University of California, Santa Barbara

History

UCSB traces its origins back to the Anna Blake School which was founded in 1891 and offered training in home economics and industrial arts. The Anna Blake School was taken over by the state in 1909 and became the Santa Barbara State Normal School, which then became the Santa Barbara State College in 1921. In 1944 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. The State College system sued to stop the takeover, but the Governor did not support the suit. A state initiative was passed, however, in 1946 to stop subsequent conversions of State Colleges to University of California campuses. From 1944 to 1958 the school was known as Santa Barbara College of the University of California, before taking on its current name. When the vacated Marine Corps training station in Goleta was purchased for the rapidly growing college, Santa Barbara City College moved into the vacated State College buildings.

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 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 100 acres (40 ha) of largely unusable land on a seaside mesa. The availability of a 400-acre (160 ha) portion of the land used as Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara until 1946 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.

In 1959, UCSB professor Douwe Stuurman hosted the English writer Aldous Huxley as the university's first visiting professor. Huxley delivered a lectures series called "The Human Situation".

In the late 1960s and early 1970s UCSB became nationally known as a hotbed of anti-Vietnam War activity. A bombing at the school's faculty club in 1969 killed the caretaker, Dover Sharp. In the spring 1970 multiple occasions of arson occurred, including a burning of the Bank of America branch building in the student community of Isla Vista, during which time one male student, Kevin Moran, was shot and killed by police. UCSB's anti-Vietnam activity impelled then Governor Ronald Reagan to impose a curfew and order the National Guard to enforce it. Weapon-carrying guardsmen were a common sight on campus and in Isla Vista during this time.

In 1995, UCSB was elected to the Association of American Universities, an organization of leading research universities, with a membership consisting of 59 universities in the United States (both public and private) and two universities in Canada.

On May 23, 2014, a killing spree occurred in Isla Vista, California, a community in close proximity of the campus. All six people killed during the rampage were students at UCSB. The murderer was a former Santa Barbara City College student who lived in Isla Vista.

Provosts and chancellors

Santa Barbara State College was under the supervision of a President, but in 1944, when it became a campus of the University of California, the title of the chief executive was changed to Provost. In September 1958, the Regents of the University of California established Santa Barbara as a general University campus and at the official title of the chief executive was changed to Chancellor. UCSB's first Provost was thus Clarence L. Phelps, while UCSB's first Chancellor was Samuel B. Gould.

Campus

UCSB is located on cliffs directly above the Pacific Ocean. UCSB's campus is completely autonomous from local government and has not been annexed by the city of Santa Barbara and thus is not 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. The campus is divided into four parts: Main (East) Campus 708 acres (287 ha) that houses all academic units plus the majority of undergraduate housing, Storke Campus, West Campus and North Campus. The campuses surround the unincorporated 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, its own lagoon, and the rocky extension, Goleta Point, which is also known as "Campus Point". The campus has numerous walking and bicycle paths across campus, around the lagoon and along the beach. It owns and manages Coal Oil Point nature preserve on the West Campus.

Much of the campus's early architecture was designed by famed architect William Pereira and his partner Charles Luckman, and made heavy use of custom tinted and patterned concrete block. This design element was carried over into many of the school's subsequent buildings.

The Lagoon is a large 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 more than 3 million bound volumes and millions of microforms, government documents, manuscripts, maps, satellite and aerial images, sound recordings, and other materials. Situated at the center of campus, the UCSB Library will break ground on a significant addition and renovation project in June 2013.

Campbell Hall is the university's largest lecture hall with 862 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, and it overlooks Storke Plaza. It is home to a five-octave, 61-bell carillon. KCSB 91.9 and the Daily Nexus have headquarters beneath Storke Tower.

The UCSB Family Vacation Center founded in 1969, is a summer family camp located on campus that draws over 2,000 guests each summer. The staff of over 50 includes many UCSB students who have been extensively trained as camp counselors.

Layout

The university (itself termed a campus of the University of California) is divided into two physical campuses, a West Campus and East Campus. The vast majority of university facilities, including all lecture halls and laboratories, are in the East Campus. The two campuses are connected by a large strip (known as the North and Storke Campuses) to the north which contain university housing and athletic fields. Thus, the university surrounds Isla Vista on three sides. West Campus, aside from a few buildings dedicated to faculty housing, has largely been leased out to private organizations, and includes a school for the disabled (part of the Devereux Foundation) and a large nature preserve, the Coal Oil Point Reserve. The largest sand dunes on the south-facing coast of the Santa Barbara Channel are located here.

