MERCED - Sung-Mo “Steve” Kang, Ph.D., was inaugurated as the
second chancellor of the University of California, Merced, today
(Nov. 6) in a ceremony on the campus’ academic quad at 10 a.m.
Kang was joined on the platform by UC President Robert C. Dynes
and Regent Russell S. Gould, as well as other UC and government officials.
The keynote speaker for the ceremony was Arno Penzias, Ph.D.,
who received the Nobel Prize in physics in 1978.
The audience of more than 600 people included UC Merced faculty,
staff, students and invited friends of the campus.
“UC Merced is just stepping into its new phase, which, as an
engineer, I would call, ‘UC Merced 2.0,” Kang told the assembled
crowd, emphasizing that the next phase of development would be
distinguished by innovation in every aspect of the campus’ endeavors.
As hallmarks of UC Merced 2.0, he mentioned academic excellence,
international partnerships, community service programs, new
management and medical schools, technology for distance learning
and medicine, entrepreneurship, and continued efforts to reach
underserved populations and improve the quality of life in the San
Joaquin Valley.
Kang’s speech invoked pioneers and leaders like Abraham Lincoln,
the early climbers of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, and the
leaders, faculty and students who have contributed to the founding
of UC Merced.
“We have come a long way in the short time our campus opened,”
Kang said. “Our well-loved campus is thriving and poised for great
achievements. As we plant our roots deeply here in the shadows of
Yosemite’s Half Dome, it is now time for the other Half Dome of the
highest ideals and academic excellence to flourish.”
UC President Robert C. Dynes told the audience that Kang’s “bold
vision for this young campus has galvanized the region.
“His personal enthusiasm has endeared him to faculty, students
and staff,” Dynes said. “And his passion for innovation will help
realize the founders’ vision of transforming the Valley.”
Dynes continued, “Chancellor Steve Kang will lead UC Merced into
a new era of ascendancy and distinction. And it will be my
privilege and my joy to watch him do it.”
Penzias’ keynote speech focused on the importance of public
support for higher education - he recalled his experiences in the
New York City public schools and City College of New York. Like
Kang and many UC Merced students, Penzias was a first-generation
college-goer. He called public education “the foundation of the
American Dream.”
Penzias also noted UC Merced’s potential to make a difference in
the field of sustainable, clean energy as the campus nurtures
knowledge creation and technology.
Kang was approved by the UC Board of Regents as UC Merced’s new
chancellor Jan. 17. He began his appointment March 1, leaving
behind the deanship of UC Santa Cruz’ Baskin School of Engineering.
He had spent seven years at Santa Cruz, following a professorship
of 15 years at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Kang continues his research in the design of lower-power, very
large-scale integrated (VLSI) circuits; modeling and simulation of
semiconductor devices and circuits; nanoelectronics; and bioelectronics.
He completed his Ph.D. at UC Berkeley. His undergraduate work
took place at Fairleigh-Dickinson University in New Jersey, where
he attended with scholarship support that brought him to the United
States from South Korea as the first person in his family to attend college.
This experience prepared Kang to lead the 10th UC campus in its
early years. More than half of UC Merced’s students are
first-generation college-goers, and more than 60 percent come from
underrepresented ethnic or socioeconomic groups.
Kang is also the first Korean-American to lead a major research
university. Significant interest from Korean and Korean-American
communities and media has followed his appointment.
Kang’s predecessor, Carol Tomlinson-Keasey, served for seven
years as the leader of the new campus before announcing her
intention to step down in March 2006. Roderic Park served as
interim chancellor until Kang assumed his duties March 1, 2007.
Inauguration-related festivities continue this week with a
scholarship fundraiser luncheon today at noon; receptions for
students, faculty and staff; and a symposium with Kang and other
engineering faculty speaking about “Technology and Society” at 2
p.m. Thursday in the California Room on campus. The symposium is
free and open to the public.
For more information
* About Chancellor Steve Kang, see
http://chancellor.ucmerced.edu.
* About today’s inauguration ceremony and associated
festivities, see
http://inauguration.ucmerced.edu.
* About UC Merced, start with the campus home page at
www.ucmerced.edu.
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