Volume 30 · Number 2 · Winter 2013
Letters: From the editor
Living through a home remodeling project some years ago changed forever the way I looked at walls. Structures that appeared permanent to me — indeed had held up the roof of my little house for close to six decades — were infinitely changeable in the eyes of the architect and builders. In less than a day, kitchen, dining and bedroom walls were gone — making way for the addition in the following months of new living space for our growing family.
UC Davis is continually building to meet the ever-changing needs of its family of more than 32,000 students and 23,500 faculty and staff — still living up to the old joke that the campus’s initials stand for Under Construction Daily. Alumni don’t need to have been gone for very many years to be startled by the transformation in their alma mater. The view from my Mrak Hall office has dramatically changed in just a decade; through my window, I can see King Hall’s new east wing and, rising behind that, the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. Nearly every corner of campus has undergone similar alterations in scenery — and more changes are on the way.
What will UC Davis look like in another 10 to 20 years? In this issue of UC Davis Magazine, we explore the future that is already taking shape. That future will certainly involve more construction, as the feature “Museum Builder” describes, but many forthcoming changes go far beyond walls. Even a new art museum may use walls in a new way — not just as structures to hold the roof up — but as a potential art medium, a place possibly to project art. Faculty, in designing courses for their students, are thinking beyond the physical classroom too. In “Classroom to Go," professors talk about how they are using multimedia and online tools in teaching classes. And “Thinking Forward,” assembles a visionary campus panel to forecast what the college experience will be like for Aggies of tomorrow.
If you get the chance, come see for yourself how much of UC Davis has changed — and get your own glimpse of the future. Finalists’ designs for the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art will be on view at Nelson Hall from Feb. 8 to March 1, and Picnic Day is April 20. If you aren’t able to visit in person, consider joining the 54,000-plus followers of UC Davis’ Facebook page for a virtual reunion. After all, the key component in building UC Davis — past, present and future — is far more enduring than bricks, glass and steel: It’s Aggie Pride.
Go Ags!
Kathleen Holder
Managing editor