The East Campus centers around two quadrangles, separated from each other by the main library and bus circle, and the life sciences buildings. In the East side of Campus, the Davidson Library is currently under renovation. The renovation involves a three story building addition and remodeling of the original two-story building. The new library is scheduled to open in December 2015. Along the western quad are Storke Plaza and buildings housing the various arts, social sciences, and humanities departments. The Student Resource Building and the Events Center are also located along this quad. Surrounding the wider, park-like eastern quad are buildings housing the physical sciences departments and the College of Engineering. Directly to the south of, but not adjacent to, the eastern quad are the life sciences and psychology departments, as well as most of the on-campus housing. The southernmost section of the campus is dominated by the lagoon. The peninsula extending from the beach into the lagoon contains a labyrinth.

Bicycles

UCSB is known for its extensive biking system. A recent survey says that 53 percent of UCSB students get around by cycling. Bicycles have exclusive right of way on a series of specifically designated paths throughout East Campus. Bicycle stands and lockers are ubiquitous. UCSB is unique among bicycle-heavy areas in that most travel is done within a small radius.

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 and schools offering 87 undergraduate degrees and 55 graduate degrees. The campus is the 6th-largest in the UC system by enrollment with 18,620 undergraduate and 3,065 graduate students. In 2015, UCSB was designated a Hispanic-Serving Institution.

Admissions

Admission to UC Santa Barbara is rated as "most selective" by U.S. News & World Report.

UC Santa Barbara received 77,114 applications for admission to the Fall 2016 incoming freshman class; 27,648 were admitted (35.9%). Admitted freshmen had an average fully weighted high school GPA of 4.23, and an average cumulative SAT score of 1975.

Research activity

According to the National Science Foundation, UC Santa Barbara spent $236.5 million on research and development in fiscal 2013, ranking it 87th in the nation.

From 2005 to 2009, UCSB was ranked fourth in terms of relative citation impact in the U.S. (behind MIT, Caltech, and Princeton University) according to Thomson Reuters.

UCSB hosts 12 National Research Centers, including the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, the Southern California Earthquake Center, the UCSB Center for Spatial Studies, an affiliate of the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis, and the California Nanosystems Institute. Eight of these centers are supported by the National Science Foundation. UCSB is also home to Microsoft Station Q, a research group working on topological quantum computing where American mathematician and Fields Medalist Michael Freedman is the director.

Teaching and degrees

The focus of the University of California is on research. Like all University of California campuses, UCSB prioritizes academic development over vocational learning. Undergraduate teaching is centered on lectures, with larger lecture classes having sections. Sections may be tutorial style, or they may be set up as seminars or discussions. For undergraduates, UCSB confers both BA and BS degrees. Music majors may pursue a Bachelor of Music degree. Graduate teaching involves seminar style classes and an emphasis on research and further study. UCSB confers MA, MS, and PhD degrees. Those studying music may pursue a MM or DMA degree. Students pursuing a career in education may receive a MEd or EdD degree. The university granted 5,812 bachelors, 578 masters, and 354 PhD degrees in 2010–2011.

Rankings

UCSB is considered to be a "Public Ivy". The 2016 edition of U.S. News & World Report ranked UC Santa Barbara as tied for the 37th best university (and 8th best public university) in the United States. UCSB also placed 6th among public universities in its list of colleges and universities that offer students the best education value. Money Magazine ranked UC Santa Barbara 93rd in the country out of the nearly 1500 schools it evaluated for its 2015 Best Colleges ranking. The Daily Beast ranked UC Santa Barbara 40th in the country out of the nearly 2000 schools it evaluated for its 2013 Best Colleges ranking. In 2015 Kiplinger ranked UCSB 16th out of the top 100 best-value public colleges and universities in the nation, and 3rd in California. UC Santa Barbara was ranked 17th in the United States by Payscale and CollegeNet's Social Mobility Index college rankings.

Research impact rankings

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked UCSB 48th worldwidefor 2016-17 while the Academic Ranking of World Universities(ARWU) in 2016 ranked UCSB 42nd in the world, 28th in the nation, and in 2015 tied for 17th worldwide in engineering.

