UCLA's South Bay campus is somewhat of a marvel. The 2022 land acquisition - some 36 acres in total - was the largest in UCLA's history. Sitting on the Palos Verdes Peninsula's coastline, along rolling bluffs, the idyllic campus seems like a sleeping giant to those not close to its rollout operations. But for those behind the curtain, like Bruin alumnus Steve Yu, the campus' alacrity is palpable.

Yu was hired as the campus's chief financial officer and chief operating officer following UCLA's purchase of what was formerly Marymount California University. With doors slated to open for students as soon as the curriculum has been established, Yu and a small team have been wearing many hats to position the campus to serve students in the way the Westwood campus does, as well as establish academic programs that will focus on sustainability, climate change and environmental justice.

"I thought I'd cruise into retirement, kind of easy-peasy. And then the chancellor's office came knocking on my door for this new position," said Yu, who earned a bachelor's degree in economics from UCLA in 1995 and a master's in 2003 from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. "I couldn't say no. This [was an] opportunity to be entrepreneurial, kind of like a startup, but within the context of this bureaucratic, well-established, policy-driven university. So, I said, 'Yeah, let's go for it. Let's make history!'"

In the short time Yu's been at the helm, he and his team have defined the campus's infrastructure in terms of finances, operations and community relations. Yu's no stranger to the administrative arm of the university, having served 28 years at UCLA, starting with an entry level accountant role and working his way up to chief financial officer and assistant dean at the UCLA School of Law. He also served on the board for the Alumni Association and is currently president of the UCLA Anderson Alumni Network.

Newsroom spoke with Yu about the importance of building a sustainable ecosystem in the South Bay region, and why he thinks the name "UC Los Angeles" might be a more appropriate moniker for the rapidly growing institution as UCLA ambitiously advances goal 1 of UCLA's Strategic Plan: deepening the university's engagement with Los Angeles.

What specifically do you do in your job?

I am an accountant by training. I'm very comfortable with money and finances. At South Bay, I am chief financial officer in addition to chief operating officer, which includes overseeing things like transportation, housing, IT, fire response and safety. When I took this job, I thought, "Ok, I have some experience with building facilities." But in this particular role, it's chief operating officer and the "other duties as assigned" that's in everyone'sjob description that poses the greatest challenge. We're still establishing ourselves as a brand-new campus and getting all the infrastructure in place. I do community relations, government relations, donor relations, marketing and communications. We do event planning, finance and accounting, as well. And because UCLA South Bay is so new, every policy and process needs to be deliberated and negotiated, rethought and applied specifically for this campus.

Once we have students, we will have to recreate the student experience. Think, getting your Bruin card, mental health services like UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services, and having nurses and other services available like what students have at the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center on the Westwood campus. There's a whole level of additional infrastructure that we need to implement. And we're a very small team at South Bay. We're four people!

What is a project you're working on and why is it important?

It's sort of twofold. First is launching the UCLA South Bay campus. That in and of itself is a big project. One of the things I say as a proud Bruin is that "we all say 'UCLA,' but we're really 'UC Los Angeles.'" That's why the acquisition of UCLA South Bay, UCLA Downtown and UCLA Research Park really opens the door for us to expand our geographic footprint. UCLA Health is in a lot of places, but UCLA Westwood proper has not really expanded as much. This opens the door to be that "UC Los Angeles" university.

The second project is around a strategic partnership with the Port of Los Angeles. We just hosted the inaugural UCLA and Port of L.A. Summit. It was all the executives, terminal operators and the people who make the port run, all coming to the South Bay campus. We invited folks from UCLA, like deans from each of the schools and the College. It was about 60 people getting together to talk about what the port does and what it needs, and what UCLA provides. It went extremely well. Interim Chancellor Darnell Hunt signed a memorandum of understanding between the two institutions to agree that we would connect and support each other. The port wants to be the most sustainable port in the world. Given our sustainability theme for the South Bay campus, it's a ripe opportunity for collaboration. You have UCLA as the No.1 public university, and the Port of L.A., the largest port in North America. It just seems like a marriage waiting to happen.

What do you love about working at UCLA?

It's the vibe and culture. We're a baby when it comes to universities. We're just over 100 years old. Berkeley has a 50-year head start on us. Harvard's been around a few hundred years. So for UCLA to be as prominent, and to have all the active leads we have - whether that's Nobel Peace Prize winners, being the first university to get to 100 national athletic championships or ranking No. 1 in best college food in America - we're this little kid on the university block, but going through this massive growth spurt. And I feel like we're just getting started!

I credit Chancellor Block for his 17 years of service really catapulting us to where we are. I also give credit to Chancellor Young. He had been chancellor 29 years, which is just crazy to me. Between him and Chancellor Block, they really put us on the map to be whatever we want to be. And then located in L.A. - located in SoCal, with proximity to the Pacific Rim, South America, with the Olympics coming in 2028 - it just seems like we're growing like gangbusters. To play a part in the launch of UCLA South Bay really is special, and I hope I do justice for the university in that regard.

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