Pros
The faculty for the most part are vibrant, compassionate and wonderful to work. Students enthusiastic, respectful and full of promise. The benefits are generous.
Cons
For three painstaking years I was employed at UCM humiliated, abuse and beaten down unmercifully by management unchecked. HR provides little refuge to bullied employees choosing to turn a blind eye. I personally did not witness adequate training to management or upper management that would direct appropriate conduct or supervisory skills. As a result, support staff endures horrendous abuse as management misuses their power rudely, arrogantly and abusively to staff and students. Rumor has it an employee in the academics committed suicide as a result of his daily abuse from a director unchecked even though several employees filed formal complaints with HR seeking assistance and personally I wouldn't doubt it. I worked in Student Affairs, a division I absolutely adored while employed at a well established UC campus position where I excelled in my career under the highest standards of professionalism. The biggest mistake of my life was transferring to UCM. I worked under the most arrogant manager. My duties included monitoring the department's actions to ensure compliance guidelines were inline with UC policies and procedures and I did so without hesitation. With little to do with my work performance or expertise, this pompous manager actually had the nerve to tell me there was something most irritating about my personality but realized it had to be a part of his personality he disliked. I suspect he didn't like being informed that he was constantly managing out of compliance nor that I had the nerve to tell him so. Another manager I worked under lied straight faced to lay blame for her utter and complete incompetency on me. When the outcome caught upper management's attention, they refused to hear the reality of the situation and defended her lies. Later I know they regretted their blind support as it may have cost the UC a rather sizable liability lawsuit. It is my opinion UC Merced is the dumping grounds for other campuses' misfits looking for opportunity they might not otherwise have from their previous UC employer due to their bullying nature and incompetency. You want to work for a UC? Pick one well established campus and steer clear of UCM.
