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University of California, Santa Barbara
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The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a campus in Santa Barbara, California, northwest of Los Angeles. Founded as an independent teachers' college, UCSB joined the University of California system in 1944 and is the fourth-oldest general-education campus in the system.
UCSB is a comprehensive doctoral university and is organized into five colleges offering 87 undergraduate degrees and 55 graduate degrees.
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The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a campus in Santa Barbara, California, northwest of Los Angeles. Founded as an independent teachers' college, UCSB joined the University of California system in 1944 and is the fourth-oldest general-education campus in the system.
UCSB is a comprehensive doctoral university and is organized into five colleges offering 87 undergraduate degrees and 55 graduate degrees. The campus is the 5th-largest in the UC system by enrollment with 18,429 undergraduate and 2,981 graduate students. The university granted 5,442 bachelor's, 576 master's, and 310 Ph.D. degrees in 2006-2007. The four-year, full-time undergraduate program is classified by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as "more selective, higher transfer-in" and was ranked 44th among "National Universities" by U.S. News and World Report.
UC Santa Barbara is a "very high activity" research university and spent $191.2 million on research expenditures, 97th-largest in the United States. UCSB houses eleven national research centers, including the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, Southern California Earthquake Center, and . Five faculty members have won the Nobel Prize, 29 have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, 27 to the National Academy of Engineering, and 23 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. UCSB was elected to the Association of American Universities in 1995.
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos compete in the NCAA Division I Big West Conference. The Gauchos have won NCAA national championships in men's soccer and men's water polo.
History
The predecessor to UCSB, Santa Barbara State College, focused on teacher training, industrial arts, home economics, and foreign languages. Intense lobbying by an interest group in the City of Santa Barbara, led by Thomas Storke and Pearl Chase, persuaded the State Legislature, Governor Earl Warren, and the Regents of the University of California to move the State College over to the more research-oriented University of California system in 1944. The State College system sued to stop the takeover, but the Governor did not support the suit. A state initiative was passed, however, to stop subsequent conversions of State Colleges to University of California campuses.
Originally, the Regents envisioned a small, several thousand-student liberal arts college, a so-called `Williams College of the West,' at Santa Barbara. Chronologically, UCSB is only the third general-education campus of the University of California, after Berkeley and UCLA (the only other state campus to have been acquired by the UC system.) The original campus the Regents acquired in Santa Barbara was located on only one hundred acres of largely unusable land on a seaside mesa, however. The availability of a ex-Marine Base on another seaside mesa in Goleta, which the Regents could acquire for free from the federal government, led to that site becoming the Santa Barbara campus in 1949. Originally, only 3000-3500 students were anticipated, but the post WWII baby boom led to the designation of general campus in 1958, along with a name change from "Santa Barbara College" to "University of California, Santa Barbara," and the discontinuation of the industrial arts program for which the State college was famous. A Chancellor, Samuel B. Gould, was appointed in 1959. All of this change was done in accordance with the California Master Plan for Higher Education. Notable alumni of UCSB include Jack Johnson, Mike Moyer, Keith Williamson, Jason Lezak, Michael Douglas, Aaron Parsons, and Steve Aoki.
UCSB became nationally known as a hotbed of anti-Vietnam War activity in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Other than UC Berkeley, no other California college received as much attention from the national media for its antiwar activities. Events during the era included a bombing at the school's faculty club in 1969 (which killed the caretaker, Dover Sharp), burning of the Bank of America branch building in the student community of Isla Vista, and then Governor Ronald Reagan imposing a curfew and ordering the National Guard to enforce it during the 1971-72 school year. Weapon-carrying guardsmen were a common sight on campus and in Isla Vista during this time. A number of noteworthy anti war speakers made UCSB a key stop on national speaking tours. Among them were Jesse Jackson, Ralph Abernathy, Tom Hayden, Abbie Hoffman, Eldridge Cleaver, Eugene McCarthy, William Kunstler and George McGovern. In a later era, John Anderson, Jesse Jackson, and Hillary Clinton were the Presidential candidates to speak at the school.
UCSB was elected to the Association of American Universities in 1995.
