The San Joaquin Valley, up until the opening of UC Merced in 2005, was the only major populated area in the state that lacked a UC campus of its own. Many of its brightest high school graduates fled the region to attend top-flight universities in other parts of the state like UCLA, UC Berkeley, Stanford and California Institute of Technology. Some stayed behind, attending California State University campuses in Stanislaus, Bakersfield and Fresno.

And still others attended one of the many junior colleges in the region that stretches from Stockton to Bakersfield. The Valley, home to some 3.5 million people, lacked a major research university of its own.

"For too long, the Valley had a table missing a leg," said Encarnacion Ruiz, director of admissions at UC Merced. "Now, there's a full set."

The UC's governing Board of Regents in 1988, then chaired by Leo Kolligian, of Fresno, signed off on what would be the newest UC campus nearly two decades later to address the chronically low levels of educational attainment in the region and to inject a shot of adrenaline into the Valley's agricultural-based economy.

Indeed, only 15 percent of the Valley's adults hold a bachelor's degree, compared with 29.5 percent in the state. The median household income in the Valley is roughly 22 percent below the state's. And the Valley's residents attend UC schools at roughly half the rate of other parts of California.

"There's a history of not having as many Valley students as other parts of California attending a UC school, especially from the minority side," said Regent Frederick Ruiz. "They don't get the push and support from families who often times don't know much about the UC system."

Thanks in part to outreach efforts and to the presence of a UC campus in the region, UC Merced's mission to stimulate a college-going culture in the Valley has helped over a thousand more local students win admission into the UC system this year compared with 2004. Their future incomes will skyrocket as a result of reaping the benefits of a UC education known throughout the world for academic rigor. A UC degree means doors will open to the best graduate schools and to world-class employers.

Many UC Merced alumni will stay in the Valley, giving the region an economic jolt that is desperately needed in a place where poverty rates are nearly double that of the San Francisco Bay Area. UC Merced could pump life into the Valley's ailing economy in the same way that Stanford transformed the San Francisco Bay Area into the world's epicenter for the high-tech industry. Scores of start-ups could spin off of the ideas of UC Merced faculty and alumni.

But there's another side to the story. Thousands of Valley high school students are still left behind, facing the crushing costs of attending a UC school. As a result, many top-notch students, despite their UC eligibility, still choose to attend junior colleges and California State University schools, both of which have graduation rates roughly half that of UC campuses. Scores of the south Valley's top students often times attend California State University, Fresno and city colleges, to stay closer to home and pay less for an education. Part of the reason is the UC system remains a mystery to many Valley students.

"I don't know much about the UC," said Guadalupe Oregel, 16, a Corcoran High School student, whose parents lack a college education. "I've never heard of UC Merced."

Attending a UC campus opens doors to graduate school and employers who seek the talent and quality typical of a UC-educated student. UC alumni have revolutionized fields, be they producing the first electrical-powered microscopic motor or discovering and naming the various lipoprotein classes. Dozens of UC alumni have snatched Nobel Prizes, among other international accolades. UC schools include five of the top-10 U.S. public universities whose graduates earn the most money after graduation, according to Forbes.com. For example, UC San Diego graduates with more than 10 years work experience earn on average $101,000 a year. UC Berkeley graduates earn slightly more.

"When you graduate from a UC, it's more meaningful," said Regent Ruiz. "You're more likely to make more money coming out of a UC. A UC degree opens more windows of opportunity."

Geographic diversity

UC Merced's geographic diversity is no accident. Merced is a two-hour drive from the San Francisco Bay Area and a four-hour drive from Los Angeles. It's in the heart of the Central Valley, one of the most racially diverse areas in the nation. And the reputation of the UC system pulls in some of the state's brightest students statewide to its newest campus where one-on-one attention with faculty is the norm, not the exception as is in more established UC campuses.

Valley students are 29.5 percent of the 2008 freshman class at UC Merced. San Francisco Bay Area students are 30.3 percent of the freshman class, and Los Angeles students are 19 percent of the first-year class.

"You can go away from the Valley without going away," said Ruiz, UC Merced admissions director. "It's a different culture at UC Merced, with a diverse student body culturally and geographically."

But UC Merced doesn't have a geographically dominant student body in the way that some other UC schools do. UCLA, for example, has a freshman class that is made up of 51 percent Los Angeles-area residents. And about 57 percent of undergraduates at UC Irvine come from Los Angeles and Orange counties.