In the United States National Research Council rankings of graduate programs, 10 UCSB departments were ranked in the top ten in the country: Materials, Chemical Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Marine Science Institute, Geography, History, and Theater and Dance. Among U.S. university Materials Science and Engineering programs, UCSB was ranked first in each measure of a study by the National Research Council of the NAS

The Centre for Science and Technologies Studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands ranked UCSB as the 7th best research university in the world based on Mean normalized citation score (MNCS), and as the 2nd best in the world based on the proportion of the publications to the top 10% most frequently cited.

The Global Research Report: United States published by Thomson Reuters in November 2010 rated UCSB's research 4th nationally in citation impact.

Among U.S. university economics programs, in 2010 UCSB was ranked the 6th for experimental economics, 3rd for environmental economics, and 12th for cognitive and behavioral economics by RePEc.

Washington Monthly, whose ranking focuses on public service and research impact, named UCSB as the 17th best national university in 2016.

Other rankings

In the United States National Research Council rankings of graduate programs, 10 UCSB departments were ranked in the top ten in the country: Materials, Chemical Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Marine Science Institute, Geography, History, and Theater and Dance.

U.S. News & World Report 's 2016 rankings placed UCSB's graduate programs in Materials Engineering and Chemical Engineering the 2nd and 9th best in the U.S., respectively; graduate school Physics was ranked 10th best, including the 5th best program for Condensed Matter Physics, 7th best program for Quantum Physics, the 7th best program for Elementary Particles/Field/String Theory, and 8th best program for Cosmology/Relativity/Gravity. In terms of the social sciences, UCSB's graduate program in Sociology is ranked 1st for research in sex and gender and the History department is ranked 7th for women's history.

UCSB's Department of Communication was recognized as top in the nation based on data from the National Research Council’s study. Several areas in UCSB's Department of Communication have been Ranked Best in Nation by the National Communication Association. Specifically, UCSB's Department of Communication has been ranked number 1 in the nation for Interpersonal and Small Group Communication, number 1 in the nation for Intercultural/International Communication, number 2 in the nation Organizational Communication, number 4 in the nation for Communication and Technology, and number 17 in the nation for Mass Communication. UCSB's Department of Communication has been ranked No. 3 in the nation in terms of research productivity, according to a recent analysis of scholarly articles that have appeared in eight academic journals sponsored by the National Communication Association and the International Communication Association. In addition, UCSB's Department of Communication has been named One of the Top High Impact Departments in the nation.

Webometrics ranked UCSB 87th worldwide in its July 2014 ranking. In 2015 QS World University Rankings ranked UCSB 129th in the world.

Forbes magazine ranked the university 114th in the nation (and 50th best research university) in July 2016. This ranking focuses mainly on net positive financial impact, in contrast to other rankings, and generally ranks liberal arts colleges above most research universities.

PayScale’s 2015-16 College Salary Report (ranking universities in terms of graduates’ salary potential), UCSB came in first in computer science 7th in engineering, 14th in Humanities and 30th in Social Sciences.

UCSB was ranked 3rd in The Princeton Review's 2015 list of top party schools.

Organization

Santa Barbara is one of the ten major campuses affiliated with the University of California. The University of California is governed by a 26-member Board of Regents, 18 of which are appointed by the Governor of California to 12-year terms, 7 serving as ex officio members, and a single student regent. The position of Chancellor was created in 1952 to lead individual campuses. The Board of Regents appointed Henry T. Yang to be the 5th Chancellor of the university in 1994.

Colleges and schools

UC Santa Barbara has three 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 supporting advanced, independent work in the arts, mathematics, and sciences. The campus also has two professional schools, the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, located in Bren Hall, and the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education.

Institutes and programs

Founded in 1973, the Institute for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research (ISBER), originally the Community and Organization Research Institute (CORI), is the research unit for work in the social sciences. In 1990 it absorbed the Social Process Research Institute (SPRI), and its work now includes the humanities.

In February 2015, UCSB opened The Confucius Institute on campus, one of about 400 installments located around the world. It will be aimed at promoting the study of Chinese language, culture, history, science, politics, and economics.

Academic year

The university runs on a quarter system. There are three terms in the normal academic year: fall, winter, and spring, as well as a summer term. At the beginning of each term, there are one to three days of Pre-instructional Activities, where faculty meet to discuss instructional plans. During this period, students acquaint themselves to the campus and have the opportunity to take placement tests. At the end of each term, one week is devoted to final exams and special academic activities. There are 146 days of instruction, with a minimum of 48 per term.

Social

UCSB is a politically active campus. For the 2008 presidential election, UCSB won a national college competition for student voter registration by registering 10857 voters, or 51.5% of the student population. Over the years, many political parties and organizations have been known to be active on campus, such as the College Republicans, Campus Democrats, Green Party, Libertarians, NORML, and the Queer Student Union.

