Pros
Faculty colleagues are incredible, dynamic, creative people, always going well beyond what is required to help build the first research university in California's Central Valley. There is a pioneering spirit at UC Merced that infuses all elements of faculty life: research, teaching, and service. The low teaching load gives you plenty of time to work on research. Low cost of living means that faculty salaries will actually enable you to buy a nice house and live well.
Cons
Senior administration used to be very poor but has recently gone through a huge turnover. Faculty salaries do not even begin to do justice to the number of hours faculty actually work. Students are not always prepared to be at a UC campus. Infrastructure can be shoddy at times, e.g., power failures in buildings that house research equipment.