UC Merced officials say geographic diversity is important.

"How would you like it if you attended a school where your classmates came from one region?" Ruiz asked.

But Kolligian's son, Lee Kolligian, says he'd like to see the percentage of Valley students rise.

"The percentage of Valley students at UC Merced is considerably higher than at other UC campuses, so some progress has definitely been made," said Lee Kolligian whose father, a Valley native, fought for the approval of UC Merced in the 1980s. "But I'd like to see that number be higher."

Hope in the Valley

One of UC Merced's mission is to boost the college-going rate in the Valley. UC Merced's outreach arm, the Center for Educational Partnerships, is now serving more than 30 high schools throughout the Valley from as far south as Bakersfield to as far north as Newman by helping disadvantaged students learn about college admissions, as well as financial aid. Often times, these students don't know how to apply to college or about enrolling in UC-approved college preparation courses. Their parents never attended college. And their counselors are typically overworked. But UC Merced staff tutors these students and their parents in everything from registering for the SATs to applying for scholarships to visiting college campuses.

"Before the UC Merced counseling program, I wasn't aware of the UC system," said Miriam Velazquez, 18, a UC Merced undergraduate who attended Avenal High School. "I was just familiar with West Hills College Coalinga. But the counselor from UC Merced guided me to become UC eligible."

She added that before UC Merced counselors guided her, she aspired to attend West Hills College Coalinga, a two-year institution.

"Teachers in our high school always talked about West Hills College Coalinga," said Velazquez, whose parents work in the agriculture industry. "They promoted West Hills College Coalinga. There wasn't much promoting of UC."

Thanks to UC Merced outreach programs, college-going rates have shot up in some Valley high schools, including Corcoran High School, which several years ago sent about 33 percent of its graduating seniors to college. Now, about 67 percent of its graduating seniors attend higher education. Five years ago, only 30 students took the PSAT. Last year, more than 200 students took the PSAT.

"We're changing our academic culture," said Charles Gent, principal of Corcoran High School. "UC Merced is a big part of it."

Four staff members provide counseling services to 950 students at Corcoran High School. They deal with everything from test taking to disciplining to academics.

"It's difficult for them to sit down one-on-one with students to talk about college preparation," said Paula Murray, curriculum coach at Corcoran High School.

"But to have a UC Merced counselor just focusing on college counseling with our students is enriching."

Indeed, UC Merced's Center for Educational Partnerships, which only serves low-income and first-generation college-going students, has made a difference to many Valley high school teenagers. Eighty-five percent of its students had completed all the UC-approved college preparation courses compared with 35 percent of students statewide.

"The UC understands that for a long time the Valley has been underserved in having access to the UC," said Jorge Aguilar, associate vice chancellor for educational and community partnerships at UC Merced. "We think the coming of a UC Merced will add to the many efforts that are taking place to increase the total pool of eligible students from the Valley who are in a position to make a wide array of choices for higher education. We want students to have the option of staying in the Valley and still pursue a UC education."

Sharp rise

UC Merced certainly has had an impact on boosting the enrollment of Valley students at the UC system. Valley high school students admitted into the UC system shot up 44 percent between 2004 and 2008, the highest increase of all areas in California. By comparison, Los Angeles students admitted in the UC system went up 33.7 percent during the same period. San Francisco Bay Area students admitted in the UC system went up 28.5 percent, and San Diego students admitted went up 23.5 percent.

"UC Merced is a motivating factor," said Simon Weffer, an assistant professor of sociology at UC Merced and an expert on the Valley's quality-of-life issues. "With a UC campus in the Valley, it becomes a realistic goal for Valley students. Students will ask for classes to get into the UC system."

In the wake of UC Merced's opening, Valley high schools have added a slew of advanced and honors classes, which help students become competitive for the UC system.

"In the Valley, there's not as much emphasis on honors courses," Weffer said. "But UC Merced has encouraged high schools to add advanced classes because there's a UC campus in the backyard."

Weffer added that he teaches many Valley students, who come from as far north as Stockton and as far south as Bakersfield. Many of his students have said if the Valley didn't have a UC campus they would've attended the California State University campuses in Fresno and Stanislaus because of family pressure to stay close to home.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2423.

(Oct. 13, 2008)