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, a daily newspaper, the La Cumbre Yearbook, the school radio station, KCSB 91.9, The Bottom Line, a weekly 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 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-D.M.C., The Pharcyde, Social Distortion, Jack Johnson, Drake and Snoop Dogg amongst many others.

The Nu chapter of Phrateres, a non-exclusive, non-profit social-service club, was installed here in 1939. Between 1924 and 1967, 23 chapters of Phrateres were installed in universities across North America.

Housing

There are eight residence halls at UCSB, seven of which are located at the main campus. One, Santa Catalina, is located near the entrance to West Campus north of Isla Vista.

Santa Catalina has its own dining commons, Portola Dining Commons, as well as a heated swimming pool, two lounges, numerous study rooms, two recreational rooms, a gym, as well as tennis courts and an expansive lawn. Because Santa Catalina is nearly 1 mi (1.6 km) 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 (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.

In addition, the university also has four housing complexes for graduate students and their families: San Clemente Villages for single graduate students, Santa Ynez Apartments, El Dorado Apartments, Westgate Apartments, and family student housing: West Campus Apartments and the Storke Apartment complexes. There is also Faculty Housing at the West Campus Point and new construction underway at the North Campus. The Sierra Madre Villages, located by the West Campus Apartments, was completed in September 2015 and was the first residential complex certified as LEED platinum throughout the entire UC system. UC Santa Barbara is the only campus in the UC system with any "LEED for Homes" certifications.

Private residence halls are also available to UCSB students. Tropicana Del Norte, located directly adjacent to the Main Campus, houses UCSB students in 51 furnished suites and has an on-site dining hall and heated pool.

Students may also choose to rent housing in the bordering community of Isla Vista. An estimated average for rent costs is US$500–$800/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). Some 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.

Services

There are a number of academic resources offered by the university, including a writing center, open computer labs, a machine shop, a career and counseling center, and drop-in academic advising.

A large Recreation Center provides classes and facilities for students and faculty. The Center has swimming pools, racquetball courts, a rock wall, and exercise machines. The University Center has facilities for meetings and presentations, and also contains a bookstore, restaurants, and a cashier.

UCSB has a health clinic. Students with ailments or seeking medical assistance may consult a physician at the clinic. The clinic also offers basic health care and provides emergency medicine and contraceptives. The university 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.

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 water polo, men's and women's swimming, and the men's volleyball teams, 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.

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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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.

Surfing also draws many students to UCSB. 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. UCSB has a surf team that competes in NSSA (National Scholastic Surfing Association) competitions, and is generally considered one of the best in the nation. They continued their reputation by winning a record 14th National Title at the college level in 2010's finals.

Notable faculty

Current UCSB faculty have received several prestigious awards, including six Nobel Prizes and a Fields Medal. In addition, there are 29 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 27 members of the National Academy of Engineering, and 31 members of the Academy of Arts and Sciences on the faculty.

Notable alumni

UC Santa Barbara alumni have become notable in many varied fields, both academic and otherwise. Carol Greider, who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2009) graduated from the College of Creative Studies with a B.A. in biology in 1983. Robert Ballard, oceonographer who discovered the RMS Titanic in 1985 graduated from UCSB in 1965 with a degree in chemistry and geology. Actors who have studied at UCSB include Academy Award-winner Michael Douglas who received a B.A. in drama in 1968 and who is Honorary President of the UCSB Alumni Association, and Gwyneth Paltrow who studied anthropology before dropping out to act. Filmmakers who have studied at UCSB include Academy Award nominee Don Hertzfeldt who received a B.A. in Film Studies in 1998, and Gavin Garrison, who received a B.A. in Global Studies in 2007 and now produces the Emmy-nominated television show Whale Wars. Musicians who have attended include Robby Krieger, guitarist in The Doors, singer-songwriter Jack Johnson and electro house musician Steve Aoki. Chairman of the Oracle Corporation, Jeffrey O. Henley, graduated with a B.A. in Economics in 1966, while Knut Vollebæk, former Foreign minister of Norway, graduated with a degree in Political Science in 1973. Athletes who have studied at UCSB include swimmer and four-time Olympic Gold medalist Jason Lezak and basketball player Brian Shaw who is currently head coach of the Denver Nuggets. Elizabeth Wagmeister of Page Six TV and Variety graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications in 2012.