UC Merced, the youngest college of the University of California system and the first American research institution in the twenty-first century, opened on September 5, 2005. The campus, which is located near Yosemite National Park, greatly extends access to the UC system for students throughout the state, with a particular focus on increasing college attendance for learners in the San Joaquin Valley. It also acts as a major center for applied research, a paradigm of environmentally friendly architecture and development, and a catalyst for regional economic development and diversification. Among the projects won is the Merced 2020 Project, a worth $1.3 billion public-private initiative to increase teaching, academic, living, sporting, and commercial space on campus. This institution is growing fast and becoming a center of excellence in USA.
