San Joaquin Valley

Less than two years after breaking ground on its unprecedented campus expansion, the University of California, Merced, last week celebrated the opening of the first three buildings of the Merced 2020 Project.

More than 400 people were on hand for an opening celebration Thursday, including UC Merced Chancellor Dorothy Leland and UC President Janet Napolitano. Leland and Napolitano also met with students Friday, and visited with more students and their families during move-in.

UC Merced has been awarded a $3.8 million grant to establish the UC Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center (NCPC), positioning UC Merced and the San Joaquin Valley region as a leading center for the study of public health and policy matters related to tobacco and marijuana.

“Awarding of this center grant to UC Merced and its partners is a clear sign of the commitment, expertise and leadership of our faculty in addressing issues critical to both the Valley and the world,” Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development Sam Traina said.

Soils are carbon sinks, storing more planet-warming carbon than the atmosphere and all animal and plant life combined.

But they can also release massive amounts of stored carbon into the atmosphere. Given carbon’s central role in climate change, understanding the forces that govern how soils absorb and release carbon is crucial.

The dynamics of blood coagulation, evolution of language and carnivore foraging strategies were just a few of the many topics discussed at the third annual Central Valley Regional Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) Student Chapter Conference held on the UC Merced campus April 27.

Driving past Merced Falls on the way to Lake McClure doesn’t usually inspire thoughts of a bustling mini-metropolis with its own movie theater.

But a new exhibit opening at the Merced County Courthouse Museum highlights a slice of Merced County’s past as an industrial center and showcases a new collaboration between the museum and the UC Merced Library and a graduate student.

UC Merced has infused nearly $3 billion into California’s economy since its inception — including more than $1.6 billion in the San Joaquin Valley — in salaries, goods and construction awards.  

A full-length documentary highlighting the relationship between water, food security and, ultimately, global security, features UC Merced researchers and is scheduled to premiere Sept. 14 in downtown Merced.

Established in 2011, the San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education (SJV PRIME) pools resources from UC Merced, the UC Davis School of Medicine, and UCSF Fresno to recruit and train future physicians committed to serving the Central Valley.

UC Merced alumna Linda Barreto always wanted to become a lawyer, but an experience in college helped reinforce her career path.

Kopi's Hometown Connections, a popular series of features on KMPH Fox 26 in Fresno, recently visited Merced to highlight the city's many successes, including the rapid growth of its university. Kopi spoke with UC Merced's Richard Cummings about the ambitious, international award-winning Merced 2020 Project and the new Downtown Campus Center.