Inauguration 

The Other Half Dome Towers at UC Merced

November 6, 2007

President Dynes; Honorable Vice Chairman Gould and Regents; Fellow Chancellors; Dr. Arno Penzias; Faculty Colleagues, Staff, Students and Alumni; All Honored Guests; My Family and Friends,

I welcome you all to UC Merced, filled with extraordinary people.

I am deeply honored and humbled by your presence here today, and by the trust placed in me to lead this young institution through the next phase of its development.

Mia and I are extremely grateful to the community that has welcomed us here so graciously, and to the team of incredibly talented men and women who are joining us on this journey.

We thank Founding Chancellor Carol Tomlinson-Keasey and husband Blake, former Acting Chancellor Rod Park and wife Cathy, for paving the high road for our future journey.

Landing in America in 1969 as a foreign student from Korea, I could never have imagined that my life journey would lead me to this special place at this exciting time.

It was five years ago, almost to the day, that Governor Gray Davis presided over UC Merced’s founding ceremony right here where we gather today.

That makes this a particularly good occasion to reflect on the first phase of UC Merced, and share my vision for our next chapter as the second chancellor.

The Origin of UC Merced

We are here today because of the visionary thinking and hard work of many wonderful people.

In the eight months since I took up my duties here, I’ve been privileged to learn about the history of our campus from those who made it. I want to highlight four groups of visionaries.

The first group is the Board of Regents of the University of California. Twenty years ago, they recognized that a 10th campus would be needed to accommodate the state’s rapid growth.

To their great credit, they proposed to build it in the most under-served region of the state. The State legislature agreed, and planning for the first UC campus in San Joaquin Valley was soon under way.

The second group of visionaries emerged right here in Merced.

Led by Mr. Bob Carpenter and a small group of local leaders, they saw the newest UC campus as a beacon of hope and opportunity for their community, and they worked tirelessly to secure it.

It was their belief and determination that strongly influenced the regents’ decision, announced in May 1995, to build the new campus on the shores of Lake Yosemite.

That brings me to the third group of visionaries -- Dr. Tomlinson-Keasey, UC Merced’s first chancellor appointed in 1999, and the founding faculty and administrative team.

This impressive group overcame every imaginable obstacle to keep the dream on track.

The Grand Opening of UC Merced on a sunny September day in 2005 was much more than a dream come true.

It was a testament to the will of the deeply committed educators who simply would not be denied.

Lastly, none of this would matter were it not for the fourth group of visionaries – our very first class of pioneering students.

When they arrived two years ago, classrooms were still under construction. There were no recreational facilities, no clubs and very few other outlets for student social life.

But to most of them, the chance to be part of the creation is what really mattered.

They embodied everything we could ever have hoped for in a first class.

They are the ones who truly brought our new campus to life.

Many of the people I have just mentioned are with us here today. Please join me in recognizing them with a round of applause.

UC Merced’s Infancy Is Astounding

Today, we are well into our third academic year at UC Merced.

Enrollment has grown to nearly 1,900 students, up 45 percent over last year’s total.

We have more than 90 full-time faculty members and 60 lecturers.

The campus has become dramatically more vibrant as new facilities come on line and student activities flourish.

The entrepreneurial, innovative character of the newest UC campus is rapidly emerging, and it is already making important contributions.

We graduated three students in 2006 and 53 students in 2007. Our graduates have moved onto graduate studies, professional schools, and other careers.

Some of our proud alumni are here today.

Since inception, our world-class faculty has attracted about $40 million in federal, state and other grants. These awards are underwriting new academic programs or funding research into the pressing problems of our nation and our region.

For example, the National Science Foundation recently awarded a $4.6 million grant to Professors Roger Bales and Martha Conklin of our Sierra Nevada Research Institute.

The grant will allow their research team to study climate change in the Sierra Nevada mountain range and its influence on water supply.

This research will benefit not just our own region but many other areas of our State, and possibly beyond.

Just five days ago, President Bush awarded to our Assistant Professor of Engineering, Shawn Newsam, a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

This is the nation’s highest honor bestowed upon a junior faculty member.

We are extremely proud to have Professor Newsam as a colleague at UC Merced.

To quote the Modesto Bee, UC Merced is already the leading institution in attracting research funding to our region.

