THE VISION

Here are excerpts from Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi’s June 27 charge letter to the committee:

Because of our location, history and expertise, UC Davis is in a unique position to be an even greater positive source for California state government and policy than we have been in the past. In the interest of exploring this opportunity and further recognizing the profile and distinction of the entire university, we have been reflecting for some time on the idea of developing a third campus somewhere in Sacramento.

While the hypothesis of a third campus represents a long-term goal, the goal of this group and the smaller committees will be to develop a comprehensive plan to generate community feedback and ideas about the viability of such a long-term goal that may strengthen three areas of activity that we believe are essential to making UC Davis the “UC of the 21st Century”:

• A policy orientation to help enhance the university’s role and impact in influencing state policy that serves the long-term environmental, economic, scientific and social imperatives for the state of California.

• An emphasis in areas at the nexus of food and health, as these are areas we specialize in and which have the potential to provide UC Davis with a defining and differentiating character among the UCs, and also among the public research universities in the United States and around the world.

• Clinical activities with a public outreach focus that promotes healthy living and wellness, described as not only a prevention measure important for the U.S. health care system, but also a condition for social justice and social upward mobility.

The concept of a third campus for UC Davis that could bring together policy, education and outreach at the nexus of food and health, if found viable and desirable by our community, would be part of a long-range approach to progress, one that certainly will require the acquisition of new resources and the development of additional partners. This is a long-term initiative that will only succeed with continuous engagement and broad support from our campus community, and the counsel and wisdom of this committee is critical to its long-term success.

Related story: Strategic Planning Committee on Diversity and Inclusion

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By Dateline staff

A chancellor’s committee is nearly done with the first phase of a plan for comprehensive engagement with internal and external stakeholders about a possible additional campus.

The Additional Sacramento Campus Strategic Planning Committee (established in June under a different name, the Sacramento Campus Visioning Committee) started Phase I by setting up subcommittees to develop frameworks for outreach to four groups and consultation with them: faculty (Academic Senate and Academic Federation), staff, students and alumni/external constituents.

The four subcommittees recently finished their work, and Chancellor’s Adviser Steve Currall is now preparing an integrative framework for engaging all UC Davis stakeholders in the dialogue about opportunities in the region.

Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi, in a Nov. 3 letter, thanked the 40 committee and subcommittee members for their work and outlined the subsequent phases — but not before emphasizing “that we are in the very early stages of a multiphased deliberative process that will be inclusive of the broad UC Davis community comprised of individuals both on our campus and outside of it who are interested in the university’s role in our region,” and that these deliberations will be carried out during the 2014-15 academic year.

Phase II, expected to run into March, will be a “listening tour” during which stakeholders “will be asked to dream big in exploring how UC Davis can expand its footprint to become the ‘University for the 21st Century’ through, for example, an enhanced presence in our region,” the chancellor wrote.

Outreach and solicitation of input during Phase II will be ambitious, she said, listing such tools as campus and regional town hall meetings, UC Davis website comment form, blogs and/or online columns, dedicated email address for comments, chancellor’s periodic email updates, Dateline UC Davis, social media, and one-on-one conversations with campus and regional leaders.

Phase III will involve systematizing and organizing input into a draft strategic plan involving possible scenarios.

Most important, the chancellor said, the plan will address how this heightened presence would advance, and be aligned with, the university’s tripartite mission of research, education and service. Strategic planning must take an evidence-based perspective, such as obtaining data on historical trends of UC Davis involvement with institutions (e.g., government and business). For example:

• How does UC Davis compare with other UC campuses, and other universities, with respect to visibility and impact with the California state Legislature?
• How can we maximize interactions and collaborations between the Davis campus and the Sacramento campus of UC Davis?
• What productive involvement is UC Davis having with regional businesses and entrepreneurs?
• What involvement do we have with regional K-12 educational institutions?
• What is the impact of UC Davis Extension and Cooperative Extension (College of Agricultural and Environmental Science, School of Veterinary Medicine, and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources)?

Also, the university must further explore the interface with UC Center Sacramento, which is run by UC Davis.

“Depending on ideas and scenarios about how to advance our academic mission, the strategic plan may also address requirements for financial resources, fundraising and possible physical locations in the Sacramento region,” the chancellor said. “No decisions about academic programs, finances or location have yet been made. Questions about location would be addressed only after the academic plan has been fully articulated.”

Phase III is due to be completed by the end of May, and further consultation will take place regarding the draft strategic plan before any decisions are made.

ADDITIONAL SACRAMENTO CAMPUS STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMITTEE

• Linda P.B. Katehi, chancellor (chair)
• Roger Beachy, director, World Food Center
• Colin Carter, professor, agricultural and resource economics
• Steven C. Currall, chancellor’s adviser, leading the university's effort to possibly develop an additional campus in the Sacramento region
• Helene Dillard, dean, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
• Armando Figueroa, president, ASUCD
• Julie Freischlag, vice chancellor, Human Health Sciences, and dean, School of Medicine
• Penelope Herbert, chair, Staff Assembly, Sacramento campus
• Ralph J. Hexter, provost and executive vice chancellor
• James Hildreth, dean, College of Biological Sciences
• Ken Kizer, director, Institute for Population Health
• Richard Kravitz, director, UC Center Sacramento
• Andre Knoesen, vice chair, Academic Senate
• Michael D. Lairmore, dean, School of Veterinary Medicine
• Luanne Lawrence, associate chancellor, Strategic Communications
• Lina Layiktez, chair, Staff Assembly, Davis campus
• Harris Lewin, vice chancellor, Office of Research
• George R. “Ron” Mangun, dean, Division of Social Sciences, College of Letters and Science
• Dennis Pendleton, dean, University Extension
• Robert Powell, professor, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
• Jon Rossini, chair, Department of Theatre and Dance
• Randolph Siverson, professor emeritus, political science
• Robert Smiley, professor, Graduate School of Management
• Francene Steinberg, chair, Department of Nutrition
• Tom Tomich, director, Agricultural Sustainability Institute
• Louis Warren, professor, history
• Laura Van Winkle, chair, Academic Federation
• Erica Vonasek, vice chair, Graduate Student Association
• Heather M. Young, dean, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing

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