Campus
UCSB is located on cliffs directly above the Pacific Ocean. UCSB's campus has not been annexed by the city of Santa Barbara and thus is not technically part of the city. While it appears closer to the recently formed city of Goleta, a parcel of the City of Santa Barbara that forms a strip of "city" through the ocean to the Santa Barbara airport, runs through the west entrance to the university campus. Although UCSB has a Santa Barbara mailing address, as do other unincorporated areas around the city, only this entry parcel is in the Santa Barbara city limits. Like all other UC and CSU campuses, it is self-governing and cannot be incorporated into either city. The campus is divided into four parts: Main campus (708 acres that houses all academic units plus the majority of Undergraduate housing), Storke campus, West campus and North Campus. The campuses surround the community of Isla Vista.
UCSB is one of a few universities in the United States with its own beach. The campus, bordered on three sides by the Pacific Ocean, has miles of coastline as well as its own lagoon. The campus has numerous walking and bicycle paths across campus, around the lagoon and along the beach.
The Lagoon is a large man-made body of water adjacent to the coastline, between San Rafael and San Miguel Residence Halls. It was created from a former tidal salt marsh flat and is fed by a combination of run-off and ocean water used by the Marine Science Building's aquatic life tanks; thus, it is a unique combination of fresh and salt water. Many of the older campus buildings are being replaced with newer, more modern facilities. The UCSB Libraries, consisting of the Davidson Library and the Arts Library, hold 2.8 million bound volumes and millions of microforms, government documents, manuscripts, maps, satellite and aerial images, sound recordings, and other materials. The 24 Hour Study Room, formerly known as the RBR (Reserved Book Room), is adjacent to the Davidson Library, which is located in the middle of the UCSB campus.
Campbell Hall is the university's largest lecture hall with 860 seats. It is also the main venue for the UCSB Arts and Lectures series, which presents special performances, films, and lectures for the UCSB campus and Santa Barbara community.
Storke Tower, completed in 1969, is the tallest building in Santa Barbara County. It can be seen from most places on campus, it over looks a wide plaza aptly named Storke Plaza. It is home to a five-octave, 61-bell carillon. All UCSB students used to be free to access the top of Storke Tower once they checked out a key from the Visitor's Center, but this program has been put on hold by the fire marshal. KCSB 91.9 broadcasts from beneath Storke Tower.
Academics
UC Santa Barbara is a large, comprehensive, primarily residential doctoral university. The full-time, four-year undergraduate program comprises the majority of enrollments and has an arts & sciences focus with high graduate co-existence. UCSB is organized into five colleges offering 87 undergraduate degrees and 55 graduate degrees. The campus is the 5th-largest in the UC system by enrollment with 18,429 undergraduate and 2,981 graduate students. The university granted 5,442 bachelor's, 576 master's, and 310 Ph.D. degrees in 2006-2007. UC Santa Barbara has three undergraduate colleges: the College of Letters & Science, the College of Engineering, and the College of Creative Studies. The College of Creative Studies offers students an alternative approach to education by allowing them to pursue advanced, independent work in the arts, mathematics, and sciences. The campus also has two professional schools, the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science, located in Bren Hall, and the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education.
Research activity
UCSB hosts 12 National Research Centers, including the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, Southern California Earthquake Center, and the Materials Research Laboratory. Eight of these Centers are supported by the National Science Foundation.
UCSB was selected as one of the first California Institutes for Science and Innovation.
Rankings
Among U.S. universities, UCSB is listed as one of the "public Ivies". Newsweek named UCSB one of "America’s 25 Hottest Colleges of 2005". UCSB was also ranked #59 of the "Top 100 Global Universities" by Newsweek Magazine in 2006. It is the only campus in the state of California to offer an undergraduate B.S. degree in Pharmacology.
Student activities and traditions
The University of California Santa Barbara has a reputation for its "party life". While the Halloween parties in Isla Vista are quite popular among students, the annual tradition has come under fire from school administration in recent years.
UCSB is also a politically active campus. The UCSB Campus Democrats and the UCSB College Republicans are among the most active organizations on campus. Over the years, other political parties and organizations have also been known to be active on campus, such as the Environmental Affairs Board, Green Party, Libertarians, NORML, and the Queer Student Union. Several presidential and vice presidential candidates have visited the campus in recent years, including Hillary Clinton, John B. Anderson and Peter Camejo. The campus has also seen a resurgence of anti-war sentiment among students. In 2006, for example, a massive student anti-war protest shut down Highway 217, adjacent to the campus.
