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The University of California, Merced, will take a significant step toward establishing a permanent presence in downtown Merced today (June 8), when it breaks ground on its Dow

The University of California, Merced, has directly invested more than $1.1 billion into the San Joaquin Valley economy since the newest UC campus began start-up operations in July 2000, according to the campus’s Division of Business and Administrative Services.

The investment total represents an increase of $155 million over the past 12 months, the university reported. It includes the cumulative value of all wages and benefits paid, construction contracts awarded, and goods and services purchased within the San Joaquin Valley through August 2014.

The University of California, Merced, is searching for a development team that will prove instrumental in financing and significantly expanding the campus’ size and capacity to enroll 10,000 students by 2020.

Enrollment at the newest UC campus, which opened in 2005 with 875 students, has surged to nearly 6,200, creating severe space limitations on campus. The 2020 Project is a critical step to accommodate rapid growth in enrollment, which is expected to reach 10,000 students within the next six years.

University life can be hard, and for transfer students, it often proves even more daunting.

Studies have shown they typically have low rates of campus engagement and retention, and take longer to earn their degree. But thanks to a $2.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, that should change at the University of California, Merced.

Jose Garcia, a fourth-year student, will spend next summer as the only intern in Chevron Oronite’s Tribology division, with a small group of researchers who delve into lubricants, additives and the relationship between machines and fluids for the multinational corporation.

The past two years, the division has chosen an MIT student for the summer position.

“It’s going to be a great experience,” said Garcia, who hails from Santa Paula and is majoring in mechanical engineering.

At a conference of the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers, Jessyca Kamel, a junior from Los Angeles, wore her UC Merced shirt on her morning coffee run.

Three entrepreneurs with UC Merced roots are trying to revolutionize the biking experience.

As a founding student at UC Merced, Justin Duckham, ’09, trudged up the hill every day for classes. Now, he spends many of his days on a different hill — Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

On his first tour of UC Merced almost five years ago, Andy Luhrs decided the campus was the right place for him.

“The tour guide made an impression,” said Luhrs, who is from Danville. “Everyone I met had a good vibe — open and passionate about the school.”