Chancellor

UC Merced will host incoming students, their families and friends on Saturday, April 20, for Bobcat Day - the university's annual open house.

Bobcat Day will begin at 9:15 a.m. with a welcome message from Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz at University Plaza. Campus staff, faculty, students and alumni will be available throughout the day to answer questions about clubs and student organizations, summer session, Greek life, cultural groups, athletics, academics, health promotions, the UC Merced Police Department and more.

UC Merced has partnered with two California community colleges to further extend access to students transferring to a four-year university. In April, ceremonies were held to sign agreements with Madera Community College and Las Positas College.

By signing the Madera Promise and Las Positas Promise agreements, the institutions give respective students attending Madera Community College and Las Positas College a streamlined pathway to transfer to UC Merced.

Sometimes public service at UC Merced looks like finding ways to grow crops with a changing water supply. Or delving into how children translate for their non-English-speaking parents.

And sometimes it looks like picking up a paintbrush and refurbishing park benches and curbs at Lake Yosemite.

The American Council on Education (ACE) and Fidelity Investments this week presented the 2024 Award for Institutional Transformation to UC Merced and to Florida Atlantic University.

The award, established in 2014, recognizes institutions that respond to higher education challenges in innovative and creative ways and achieve dramatic changes in a relatively brief period. It was presented along with a $10,000 prize to each institution at the ACE Presidents and Chancellors Summit in Washington, D.C.

Dozens of almond growers and researchers came to UC Merced on Wednesday for a summit on best practices for one of California's most important crops.

It was the first time the Almond Board of California hosted its Nutrient Summit on campus, and it highlighted the important partnership between the university and an industry that makes use of some of its most groundbreaking research.

UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz welcomed attendees by pointing out the mutually beneficial relationship the university has with the growers.

Hundreds of UC Merced graduates, their friends and familes will pack the Merced Theatre in downtown Merced this weekend as fall commencement ceremonies are celebrated. There are 427 Bobcats set to participate.

The pomp and circumstance begin at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 15, with the Graduate Division Commencement Ceremony.

An education and workforce collaborative spearheaded by UC Merced and composed of partners from Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties was awarded $18.1 million by the California Department of General Services (DGS) as part of the K-16 Education Collaborative Grant Program. WE Will! The Northern San Joaquin Valley K-16 Regional Partnership was one of four collaboratives across the state recently selected to receive an award.

It's been more than a year since UC Merced joined the 1300 Campaign partnership, continuing its efforts to help students of color attend and succeed at four-year universities. Now it's time for a review and a look ahead.

Ed and Jeanne Kashian, longtime UC Merced donors who have supported the campus since its earliest days, have made a $5 million gift to advance the university's medical education efforts.

Distinguished rankings, new academic offerings, world-class research and campus expansions were among the highlights of the UC Merced State of the University address delivered by Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz.

"The state of this 20-year-old institution is unparalleled in the history of American higher education," said Muñoz. "And now I would like to invite you to join me in imagining an even more impactful future for our campus, faculty, staff and students."