The University of California is widely considered one of the most prestigious public university systems in the nation. It includes ten campuses, the first of which (UC Berkeley) was founded in 1868; the tenth and newest campus opened in the fall of 2005 near the city of Merced. Today the UC system includes over 121,000 faculty and staff and 208,000 students. The University of California's campuses boast large numbers of distinguished faculty in almost every field. UC also manages three U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories.