UC Davis to help re-open UC Center in Sacramento
University of California and UC Davis officials announced in a press conference Thursday morning that UC Davis will take over operating the UC Center in Sacramento (UCCS). Initiated in 2003 and funded by the UC Office of the President, the center served UC students system-wide until it closed after the 2009 fall term due to lack of state funding.
From now on, students at the UC Center in Sacramento will be enrolled as UC Davis students and receive benefits like health care and access to other UC Davis campus services and teachers.
It will continue to offer two programs: an internship program offered year-round, pairing students with another organization, and a summer public policy internship with classes taught by UCCS and UC Berkeley faculty. Located in downtown Sacramento, UCCS is just one of many satellite campuses and research centers not housed at one of the 10 main UC campuses.
"Budget constraints made us reevaluate circumstances, and we temporarily suspended efforts here," said University of California Provost Lawrence Pitts. "Thanks to the commitment of UC Davis and Chancellor (Linda) Katehi, we have found a way to preserve and enrich the program here so it can continue to serve state government as well as future generations of students from all of the UC campuses."
Pitts said a restructured program will allow UCCS students to take advantage of a broader array of faculty at the UC Davis campus. UCCS associate director and professor A.G. Block said that in the past, approximately 120 to 130 students attended the Sacramento campus per year.
Instead of an approximate $1 million annual budget, the center will now work with $400,000 per year, financed by student fees. Previously, students' UCCS fees would be sent to their respective home campuses. UCCS will also receive transitional funding from the UC Office of the President until it is self-sufficient under the UC Davis campus.
"It represents the opening day for a new and renewed effort at UC Sacramento," said Robert Huckfeldt, newly-named UCCS director, "a new effort on the part of the University of California in collaboration with UC Davis