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Too Many in the UC Lifeboat?

Byuclafaculty

Mike Lofchie pointed me to this article which questions the one-system view of UC and, in particular, UC-Merced, in a period of budget stringency.

February 12, 2012, Chronicle of Higher Education

Fault Lines Form Among Campuses as Finances Strain U. of California (excerpt):

By Eric Kelderman

President Mark G. Yudof of the University of California often says that the system he oversees is one university with 10 campuses.  But some higher-education experts say the economic strains and budget cuts of the past three years are fraying the ties that hold the system together. Several campus leaders have proposed measures to increase their financial independence from the system, in some cases at the cost of the other campuses.

…Meanwhile, the system’s youngest campus, at Merced, was shielded from the latest round of budget cuts, causing some people on other campuses to grumble that it is not financially viable and is weighing the system down.  None of the institutions openly suggests that it would leave the system, says David L. Kirp, a professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley. But if the state’s budget situation continues to force cuts, there could be “more drastic proposals for disentanglement,” he says.

…While six of the institutions are members of the Association of American Universities­—a selective group of research institutions—the Merced campus is still struggling for a perception of legitimacy.

…Because it is still so young, system officials spared Merced from the most recent budget cuts, which caused some in the state to gripe about whether it should remain a part of the system or even remain open…
Full article at http://chronicle.com/article/Fault-Lines-Form-as-Finances/130742/

Always room for debate:

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