The University of California, Merced, commonly referred to as UC Merced or UCM, is the tenth and newest of the University of California campuses. Located in the San Joaquin Valley at Merced, California, UC Merced was the first American research university to be built in the 21st century. The University is also a census-designated place (CDP), that was uninhabited at the 2010 census. As the San Joaquin Valley was the state's largest and most populous region without a UC campus, on May 19, 1988 the Regents of the University of California voted to begin planning for a campus in the region, in response to increasing enrollment and growth constraints at existing UC campuses. On May 19, 1995, the Regents selected the Merced site, mid-way between Fresno and Modesto, as the location for the University of California's tenth campus. The campus groundbreaking ceremony was held October 25, 2002, and the first day of class was September 6, 2005. On May 16, 2009, First Lady Michelle Obama gave the commencement address for the university's first full graduating class.