Gifts

Fred and Mitzie Ruiz, longtime UC Merced donors and two of the university’s most active and earliest supporters, have made a significant gift to name the campus’ administration building and enrollment center.

In honor of their philanthropic leadership, the facility will be named the Fred and Mitzie Ruiz Administration Center. As a hub of campus business and activities, the Ruiz Administration Center will help establish a lasting legacy that embodies its namesakes’ dedication to both UC Merced and the San Joaquin Valley.

Editor's note: Since the launch of the "Boldy Forward" campaign in September, UC Merced has doubled the campaign’s fundraising goal from $100 million to $200 million, thanks in great part to the prolific support of campus donors including the recent donation made by Fred and Mitzie Ruiz. 

The White House announced today (Sept. 2) a $65.1 million award — the largest federal grant ever awarded to the Central Valley — to the Fresno-Merced Future of Food Innovation (F3) Coalition as part of its "Build Back Better" initiative to boost economic recovery after the pandemic.

Mechanical engineering Professor Ashlie Martini has been awarded the Monya Lane and Robert Bryant Presidential Chair in Excellence in Engineering. She is one of two women to be appointed to endowed chairs in the School of Engineering this year.

Lane and Bryant, retired engineers from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, established the endowment in 2019. Martini will serve as the inaugural chair holder.

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has awarded a $750,000 grant to the UC Merced Library in partnership with the Center for the Humanities to establish a research archive documenting the Sierra Nevada and Central Valley.

As part of a heartfelt tribute to their beloved advisor, mentor and “surrogate mom,” a group of university alumni and Omega Delta Phi fraternity members have established the Carla Krogh Legacy Endowed Scholarship, which will support UC Merced students with a demonstrated interest in public and community service.

Many UC Merced students are first-generation college students, meaning they are the first in their families to pursue college degrees and the types of careers having a degree affords. UC Merced’s strong relationships with industry partners plays a key role in helping students navigate these career paths. A new partnership between the School of Engineering and OMRON Robotics and Safety Technologies will help students find opportunities in the robotics field.

Delivering his first in-person State of the University campus address, Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz outlined the progress UC Merced has achieved across many fields and laid out initial plans for investing a historic $20 million gift to the university.

“The state of UC Merced is indeed exceptional,” he pronounced in the address delivered Thursday to a group of external supporters and Friday to faculty and staff. “And because of our shared vision, our shared resources and our shared efforts, our shared future is boundless.”

UC Merced undergraduates interested in pursuing field research and mentorship opportunities at one of the University of California Natural Reserve System (NRS) sites will now have access to vital scholarship support, thanks to a generous gift from Professor Marilyn L. Fogel and Christopher W. Swarth.