Keith Ellis: Leland’s 2020 project will expand opportunities

I represent the over 4,000 members of the UC Merced Alumni Association. Our association is leveraging support for our beloved alma mater to launch a new scholarship. We also work to link alumni to each other and to campus. The UC Merced Alumni Association supports Chancellor Dorothy Leland’s 2020 Project, to build the second phase of campus and meet the goal of having 10,000 students enrolled by 2020.

UC Merced opened just before the great recession in 2008. That affected the build-out of the of campus. The state drastically cut support for public higher education – the UC system receives over $500 million less now in state support than it did prior to the recession. As a result, new innovative strategies are required to meet the demand for a UC education.

UC Merced received almost 20,000 applications this year. Unfortunately, UC Merced will not be able to accept all those applicants. But, with Chancellor Leland’s 2020 Project, the campus will be able to grow greatly in the next few years to allow more students to attend. This project will not only add new facilities, but provides for their operation by leveraging public funding through partnership with private corporations. The 2020 Project will bring jobs and increased opportunities to the region.

Once a Bobcat always a Bobcat.

This story was originally published March 18, 2015 at 10:52 AM with the headline "Keith Ellis: Leland’s 2020 project will expand opportunities."