University of California Davis

The University of California, Davis is a public research university and one of the 10 campuses of the University of California system. Located in Davis, California, just west of Sacramento, it encompasses 7,309 acres of land, making it the largest UC campus in terms of land ownership.UC Davis also has the third-largest enrollment in the UC System after UCLA and UC Berkeley. The Carnegie Foundation classifies UC Davis as a comprehensive doctoral research university with a medical program, and very high research activity.The UC Davis faculty includes 23 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 25 members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 17 members of the American Law Institute, 14 members of the Institute of Medicine, and 14 members of the National Academy of Engineering. Among other honors, university faculty, alumni, and researchers have won the Nobel Peace Prize, Presidential Medal of Freedom, Pulitzer Prize, MacArthur Fellowship, National Medal of Science, Blue Planet Prize, and Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering.The university has expanded over the past century to include graduate and professional programs in medicine which includes the UC Davis Medical Center law, veterinary medicine, education, nursing, and business management, in addition to 90 research programs offered by UC Davis Graduate Studies. The UC Davis's School of Veterinary Medicine is the largest in the United States and is ranked first in the nation.The 2016 U.S. News & World Report college rankings named UC Davis as tied for the 11th best public university and tied for 41st overall in the U.S.UC Davis is one of 62 members in the Association of American Universities.The UC Davis Aggies athletic teams compete in the NCAA Division I level, primarily in the Big West Conference as well as the Big Sky Conference football only and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. In its first year of full Division I status, 11 UC Davis teams qualified for NCAA post-season competition.                              
                                      In 1905, the California legislature passed the University Farm Bill, which called for the establishment of a farm school for the University of California at the time, Berkeley was the sole campus of the university.The commission took a year to select a site for the campus, a tiny town then known as Davisville.UC, Davis opened its doors as the University Farm to 40 degree students from UC Berkeley in January 1909. The farm had begun accepting students in non-degree farmers' short courses in October 1908; around 115 men attended.The Farm was established largely the result of the vision and perseverance of Peter J. Shields, secretary of the State Agricultural Society. The Peter J. Shields Library at UC Davis was named in his honor. Shields began to champion the cause of a University Farm to teach agriculture after learning that California students were going to out-of-state universities to pursue such education.