The campus of the University of California, Santa Cruz is an ideal place to hold an NEH Summer Seminar for Teachers. The campus is situated in the hills at the north end of Monterey Bay, within easy driving distance of the San Francisco Bay Area and major airports. The climate in summer is mild with cool, misty mornings and bright afternoons. The campus is a very active place in the summer with many other conferences, institutes and a summer session.
Participants will have access to the UCSC McHenry Library, which contains over a million volumes and access to major electronic databases. In addition, participants will have access to the full resources of UC inter-campus libraries via Inter Library Loan. Library summer hours for 2011 are still to be determined.
In addition to the seminar meeting room, the participants will have access to a common study room in the same building, where they will be able to access the internet and e-mail.
Access to the UCSC fitness facilities can be arranged for a fee via the Office of Physical Education, Recreation, and Sports (OPERS). Facilities include a state of the art gym with views of the Monterey Bay peninsula, tennis courts, and an Olympic pool.
Housing
A staff coordinator will assist participants with finding housing. We are generally able to house all of our participants in sublet on-campus faculty apartments and houses, on a shared basis. If desired, we can also assist participants in finding housing off-campus, but summer rentals in Santa Cruz are often relatively expensive. We will introduce the participants to one another in April (virtually), and you will be able to choose your roommates.
For those with their own cars, parking is available at the sublet apartment or house. For those dependent upon public transport, the good news is that Santa Cruz has a relatively robust (by California standards) public transit system. There is regular bus service between the campus and the city of Santa Cruz at every 15 minutes in summer. The closest is San Jose International Airport, 45 minutes drive time. San Francisco International Airport is approximately two hours by car from Santa Cruz.