There are a variety of on campus centers offering social, recreational, religious, and preprofessional activities for students. The UCSB Multicultural Center puts on numerous activities every year to support students of color and promote awareness of diversity issues on campus. Other organizations and centers include the Daily Nexus, the campus newspaper, the La Cumbre Yearbook, the school radio station, KCSB 91.9, The Bottom Line, an alternative biweekly newspaper, and the Gaucho Free Press, the campus's conservative magazine. The UCSB Recreation Center also hosts a variety of activities, from Adventure Programs to ballroom dancing classes.
. Further UCSB Hillel offers a space for UCSB's large Jewish Population and a place for Jewish students to come together in a unique building in Isla Vista.
Students socialize at the Arbor, the UCen, the Coral Tree Cafe the Courtyard Cafe and for a special lunch, the Faculty Club.
UCSB is the only UC campus with its own Paramedic Rescue Unit. It is staffed by full-time professional paramedics and part-time undergraduate EMTs.
SexInfo, which was started in 1976 by Professors John and Janice Baldwin, is run by students doing advanced course work and research on sexuality through UCSB's Sociology Department. The site is dedicated to providing accurate information about sexuality in a way that is both informative and personal. SexInfo answers questions sent in by readers from all over the world, as well as regularly updates and posts articles on various topics related to human sexuality. This program helps students getting their degree in psychology.
UCSB is also known for its annual free music festival, Extravaganza. It is held at Harder Stadium in the spring and generally attracts around 8,000 people. Past performers have included Nas, T.I., E-40, Sublime, Run DMC, The Pharcyde, Social Distortion, and Jack Johnson, amongst many others.
Housing
There are 8 residence halls at UCSB, seven of which are located at the Main campus, and one of which, Santa Catalina (Formerly known as Francisco Torres or FT), is located near the entrance to West campus north of Isla Vista.
Santa Catalina has, not only its own dining commons, Portola Dining Commons, but it has a heated swimming pool, two lounges, numerous study rooms, 2 Recreational Rooms, a gym, as well as tennis courts and a huge lawn. Because Santa Catalina is so far off campus it has its own Campus police station as well as housing offices and Res-Net support center.
The Main Campus residence halls are found in two different locations. On the east end of campus are the residence halls named after five of the Channel Islands: Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, San Miguel and San Nicolas. There are two dining commons located near the Channel Islands residence halls. The Ortega Dining Commons is located between San Miguel and the University Center (UCen), and the De La Guerra Dining Commons (better known as DLG) is located between Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and San Nicolas.
The two other residence halls, San Rafael and Manzanita Village, are located on the west side of campus and primarily house continuing and transfer students. The Carrillo Dining Commons is located in Manzanita Village, right next to San Rafael Hall. Manzanita Village was completed in 2002, and is the newest residence hall on campus.
Students may also choose to rent housing in the bordering community of Isla Vista. An estimated average for rent costs is $500–$800 US/month to share a bedroom, and includes trash pickup and water utilities. Low-cost housing is limited, with the cheapest source being the Santa Barbara Student Housing Cooperative.
Other sources of housing include the Greek System, and outlying communities (i.e. Goleta, Santa Barbara, Isla Vista, Montecito). Many students live in Isla Vista, which is immediately adjacent to campus. Isla Vista since the early 1960s has a reputation of being a party environment. UCSB is also affiliated with the Santa Barbara Student Housing Cooperative in Isla Vista, which seeks to provide low rent co-op housing regardless of gender, race, social, political, or religious affiliation, and thereby influencing the community to eliminate prejudice and discrimination in the community.
Athletics
The mascot of UCSB is the Gaucho and the school colors are blue and gold. UCSB's sports teams compete in the Big West Conference, with the exception of the men's and women's water polo teams and the men's volleyball team, which are in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Santa Barbara is best known for its women's basketball and men's soccer teams. In 2006, UCSB won their first NCAA Men's Soccer title and its second overall NCAA championship (1979 water polo) in school history.
Athletics at UCSB is not limited to the Intercollegiate Athletic Department. While there are some 400 students in ICA, there are over 700 in Club Sports Teams including: Alpine Racing, Cycling, Fencing, Field Hockey, Lacrosse, Roller Hockey, Rugby, Sailing, Soccer, Triathlon, Ultimate Frisbee, Water Ski and Rowing. Many of these teams are highly regarded and compete against Intercollegiate teams from across the US. For example Rowing has produced several national team members including Nine-time National Rowing Team member Amy Fuller, winner of several Olympic and World Championship medals and currently head of the UCLA Rowing Program. The UCSB Cycling Team has also produced several national team members, Olympians, and members of numerous US and international professional teams.
