November 8, 2004
Monterey Institute of International Studies,
UCSC delay merger
In a joint statement issued on November 2, Monterey Institute
President Steven J. Baker and UCSC Acting Chancellor Martin
M. Chemers announced that severe limitations in state funding
preclude incorporation of the Monterey Institute of International
Studies into the University of California at this time.
However, they reaffirmed through a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) a shared intent to continue advancing feasible collaborations
that will benefit students of the two institutions. Among other
points, the MOU reflects interim steps for creating academic
program affiliation and articulation agreements between the
Monterey Institute and UCSC.
“There are several areas of distinction at the Monterey
Institute that align favorably with programs at UC Santa Cruz,”
noted Chemers. “During the past months of serious analysis
of the potential for a formal affiliation, a number of examples
for mutual partnership have emerged, and we expect to pursue
them to the extent possible, even without the additional funding
that would be required for a full-scale merger.” As one
example, UCSC's strengths in international economics and leadership
in research on social justice issues suggest opportunities to
pursue with the Monterey Institute's Fisher Graduate School
of International Business and the Graduate School of International
Policy Studies.
Commenting on the MOU, Baker said, “The effort to bring
the Monterey Institute and the University of California closer
has underscored the many assets and positive contributions of
each organization. Although I would welcome a chance to integrate
our two institutions, the state's fiscal crisis makes that impossible
at this time.” With Chemers, Baker emphasized that the
two institutions will continue to work together, stating, “Genuine
opportunities remain to amplify the achievements of our individual
campuses through a close working partnership, and we owe it
to our students and to our society to make the most of these
prospects.”
The concept of possible incorporation of the Monterey Institute
of International Studies into the University of California,
with UCSC as the lead campus, was first proposed in April 2003.
Chester Haskell and M.R.C. Greenwood, at the time the Institute's
president and the UCSC chancellor respectively, launched an
effort to explore the academic and financial feasibility of
integrating the Monterey Institute into the University of California.
Situated on 5.2 acres in downtown Monterey, California, the
Monterey Institute of International Studies comprises four separate
graduate schools: translation and interpretation, language teaching,
international business, and international public policy. These
schools are augmented by three major research centers: the Center
for Nonproliferation Studies, the Center for East Asian Studies,
and the Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies. Total enrollment
at the Institute is approximately 700, with enrollment this
past spring semester reaching the highest spring semester figure
in its 49-year history.
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