University of California

The University of California (UC) is a public university system within the State of California. It has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students and over 1,340,000 living alumni. The first campus (which is now UC Berkeley) was founded in 1868, while the tenth and newest campus opened in the fall of 2005 near the city of Merced. Collectively and individually, the University of California's campuses boast large numbers of distinguished faculty in almost every field. The University is considered a model for public institutions across the United States, although as of the 2002-03 fiscal year, only 38% of its total budget comes from the State. All campuses enroll both undergraduate and graduate students with the exception of the San Francisco campus, which enrolls only graduate and professional students in the medical and health sciences. It is widely considered to be the most prestigious public university system in the world.

Peripheral enterprises

The University of California has a long tradition of involvement in many interesting enterprises that are often geographically or organizationally separate from its general campuses, including national laboratories, observatories, hospitals, continuing education programs, travel and conference facilities, and an art institute.

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National laboratories

The University of California manages three national laboratories on behalf of the United States Department of Energy:

Related Topics:
National laboratories - United States Department of Energy

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• Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• Los Alamos National Laboratory

The UC's ties to the laboratories have occasionally sparked controversy and protest among the academics and students within the system, as all three laboratories have been intimately linked with the development of nuclear weapons. For example, Lawrence Berkeley Lab worked on separating uranium isotopes during World War II, and the Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore labs exclusively designed the nation's nuclear weapons until their shift into stockpile stewardship at the end of the Cold War).

Related Topics:
Nuclear weapon - World War II - Stockpile stewardship - Cold War

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The UC ties to the labs, however, have outlasted all periods of internal controversy, though recent questions about improper oversight procedures may call the relationship into question again. Recently, the Department of Energy has for the first time opened up the Los Alamos contract for bidding to other vendors besides the University of California.

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In September 2003, the NASA Ames Research Center took a bold step towards increasing the science output, safety, and effectiveness of NASA's missions through the infusion of new technologies and scientific techniques. A ten-year task order contract valued at more than $330 million was awarded to the University of California to establish and operate a University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) - the largest grant ever awarded the University. UC Santa Cruz manages the UARC for the University of California.

Related Topics:
NASA Ames Research Center - UC Santa Cruz

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Observatories

The University of California manages two observatories as a multi-campus research unit headquartered at its Santa Cruz campus.

Related Topics:
Observatories - Santa Cruz

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• Lick Observatory
• Keck Observatory

Hospitals

The University of California has medical schools at Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco, and each medical school has an associated teaching hospital which is owned and operated by UC. All five teaching hospitals are highly regarded. UCLA Medical Center in particular is consistently ranked by U.S. News and World Report as the top hospital on the West Coast, with the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center ranked second.

Related Topics:
Medical school - UCLA Medical Center - U.S. News and World Report

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In the latter half of the 20th century, the UC hospitals became the core of full-fledged regional health systems; they were gradually supplemented by many outpatient clinics, offices, and institutes. San Diego County actually shut down its own public hospital and contracted out its healthcare responsibilities to UCSD.

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UC Extension

For over a century, the University has operated a continuing education program for working adults and professionals. At present, UC Extension enrolls over 500,000 students each year in over 17,000 courses. One of the reasons for its huge size is that UC Extension is a dominant provider of Continuing Legal Education and Continuing Medical Education in California.

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Travel and conference facilities

• UCLA operates both its own on-campus hotel, the UCLA Guest House, and a lavish conference center at Lake Arrowhead.
• UC Berkeley's California Alumni Association operates travel excursions for alumni (and their families) under its "BearTreks" brand. BearTreks is unusual in that the tour guides are usually Berkeley professors. CAA also operates an exclusive resort in the Sierra Nevada, the Lair of the Golden Bear, also just for Cal alumni and their families.

Other affiliated institutions

• San Francisco Art Institute
• The University of California Center for Animal Alternatives