Joseph Castro, former Assistant Dean at the Graduate School of Public Policy, UCB, was hired into this position in August. A strong research core would attract outstanding founding faculty to develop undergraduate and graduate programs for the tenth campus. The advisory committee is considering a residential campus model, which will be the hub of the teaching, research, and public service activities and the home of faculty, students and staff. For example, the consolidated center in Fresno might continue as a site for distributed education after the tenth campus opens its doors to students. The campus will be a product of the 21st century, incorporating current and sophisticated technology throughout, from the library which will represent the digital age of information, to the laboratories , the classsrooms, and the residence halls.
Academic planning requires a long time-frame.
The academic strength of the tenth campus will depend on the excellence of the founding chancellor, faculty, and academic administration. The current enrollment plan is that the tenth campus would open and enroll the first 1,000 on-campus students in Fall 2005 and grow by 800 students per year, resulting in an enrollment of 5,000 by Fall 2010. Unfortunately, Governor Wilson vetoed AB 1415. It is unclear at this writing how UC will deal with this problem, but it is clear that before a decision can be made to proceed with construction of the tenth campus, funding actions will be needed to secure long-term operating and capital budget support for enrollment expansion at the existing campuses as well as the new campus. In the years prior to opening enrollment in 2005, these funds would be used for planning, start-up costs, and hiring.