I am extremely pleased to note that many of the grants have been awarded to our junior faculty members, attesting to the depth and quality of the team we have assembled here in just a few short years.

As you look around the campus today, you will face several buildings that have won top national awards for environmentally sensible design. We are very proud that our first complex of buildings exceeded our green campus goal, earning LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council this spring.

Indeed, UC Merced’s infancy is astounding.

Strategic Vision of UC Merced

These early successes are helping to fulfill the shared vision we have for our campus as the next great American research university and a bright star in the UC constellation of renowned public universities.

The name “UC” projects a heritage of academic excellence that dates back nearly 140 years, when the first UC campus was founded in Berkeley.

Now we must build on that foundation with innovation and cutting-edge thinking that befits a 21st century institution.

We recently launched an ambitious Strategic Academic Planning Process to chart our course to academic distinction.

The motto of UC is “Fiat Lux” – “Let there be light.” Light moves at 186,000 miles a second, but even at that speed, it must travel first through its near-distance neighbors before it can deliver beneficial effect elsewhere.

Our academic planning builds on this fact. We are asking our entire academic community to think broadly and creatively about the many challenges that face this region.

Challenges include air and water quality, water supply, health care, medical services, poverty, economic development, educational attainment, as well as language barriers and other issues related to diverse world cultures.

The output of this process will be a rich set of locally based but globally significant academic programs for addressing many of these issues.

Our goal is to attract more eminent faculty, the brightest students, increased funding and, ultimately, regional impact and recognition for UC Merced as a 21st century university of great distinction.

The Other Half Dome of Academic Excellence

Despite some of the challenges of our region, we are dearly blessed with an abundance of natural beauty. Merced is known to be the gateway to one of the world’s most stunning natural resources – The Yosemite National Park.

One of the revered signature peaks in Yosemite National Park is Half Dome.

Ansel Adams’ beautiful black and white photograph of “Moon over Half Dome,” taken in December 1960, is a world-renowned masterpiece.

The hiking trail to the summit of Half Dome, standing at 8,842 feet above sea level, is one of the most scenic hikes in the nation.

The hike is 8.6 miles each way and steep, with about 5,000 feet of elevation gain.

Although this granite dome is also a natural lightning rod and can pose dangers to hikers, Half Dome constantly attracts visitors from all over the world.

The summit was considered totally inaccessible until Oct. 12, 1875, when George Anderson drilled his way up to the top, fastening his ropes to iron eyebolts.

A few days later, Sally Dutcher became the first woman to climb Half Dome using Anderson’s fixed ropes.

According to history, she was wearing a long dress in that hike.

In 1919 the Sierra Club installed steel cables to enable many others to climb and enjoy the scenery and hiking experience.

So, what does the history of Half Dome have to do with UC Merced? Let me explain.

Academic pursuit can be compared to the climbing of Half Dome. The excursion of learning and discovery is pioneering and life-enriching, and it lifts us to a new altitude.

Although this excursion is very challenging, many learners, young and old, set academic pursuit as a high priority.

At UC Merced, we are building the Other Half Dome as the 21st century model university.

We will build a steep hiking trail that learners love to visit, enjoy its beauty and healthy harmony, and cherish the hiking experience for the rest of their lives.

As the newest university we are not bound to age-old inertia. Our direction must be refreshing and innovative.

Like Half Dome of Yosemite, our academic Half Dome at UC Merced will provide a fountain of knowledge that hikers will drink from, the cool mist from the high vertical waterfalls rich in new discoveries, and the healthy greenery of ethics and high morals.

From the top of our Academic Half Dome, the hikers will see the socioeconomic valleys and peaks and resolve to remove the divides for the betterment of our world now and in the future.

Our students will become the George Andersons and Sally Dutchers of tomorrow and create their own clubs of humanitarian conservancy and sustainability.

In recent years, higher education has been under scrutiny and criticism. In his book Our Underachieving Colleges, the former President of Harvard, Derek Bok, calls for candid reappraisal to discover whether there are ways to lift the performance of institutions of higher learning to new and higher levels.

An adequate dose of self criticism, if not excessive, should be promoted in higher education. A French physiologist and Nobel laureate, Jacques Monod, said “in science self-satisfaction is death. It is the restlessness, anxiety, dissatisfaction, and agony of mind that nourishes science.”

In higher education we can say the same.

