Amazing colleagues, pioneering culture
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.
