment growth and the associated resource needs to ensure that each campus will continue to fulfill its mission of teaching, research and public service.

Each campus will lead its own initiative to develop scenarios regarding campus size by 2040, along with associated budget, capital and resource needs, and any assumptions about changes in operations. With this ambitious schedule, campus leadership will meet with campus stakeholders to discuss several models of what the campus could look like between now and 2040.

Leading the effort at UC Merced are Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Tom Peterson, interim Vice Chancellor for Planning and Budget Veronica Mendez; Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Charles Nies, and Academic Senate Vice Chair and economics Professor Kurt Schnier.

At UC Merced, the initiative has already been previewed with the Divisional Council, the chancellor’s extended Cabinet and Leadership Council. Further discussions will take place over the next several weeks as the campus’s team prepares a preliminary report due March 31.

The project will allow UC Merced to further collaborate across divisions and the following people will assist with this initiative and help draft the report:

  • Gary Lowe, Institution Research and Decision Support;
  • Romi Kaur, Capital Finance;
  • Andy Boyd, Business and Financial Strategic Services;
  • Maggie Saunders, Space Planning and Analysis; and
  • Jill Orcutt, associate vice chancellor for Enrollment Management

Once the report is finalized, campus and system leadership will review it and consider its implications. Following the review, findings will be presented at a systemwide gathering in April.

The comprehensive, systemwide report is meant to shed light on the political discourse around UC funding, future discussions about enrollment growth and associated resource needs. It is not a long-range enrollment plan, but instead a vision for the future of the University of California as a system and for our young campus here in Merced.

For questions regarding the Framework Project, please email framework@ucmerced.edu.