UC Merced, as a student-centered research university, has a pioneering role to dramatically improve undergraduate education while promoting research excellence.

Our students must enjoy their learning with world-class faculty not only in lecture halls, but also in their research labs, and through service-learning projects in the community.

Our students must climb The Other Half Dome each day at UC Merced, and as with Yosemite’s Half Dome, must feel the exhilaration and satisfaction that comes with great personal achievement.

UC Merced 2.0 - Moving Forward Forcefully

UC Merced is just stepping into its new phase, which, as an engineer, I would call “UC Merced 2.0.”

UC Merced 2.0 challenges us to innovate in all things we do: classroom teaching, service learning, intercultural programs, undergraduate research participation, telemedicine and medical education, entrepreneurship, and more to expand our classrooms to remote areas.

As I noted earlier, we have just launched our Strategic Academic Planning Process, and we are updating our Long Range Development Plan for the revised campus footprint announced last month.

We will rigorously evaluate ideas and proposals, such as new management and medical schools, to expand our academic offerings and address regional needs.

Although the challenges we face at UC Merced are enormous, I firmly believe in the simple motto, “Where there is a will, there is a way.”

In my youth, I was enormously inspired by the story of Abraham Lincoln, who was self-taught and overcame poverty to become a great leader of this great nation.

I believe many students on our campus can assure themselves that there is a way to improve their lives as long as they keep their will strong.

We will work hard to find ways to reach our goals – to serve our under-served region, to improve the economy and strengthen the quality of life, especially in the San Joaquin Valley.

As we do this, we resolve to keep in mind four important points:

• First, we must continue to aim high.

Everyone here plays an important role in the success of this university, and that success, in the end, will be measured by how our education, our research and our graduates affect the world around us including the community, the region, the state and the nation.

If each one of us constantly reaches beyond what we think our limits are, we will accomplish more than we ever thought possible.

As the 10th UC campus, we are already recognized as pioneers. As pioneers we must aim to lead the way into the future with our innovative spirit and groundbreaking vision. We aim to climb the Other Half Dome of Academic Excellence.

• Second, we must learn deeply.

If our lives are like trees, our goal should be to have deep roots to help us weather any circumstance. We should plant our roots deeply in the soil of learning, and drink from the wellspring of knowledge that is available to us here every day.

With deeper roots, we will be stronger; our branches will stretch wider and bear more fruit. Our lives’ journeys will be more enjoyable, adapting to the ever-changing landscape.

Even in its youth, UC Merced has one of the best wells of knowledge. We should all visit that well often and drink deeply.

• Which brings me to the third point: Link broadly.

The world is a very diverse place. As we grow and stretch, we must constantly strive to make connections and seek out opportunities to create bonds across all boundaries.

The world as a whole is a single complex system – economically, environmentally and politically.

Though we do have national borders, barriers in languages and cultures, we must always be reaching out to each other, building bridges and seeing the beauty and commonality in each other and in the world.

Our diverse campus culture is a perfect representation of our State, and we should set an example in our strength of community.

We cannot be strong, however, if we are living in our own vacuums, disconnected from one another.

For global links, UC Merced has established Memoranda of Understanding for exchange of students and scholars with 5 universities in Asia.

We plan to build similar relationships with universities in Mexico, Europe and elsewhere.

Diversity and linking broadly are inseparable.

To be a role model university of the 21st century, UC Merced must be exemplary in diversity and interdisciplinary learning by linking broadly.

• Fourth and finally, act in a timely manner.

If we hesitate, we will miss opportunities. We must set our priorities and push to achieve them in the time we have here together.

We must plan ahead, strive for progress and work together so we can all see success in our programs, our research and our community.

We must apply leadership qualities within ourselves. If we see that something needs to be done, we should do it – not wait for others to act.

At the end of each day, we should look back on our achievements and evaluate them honestly, but not rest on them.

Let me conclude with one summary observation.

We have come a long way in the short time since our campus opened. Our well-loved campus is thriving and poised for great advancements.

As we plant our roots deeply here in the shadows of Yosemite’s Half Dome, it is now time for the Other Half Dome of highest ideals and academic excellence to flourish.

Inspired by the UC legacy, uplifted by our bright young students and driven by an incredibly talented faculty and staff, we are ever hopeful that it will.

Thank you for being here for the official launching of UC Merced 2.0.