State Approves UC Merced Expansion

By Ben Bradford

The University of California has received the go-ahead from the Brown administration for a billion dollar expansion of its Merced campus. The Department of Finance approved the project today. Ben Bradford reports from Sacramento.

The University of California plans to add 10,000 undergraduates to its campuses in the next three years. As a key part of that, the UC Merced campus would double in size and expand from its current 6,700 students to an even 10,000. To pay for it, UC system chief financial officer Nathan Brostrom says the university is turning to a new funding model.

Brostrom: “We relied a lot on state capital, because they didn’t have the resources themselves to build the facilities. That is not there for the expansion, so we had to look at the most cost-effective way, using our own resources.”

For the first time, UC Merced will join with the private sector—businesses will build and own stakes in the expanded campus. Over time, the university will buy out their private share.

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[Source]: KVPR.org