You can say we knew Carol Tomlinson-Keasey when, now that she is the first chancellor of the fledgling UC Merced campus. The former UC Davis administrator will be leading what university officials believe will be the first new U.S. research university of the 21st century, as well as the first new University of California campus since 1965 and the first in the San Joaquin Valley. Tomlinson-Keasey, vice provost for academic initiatives in the UC Office of the President, was selected as the founding chancellor of the Merced campus by UC President Richard Atkinson July 15. Acting on Atkinson's recommendation, the UC Board of Regents appointed Tomlinson-Keasey, a developmental psychologist and longtime UC faculty member and administrator, to the post effective Aug. 1. The new chancellor will begin recruiting her senior faculty and administrative staff immediately. "Carol Tomlinson-Keasey is an innovator, a highly respected academic leader and an individual with an unwavering commitment to the new campus," Atkinson said. "She stood out in a field of 100 superb candidates. Her extensive knowledge of the UC system and her experience as an early pioneer in the development of UC Merced make her uniquely qualified to serve as the founding chancellor of the first new University of California campus in nearly 40 years." Tomlinson-Keasey has served since 1997 as the university's first systemwide vice provost for academic initiatives, and was named by Atkinson to direct the planning efforts for UC Merced on April 2, 1998. In that dual role, she has served both as the leader of new-campus development and as the individual responsible for directing the development of new academic programs throughout the UC system. As systemwide vice provost, Tomlinson-Keasey has overseen the creation of the California Digital Library and establishment of new part-time professional degree programs. She has also coordinated planning for UC's academic programs in Washington, D.C. Previously Tomlinson-Keasey served as vice provost for academic planning and personnel at Davis from 1995 to early 1997, dean of the College of Letters and Science from 1994 to 1995 and vice provost for faculty relations from 1992 to 1994. She was a professor at UC Riverside from 1980 to 1992 and has held faculty positions at Rutgers University and the University of Nebraska. Tomlinson-Keasey said of her appointment, "In my 20 years at UC, I have come to respect the university in all of its facets. I have watched the transformation of our young people as they matriculate. I have seen the benefits of our research in every sphere. I have been part of the commitment to public service. I am pleased and humbled by this chance to develop and lead UC Merced." As chancellor, Tomlinson-Keasey will preside over the new UC Merced campus when it opens in 2005 with a combined enrollment of 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The campus is expected to grow by about 800 full-time students each year. The main campus, with vistas of the Sierra Nevada, will be part of an 11,000-acre planned community northeast of the city of Merced. UC Merced will have strong engineering and science programs. The new campus will serve as a "hub" for a program of distributed education throughout the San Joaquin Valley, with centers located in Modesto, Merced, Fresno, Bakersfield and possibly other locations to be determined in the future. In appointing Tomlinson-Keasey as UC Merced chancellor, regents approved an annual salary of $225,000. Like other UC chancellors, she will be provided with a home by the university to serve as a personal residence and as a site for university-related events and for entertaining distinguished visitors to the campus.