University of California Davis

The University of California, Davis (also referred to as UCD, UC Davis, or Davis), is a public research university and one of the 10 campuses of the University of California system. Located in Davis, California, just west of Sacramento, it encompasses 7,309 acres of land, making it the largest UC campus in terms of land ownership. UC Davis also has the third-largest enrollment in the UC System after UCLA and UC Berkeley.

The Carnegie Foundation classifies UC Davis as a comprehensive doctoral research university with a medical program, and very high research activity. The UC Davis faculty includes 23 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 25 members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 17 members of the American Law Institute, 14 members of the Institute of Medicine, and 14 members of the National Academy of Engineering. Among other honors, university faculty, alumni, and researchers have won the Nobel Peace Prize, Presidential Medal of Freedom, Pulitzer Prize, MacArthur Fellowship, National Medal of Science, Blue Planet Prize, and Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

The university has expanded over the past century to include graduate and professional programs in medicine (which includes the UC Davis Medical Center), law, veterinary medicine, education, nursing, and business management, in addition to 90 research programs offered by UC Davis Graduate Studies. The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine is the largest in the United States and has been ranked first in the nation for two consecutive years, 2015 and 2016.

The 2016 U.S. News & World Report college rankings named UC Davis as tied for the 11th best public university and tied for 41st overall in the U.S.[12] UC Davis is one of 62 members in the Association of American Universities.

The UC Davis Aggies athletic teams compete in the NCAA Division I level, primarily in the Big West Conference as well as the Big Sky Conference (football only) and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. In its first year of full Division I status, 11 UC Davis teams qualified for NCAA post-season competition.

> History

In 1905, the California legislature passed the University Farm Bill, which called for the establishment of a farm school for the University of California (at the time, Berkeley was the sole campus of the university). The commission took a year to select a site for the campus, a tiny town then known as Davisville. UC, Davis opened its doors as the "University Farm" to 40 degree students (all male) from UC Berkeley in January 1909. (The farm had begun accepting students in non-degree farmers' short courses in October 1908; around 115 men attended.)

The Farm was established largely the result of the vision and perseverance of Peter J. Shields, secretary of the State Agricultural Society. The Peter J. Shields Library at UC Davis was named in his honor. Shields began to champion the cause of a University Farm to teach agriculture after learning that California students were going to out-of-state universities to pursue such education.

After two failed bills, a law authorizing the creation of a University Farm was passed on March 18, 1905. Yolo County, home to some of California's prime farmland, was chosen as the site. A committee appointed by the Regents purchased land near Davisville (now Davis) in 1906. The Regents officially took control of the property in September 1906 and constructed four buildings in 1907.

Short courses were first offered in 1908 and a three-year non-degree program set up in 1909. In 1911, the first class graduated from the University Farm. The Farm accepted its first female students in 1914 from Berkeley. The three-year non-degree program continued until 1923.

At that time, a two-year non-degree program began, continuing until 1958. In 1922, a four-year undergraduate general academic program was established, with the first class graduating in 1926.

Renamed in 1922 as the Northern Branch of the College of Agriculture, the institution continued growing at a breakneck pace: in 1916 the Farm's 314 students occupied the original 778 acres (315 ha) campus. By 1951 it had expanded to a size of 3,000 acres (1,200 ha). In 1959, the campus was declared by the Regents of the University of California as the seventh general campus in the University of California system.

Davis' Graduate Division was established in 1961 followed by the College of Engineering in 1962. The Law School opened for classes in Fall 1966, and the School of Medicine began instruction in Fall 1968. In a period of increasing activism, a Native American studies program was started in 1969, one of the first at a major university; it was later developed as a full department within the university.


> Campus

>> Size and location

Though named after the City of Davis, the campus is technically located adjacent to the City of Davis in an unincorporated part of Yolo and Solano counties. The main campus is located 15 miles (24.1 km) west of Sacramento in the Sacramento Valley, part of California's Central Valley, and is adjacent to Interstate 80.

The city of Davis is a college town, with the ratio of students to long term residents estimated at 1:4. Also contributing to the college-town environment is the close proximity of downtown Davis to the campus' main quad—a matter of a few blocks, and 5- to 10-minute walk or bike ride. Davis' 15 minute distance from Sacramento provides it with both the isolation critical to fostering a college-town environment while also providing a lively and large metropolitan area nearby. Though the campus itself is vast, the entire community of Davis is relatively small and is easily traversable on bike utilizing Davis' extensive bicycle trails.

