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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE GOVERNOR DAVIS TO DELIVER KEYNOTE ADDRESS
AT MERCED - Gov. Gray Davis and Nobel Laureate Robert Laughlin will be among the featured speakers at a ceremony inaugurating the chancellor of UC Merced and celebrating the creation of the 10th campus of the UC system. The event will be held beginning at 11 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 25, at the future site of the Merced campus. In a historic and exciting day for the San Joaquin Valley and the entire state of California, Gov. Davis, who is also President of the Board of Regents of the University, will deliver the keynote address at the inauguration of Merced campus Chancellor Carol Tomlinson-Keasey. Robert B. Laughlin, Robert M. & Anne Bass Professor of Physics at Stanford University -- who won a Nobel Prize in 1998 for research conducted while at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory -- will speak on behalf of academe in the ceremony. The inauguration will include the participation of UC Regents and chancellors, government officials, children of the San Joaquin Valley, and supportive community members. The event will be followed by a celebration and barbeque lunch provided to the community by local and regional chambers of commerce and supportive partners. Inauguration 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (inaugural tent located at future campus site – Lake/Bellevue Roads, Merced, CA) The inauguration of Chancellor Tomlinson-Keasey will begin with a visually stunning procession of approximately 180 academic delegates, dressed in bright academic regalia and robes. The honored academic participants and noted delegates will come together to pay tribute and welcome the founding chancellor to office. As part of the ceremony, University of California President Richard Atkinson will formally install Carol Tomlinson-Keasey as chancellor and bestow upon her the insignia of office, the Chancellor’s Medal. Dignitaries scheduled to speak include Susan Neuman, Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education for the U.S. Department of Education. As many as 1,500 are expected to attend the ceremony. Founding Celebration 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (Lake Yosemite Park, Merced, CA) Following the inaugural event, the University and community members will celebrate at a barbeque luncheon and music at the Lake Yosemite Park, adjacent to the campus site. Approximately 2,500 are expected to attend the community luncheon. UC Merced, the first American research university to be built in the 21st century, currently employs approximately 100 educators and professionals and will eventually grow to 25,000 students by build-out in 2030. In addition to its main location, the Merced campus will utilize digital technology to create an educational network that serves students and communities throughout the San Joaquin Valley. The University currently operates educational centers in Bakersfield, Fresno, and Merced. Another center is planned for Modesto. # # # MEDIA NOTE: Special parking will be made available for media trucks and photographers at a designated location just south of the future campus site. A media sign-in table will be located at the entrance of the inaugural tent. Please call any staff member of the Communications Office for further details or directions: James Grant, cell (209) 658-4406
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