A woman was raped and beaten as she walked along a wooded path on the University of California, Santa Cruz campus over the weekend, authorities said.

The 21-year-old woman was attacked at about 12:30 p.m. Sunday as she was visiting campus and walking between the Upper Quarry Amphitheater and the Classroom Unit buildings, according to Capt. Augie Zigon of the UC Santa Cruz Police Department.

Zigon said the woman sustained bad bruising from being struck repeatedly in the head and torso by a suspect who was last seen running toward Steinhart Way.

The Santa Cruz Sentinel reports that the woman called 911 after the attack and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

"It's shocking," said university spokesman Jim Burns. "Obviously our first concern is about the well-being of this young woman."

Burns said such attacks are rare on campus, with four forcible sex offenses reported in 2011, the most recent year for which data was available.

Campus residents and all those on the university's Cruz Alert system have been warned about the suspect, who the victim described as a white man in his 30s, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, 200 pounds with dark-black, medium-length hair and a mustache and goatee.