Campus Community

Imagine pouring farm-fresh milk down the drain or crushing perfectly good eggs that could feed families. This has been the reality for farmers during the COVID-19 epidemic.

UC Merced’s national reputation for sustainability continues to grow, with the Sierra Club naming the university No. 5 on its 2020 “Cool Schools” list and The Princeton Review placing it on its Green College Honor Roll.

Dr. Vikram and Priya Lakireddy, a Merced family deeply engaged in both local and international philanthropy, have made the first significant gift in support of UC Merced’s landmark Merced 2020 Project.

UC Merced rose into the top 100 of the U.S. News & World Report rankings of National Universities earlier this month, and the university already has another milestone to celebrate.

According to numbers released today (Sept. 24), UC Merced’s total student enrollment has surpassed 9,000 for the first time. The 9,018 students enrolled for the Fall 2020 semester — which is being administered through remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic — include more than 8,276 undergraduate students and 742 graduate students.

Everyone will have opportunities to learn about collaborative research at the intersections of COVID-19 and topics related to the environment, health and equity through a series of online conference sessions this fall.

The world is a complex place, and humanity faces major challenges. Climate change mitigation might be the most difficult, in large part because of the interdependency of living things and their ecosystems.

How do people transform economic systems so they are also sustainable for people and the planet?

“If we don’t consider how everything connects from a systems perspective, we’re not going to solve grand challenges such as climate change,” Professor Tracey Osborne said. “Not even close.”

Many universities across the country have transitioned to remote instruction, which can present a new set of challenges to students who might not have access to the right equipment to complete their coursework.

Some students at UC Merced received additional help from HP, which donated 100 computers to the university in late spring. Sixty-nine of the laptops were used by incoming Bobcats participating in the Summer Bridge program.

The novel coronavirus has forced many shops to shutter their doors or comply with new state rules to remain open, such as offering outdoor dining or online shopping with curbside pickup. A record number of business owners are also turning to UC Merced’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) for economic support and business advice.

UC Merced is rapidly gaining a strong reputation for research and scientific computing across many disciplines and a major expansion of its computing infrastructure is about to cement the campus’ status as a research computing hub.

Armando Quintero’s passion for water, conservation, nature and responsible stewardship has carried him through his life, from his days as a National Park ranger, artist, teacher and leader of natural history journeys to his executive director position with the Sierra Nevada Research Institute.