>> Campus Core/Quad

Towards the northeast end of campus is the Quad, a large rectangular field, which was the historic geographic center of campus. Earlier in the campus' history, the few campus buildings surrounded the four sides of the Quad. Today, though the campus has grown significantly and the geographic center of campus has shifted, the Quad remains the center of campus life, anchored to the north by the Memorial Union (student union), to the south by Shields Library and to the West and Southeast by Wellman and Olson Halls respectively.

The Memorial Union Complex houses Freeborn Hall and the Memorial Union, which houses various establishments such as the UC Davis Bookstore, ASUCD Coffee House (Coho), ASUCD student government offices, Post Office, the MU Games Area (video games and bowling alley), KDVS student radio station, study lounges, Campus Copies, Picnic Day Office, the Center for Student Involvement Office, and AggieTV Student Television.

The northeast side of campus holds more of the core buildings that were built earlier in UC Davis's history, such as Wellman Hall, Shields Library, Mrak Hall, and Hutchison Hall, as well as the North Entry Parking Structure. Also notable in this northeastern corner is the labyrinthine Social Sciences and Humanities building designed by Antoine Predock, known to students as the "Death Star" for its angular, metallic design.

>> South Main Campus and South Campus

The majority of Equestrian Center, and Animal Sciences buildings are located near the Arboretum Waterway, away from the core campus; the West Entry Parking Complex, the Silo Union, and the newly constructed Science Lecture Hall and the Science Laboratory Building are located nearer to the Tercero residence halls and the core of campus. The Mondavi Center, home of the University Symphony Orchestra and other cultural events, is also located near the Tercero complex.

Situated at the southernmost part of campus along Old Davis road are assorted laboratories for the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, the California Raptor Center, and the Center for Health & Environment.

>> West Campus

For most of UC Davis' history, West Campus has served primarily as agricultural research land. Recently, portions were developed through a $300 million public-private partnership to form the largest zero net energy community in the United States, known as UC Davis West Village.[20] West Village will provide housing for 3,000 students, faculty and staff and will help the university recruit and retain top faculty. The project will include 662 apartments, 343 single-family homes, 42,500 square feet of commercial space, a recreation center and study facilities. West Village will also host the first community college on a UC campus.

The classes held in this area mainly involve plant sciences, but also include entomology courses as well. Students in the plant sciences maintain gardens as part of the PLS 5 lab while Entomology 156L and 158 students embark on field trips to sample fish for parasites at Putah Creek and conduct projects in forensic entomology at the UC Davis ecosystem, respectively.

West Campus is also home to the University Airport, Foundation Plant Services, the California National Primate Research Center, and the Contained Research Facility, a bio-safety level 3 facility.

>> Arboretum

To the south side of the campus core is the 100-acre UC Davis Arboretum, which includes 3.5 miles of paved paths, 4,000 tree specimens, Putah Creek and Lake Spafford.

>> Artwork

There are five public art statues found around campus, collectively called The Egghead Series, sculpted by the late Robert Arneson, who also taught at Davis from 1962-1991. Additional pieces of Arneson's work are part of the Fine Arts Collection maintained by the Richard L. Nelson Gallery located in the Art Building.

Bookhead is located at the Shields Library plaza, Yin & Yang is located at the Fine Arts Complex, See No Evil/Hear No Evil is at the east lawn of King Hall (the main building for UC Davis' School of Law), Eye on Mrak (FatalLaff) is outside Mrak Hall (housing the registrar office and other administrative offices), and Stargazer is located between North Hall and Young Hall. The Yin & Yang egg heads have been recast and duplicated for installation near the Port of San Francisco Ferry Building in San Francisco.

>> Student housing

The northwest end of campus holds the majority of the Segundo undergraduate housing complex, and various alternative non-undergraduate housing, such as Orchard Park, Solano Park, Russell Park, and The Colleges at LaRue Apartments. The Activities and Recreation Center, or the ARC, is also located near the Segundo complex. Adjacent to the northwest corner of campus is the Cuarto undergraduate housing complex, which has one dining commons.

The Tercero undergraduate housing complex is located near the geographic center of the UC Davis campus, to the north of the Arboretum Waterway. This extends longitudinally through almost the entirety of the south end of campus. The Davis Arboretum is a public botanic garden with over 4,000 kinds of trees and plants, including many California native plants, which has been developed over 100 acres (40 ha) along The Waterway.

The Cuarto undergraduate (freshmen and transfer students) housing complex is located one block off-campus, across Russell Boulevard. Unlike the other undergraduate housing complexes, Cuarto is located within city limits; its residents may vote in city elections. (Other on-campus students can only vote in county elections, as their residences are outside city limits.)