Big Ten Academic Alliance Welcomes UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington

The Big Ten Academic Alliance is excited to welcome the University of California Los Angeles
(UCLA), the University of Southern California (USC), the University of Oregon, and the University of
Washington into the nation's premier consortium of leading research universities. For over 65
years, the world-class institutions of the Big Ten have advanced their academic missions,
generated unique opportunities for students and faculty, and served the common good by sharing
expertise, leveraging campus resources, and collaborating on innovative programs.

The addition of UCLA, USC, Oregon, and Washington marks the Big Ten Academic Alliance’s fourth
expansion, with the most recent being the addition of the University of Maryland and Rutgers
University in July 2013. It increases Big Ten Academic Alliance membership to the 18 institutions of
the Big Ten Conference, and a historic affiliation with the University of Chicago.

"We are thrilled to welcome UCLA, USC, Oregon, and Washington, all of which are world-class
research universities that share the academic values, aspirations, and challenges of the Big Ten
Academic Alliance member universities," said Rachel Croson, Big Ten Academic Alliance Board
Chair and Executive Vice President and Provost at the University of Minnesota. "We look forward to
working with our colleagues at the four new member institutions in the years ahead to make the Big
Ten Academic Alliance even stronger and more impactful."

With the addition of these four world-class universities, Big Ten Academic Alliance universities lead
the nation with 75,000 instructional staff, 810,000 students, $17.4 billion in research expenditures
each year, and 145 million library volumes, representing 25% of all print titles in North America.
Working together through the Big Ten Academic Alliance, they achieve these goals more effectively
and efficiently by sharing a high-speed fiber optic network, offering an array of leadership
development programs, building shared infrastructure together, seamlessly sharing library
resources, and much more.

"These are tremendously exciting and challenging times in higher education, and the Big Ten
Academic Alliance is helping its member institutions navigate the changing landscape and position
themselves for continued success,” said Big Ten Academic Alliance Executive Director Keith
Marshall. “We are thrilled to welcome such esteemed faculty and staff from UCLA, USC, Oregon,
and Washington. Our interactions with these outstanding institutions have reaffirmed our belief
that they are an ideal fit—both culturally and academically—for the Big Ten Academic Alliance.”