Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi today (May 20) announced plans to create an advisory group of deans, faculty, staff and students to help UC Davis explore the academic program for a possible new campus in Sacramento.

Katehi first mentioned the idea of a third campus in her annual State of the Campus presentation to the Academic Senate in February. At that time, she said the campus would emphasize UC Davis’ commitment to education, research, clinical and policy aspirations with a focus on food, health and the environment.

“Because of our location, history and expertise, UC Davis is in a unique position to be an even greater positive source for California state government and policy than we have been in the past,” Katehi said in announcing her plans to create the advisory group to help crystallize the vision for a third campus.

“To take full advantage of that opportunity and raise the profile and reputation of the entire university, we have been thinking for some time about developing a third campus somewhere in Sacramento,” she said. “The time is now right to begin moving forward with this process.”

Sacramento offers a plethora of opportunities — a perfect nexus for UC Davis’ strengths and outreach capacities in health and food. With proximity to the state Capitol, important state government partners and industry leaders, the city provides access to further engage communities that interact with both the UC Davis Health System and Davis campus.

Katehi said she would like the advisory group to share its ideas and visions for a third campus based on three activities and ideas that best fit UC Davis’ strengths and priorities:

• A policy orientation to help enhance the university’s role in influencing state policy that serves the long-term environmental, economic, scientific and social imperatives for the state of California.
• An emphasis on food and health, as these are areas the university specializes in and are of greater importance than ever before.
• A clinical activities and outreach focus that promotes healthy living and wellness as prevention becomes a greater imperative for our nation’s health care system.

Early media reports have speculated that the campus might be built in the abandoned railyard in downtown Sacramento and that the new World Food Center at UC Davis would be an anchor tenant, but Katehi stressed that no location or exact makeup of the campus have been chosen.

In fact, the concept of a third campus for UC Davis that will bring together policy, education and outreach at the nexus of food and health will be part of a long-range strategy that will require the acquisition of dedicated resources and development of partnerships. In addition to this effort and as part of our other plans the university continues our conversations with city officials about opportunities for further growth in Davis.

“We are just getting started on what will be a comprehensive and deliberative process,” Katehi said. “We want to hear what vision members of the advisory committee have, and then we want to engage the broader UC Davis community in a very substantive and detailed conversation about how best to proceed.”

Katehi said she will name members of the advisory committee in the coming days, and that she wants it to also recommend a plan on “an appropriate consultative process with the broader UC Davis community, both in Davis and Sacramento.”

The advisory group will be asked to report back to her with its ideas for the campus by Sept. 30, so the communitywide discussion can begin at the start of the next academic year.

Follow Dateline UC Davis on Twitter.