Many other hundreds of students participate in a large Intramural program consisting of Badminton, Basketball, Bowling, Flag Football, Golf, Floor Hockey, Indoor and Outdoor Soccer, Racquetball, Squash, Running, Softball, Tennis, Table Tennis, Ultimate Frisbee, Volleyball, Inner tube water polo, and Kickball.
One non-sanctioned sport also draws many student to UCSB: surfing. The on-campus beaches include a number of decent surfing sites, including "Poles," "Campus Point," "Depressions" and "Sands" and "Devereaux Point" on the west campus. Because Campus Beach actually faces South and East, and is shielded by the Santa Barbara Channel Islands, the surf is usually quite small. However, a large North or West swell can wrap in to create great waves which are typically very clean and good for surfing. In the past there has been some informal competition between UCSB surfers and those from other schools, however, it is unknown if this tradition continues.
People
Student body
The Princeton Review rates the University of California, Santa Barbara with an Admission Selectivity of 95 out of 99 points. Admissions is classified as "Most Selective" by U. S. News and World Report, with an SAT score of 1866, and an SAT score of 1775 in the entering class of Fall 2007. Fall 2008 admitted class had a mean GPA of 4.03. The entering class had a mean GPA of 3.84. The application fee is $60. Applications can be completed on the Internet. 25% of admitted students receive federal Pell grants.
Faculty
The faculty of UCSB have received five Nobel Prizes since 1998, for landmark research in chemistry, physics, and economics. In addition, 25 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 24 members of the National Academy of Engineering, and 21 members of the Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- Walter Holden Capps (1934-1997) — also known as Walter H. Capps — Democrat. Political Science professor. U.S. Representative from California 22nd District, 1997; (defeated, 1994) died in office 1997. Wife Lois G. Capps took over his office after his death.
- Kip Fulbeck, internationally recognized Professor of Art, author, and artist exploring Hapa identity
- Michael Frank Goodchild, Professor of Geography, winner of the 2007 Lauréat Prix International de Géographie Vautrin Lud, the Nobel Prize of Geography
- David J. Gross, Director of the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics and 2004 Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics.
- Alan J. Heeger, Professor of Physics and of Materials and 2000 Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry.
- Immanuel C.Y. Hsu, sinologist and Emeritus Professor of History
- Jacob Israelachvili, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Departments, Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of London, 1988.
- Walter Kohn, Founding director, Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, Research Professor of Physics and 1998 Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry.
- Herbert Kroemer, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and of Materials and 2000 Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics.
- Finn E. Kydland, Professor of Economics and 2004 Nobel Prize Laureate in Economics.
- J. Gordon Melton, Founding director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion; expert in American Religions and New Religious Movements
- William W. Murdoch, Charles A. Storke II professor of population ecology, recipient of the 1990 Robert H. MacArthur Award, and AAAS Fellow known for his research in population regulation, biological control, and predator-prey relationships
- Shuji Nakamura, Japanese inventor of the bright green, white and blue GaN LEDs and a blue laser. In 2006, Nakamura received the Millennium Technology Prize from the Finnish Government.
- John Nathan, Takashima Professor of Japanese Cultural Studies and Emmy-award winning director of several documentaries
- Galen D. Stucky, E. Khashoggi Industries, LLC Professor in Letters and Science, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Materials Departments and is one of the most highly-cited materials scientists in the world.
Famous Alumni
- Robert Ballard - 1965, Oceanographer, Discovered Titanic wreckage.
- Michael Douglas - 1968, Actor/Producer
- Jim Rome - 1986, ESPN sports commentator
- Josh Elliott - ESPN sports commentator
- Jack Johnson - 1997, Musician
- Don Hertzfeldt - 1998, Animated Filmmaker
- Jason Lezak - 1999, Swimmer
- Harvey Levin- Attorney and host for "The People's Court" and Founder of TMZ
- Brandon Baker - Actor
- Brian Shaw - former NBA basketball player (Celtics, Magic, Heat, Lakers) and assistant coach
- Mark Andrew Smith - Graphic Novelist
- Charissa Thompson - reporter for Fox Sports and Big Ten Network
- Joseph C. Wilson - former U.S. diplomat
- Michael Young - perennial all star major league shortstop
- Craig Wilson - U.S. Olympic Water Polo Goalie 1984-1992 Olympics
- Joseph Acaba - 1990 Astronaut on Space Shuttle
- Peggy Oki - the only female member of the historic Z-Boys skate team
External links
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