In the 15 years since its first students enrolled, UC Merced has earned acclaim for building social mobility among first-generation and historically underrepresented young people, while advancing a research agenda that is creating new knowledge in sustainability, engineering, the sciences, humanities and more. The youngest campus in the storied University of California system quickly became the fastest-growing public university in the country, according to the U.S. Department of Education, was named one of the top young universities in the world by Times Higher Ed and is the youngest to earn a Carnegie R2 classification. UC Merced approaches the UC mission of teaching, research and public service through five portals that focus our institutional and intellectual priorities: educational opportunity; health care; economic revitalization; sustainability; and building civic capacity. Nearly three-quarters of the nearly 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students are the first in their families to attend college. A federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution, UC Merced is also No. 1 the nation for student outcomes and No. 7 in social mobility (US News and World Report). UC Merced is the only U.S. research university to have more than 60 percent Pell Grant-eligible undergraduates and a graduation rate over 60 percent. These students learn from faculty who rank 13th among U.S. public institutions in undergraduate teaching (US News), and who explore a wealth of research areas that affect the region, state, nation and world. Through centers such as the Health Sciences Research Institute, Sierra Nevada Research Institute, Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society, and the NASA-funded Merced nAnomaterials Center for Energy and Sensing, these thought leaders create knowledge alongside graduate and undergraduate students in settings that extend beyond the lab. The campus location provides a unique opportunity for research and stewardship crucial to the Central Valley and the state of California. A strong relationship with Yosemite National Park enables important studies in climate change, water and biological diversity at longtime field stations, while also educating the park leaders of the future through the Yosemite Leadership Program. The UC Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve is a living lab in one of the largest ecosystems of its kind in California. And proximity to Silicon Valley and the Bay Area affords opportunities to interact with industry leaders in technology and innovation. To keep pace with growth, UC Merced broke ground in 2016 on the Merced 2020 Project, a $1.3 billion public-private partnership that has revolutionized the way institutions fund capital projects. Upon completion in Fall 2020, the expansion will have nearly doubled the square footage of campus in just four years. Sustainability is in UC Merced's DNA. The university was ranked No. 1 for sustainable buildings and No. 1 for sustainable research by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. It is the only U.S. campus with every building LEED-certified; all buildings in the Merced 2020 Project are expected to earn platinum status.