One of the major challenges of this century is democratically engaging institutions and large numbers of people with strategies to mitigate global warming by minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.

Compelling storytelling is vital to ensuring the action needed to secure a habitable planet for future generations, according to an increasing amount of research.

UC Merced is recruiting students now to become the next environmental storytellers.

Students who are interested in creatively conveying the urgency of environmental issues can make that mission the focus of their studies when the new environmental humanities (EH) major begins at UC Merced in fall 2024.

After taking part in the UC Merced Center for Analytic Political Engagement 's inaugural legislative boot camp, students say they are better prepared to take on the first internships of their careers.

The week-long session in Sacramento was led by former Assemblymember Adam Gray and political science Professor Nate Monroe and gave a cohort of nine students a look behind the curtain at how policymaking happens at the state Capitol.

Global Arts Studies Professor Yehuda Sharim has published a new photo essay, “A Map of Light,” on the University of California Humanities Research Institute (UCHRI)’s digital platform Foundry.

New students or those who have not yet chosen their majors will have an array of options before them.

Five new majors and several new emphases, ranging across all three schools, are all coming online in 2024 and are recruiting students now.

New bachelor’s of science degrees:

• chemical engineering
• data science and computing
• public health

New bachelor’s of arts degrees:

• data science and analytics
• environmental humanities

New emphases:

In the mechanical engineering major:

You know that warm, uplifting feeling you get when you see someone going out of their way to help other people? You might get goosebumps or even a tear in your eye, and something inside you might make you want to be like them, support others and try to be a better person.

That feeling isn't happiness, awe or pride. It’s not even love, although it is related. Until recently, that feeling didn't have a name in English. Now, it is known as “moral elevation,” a unique emotion linked with trust, compassion and a desire to help others.

It's time for the campus and the community to celebrate UC Merced’s high-level research during Research Week, March 6 through 10.

The annual research showcase, hosted by the Office of Research and Economic Development, kicks off with a Health Sciences Research Institute (HSRI) event titled “Climate, Environment and Health: Impacting the San Joaquin Valley and Beyond.”

For the first time, UC Merced faculty members from each of the campus’s three schools have been chosen as principal investigators on some of the 21 exciting new projects that are being funded through UC’s Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives (MRPI).

In addition, UC Merced researchers are collaborating on 10 of the other projects.

    A day before the midterm election, Gov. Gavin Newsom made a surprise visit
    to a political science class at UC Merced.

    Newsom was invited by Assemblymember Adam Gray, who co-teaches the class
    and provides insight about how government, specifically the California
    State Legislature, operates. As part of the course, students take on
    various roles, including state senators, lobbyists and the media, as well
    as a candidate running for governor.

Antisemitism is not a new form of discrimination; it dates back thousands of years. But recent events and the charged political climate in the United States have brought it to the forefront, an educator said during a workshop at UC Merced.

Jill S. Jacobs, an education strategist for the nonprofit Academic Engagement Network, led a discussion of the history of discrimination against people of the Jewish faith, culture or background. She was invited to campus by UC Merced’s Division of Equity, Justice & Inclusive Excellence.