Chancellor

UC Merced Chancellor Dorothy Leland issued the following message to the campus community in the wake of yesterday’s stabbing incident on the UC Merced campus:

“We are in the preliminary stages of our inquiry, but based on the evidence gathered so far, including at the crime scene and at the suspect’s campus dormitory room, we have no reason to believe that this was in any way related to terrorism.

“At this point, it would be irresponsible to draw such conclusions based solely on the ethnicity of the suspect.

Update, 10:40 a.m. Nov. 5: The UC Merced campus — except for the Classroom and Office Building (COB) — will reopen today at noon so that faculty and staff can access their offices to conduct crucial businesses. (Faculty members who must gain access to COB today must request a police escort.) However, classes remain canceled today and essential campus services (except for dining and recreation) will remain closed until tomorrow. Classes will resume tomorrow.

Original release:

UC Merced Chancellor Dorothy Leland issued the following message to the campus community in the wake of the stabbing incident earlier today on the UC Merced campus:

Dear members of the campus community,

This is not a message any chancellor wants to deliver. But sadly, today’s events have shaken all of us. Incidents like this may happen at other places, but not at UC Merced.

Updated 4:30 p.m. PT, Nov. 4

Four people were injured and a suspect is deceased after a stabbing incident on the University of California, Merced, campus this morning (Nov. 4). The suspect, a male student, was shot by police and later died from his injuries, according to the UC Merced Police Department.

Enrollment at the University of California, Merced, this fall has climbed to another all-time high of 6,685 students — an increase of 6.7 percent over Fall 2014, according to headcount figures compiled during the third week of instruction.

Ten years ago, the University of California, Merced, opened its doors with 875 students, a handful of permanent buildings and high hopes for the first new UC campus in 40 years — and the first ever in the San Joaquin Valley.

Today, UC Merced enters its second decade of operation with a new high in student enrollment, a $1 billion expansion proposal in advanced stages of development, and a freshly minted strategic plan that promises to accelerate the university’s quest for academic and research distinction.

The University of California, Merced, has moved a step closer to realizing its plan to build a new center in downtown Merced that will provide space for administrators and collaborations with community partners

UC Merced Chancellor Dorothy Leland and members of her leadership team will hold a forum to provide community members with an update on the 2020 Project and university facilities to be located in downtown Merced. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 29, in the California Room on campus.

“This is an opportunity for our local community members to learn about our growth plans both on campus and in the community,” said Cori Lucero, executive director of governmental and community relations. “We hope many people will attend and bring questions they may have for us.”

Researcher Makenzie Provorse parlayed her passion for computational chemistry into a position as UC Merced’s second Chancellor’s Postdoctoral fellow.

As a runner up for the Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship — a 31-year-old program enhanced with more money for hiring incentives recently by UC President Janet Napolitano — her application was referred back to the campus for the chancellor’s fellowship, and ranked highest among all applicants at UC Merced.