Brenda Ortiz

A memorandum of understanding signed between University of California, Merced, and the Los Angeles Community College District this week will extend access for transfer students through the Merced Promise Pathway Program.

When it comes to changing the lives of its students, UC Merced is second to none.

In the latest Wall Street Journal America's Best Colleges rankings, UC Merced was the No. 1 university in the nation for social mobility — a term used to describe how well colleges and universities attract, retain and help students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds complete their degrees and graduate into promising careers.

UC Merced was the site of the 22nd Molecular Education and Research Consortium in Undergraduate computational chemistRY (MERCURY) Conference held in mid-July.

Persistence has paid off for UC Merced doctoral candidate Arabi Seshappan.

The graduate student from Fremont, about to start her sixth year, was selected for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program's Fulbright-Université Paris-Saclay Doctoral Research Award, which is only granted to three U.S. students each year.

This is part of a series of profiles of new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2024 semester.

Jenna Hinds, a Central Valley native, is bringing spirit to UC Merced. Hinds discovered a passion for cheerleading as a senior in high school. After participating in UC Merced tryouts, will join the university cheer team’s elite squad this fall.

Where I come from: I’m from Stevinson and I graduated from Turlock Christian High School.

Less than three years ago, the idea of bringing a children’s museum to Merced began to blossom. Since Mayya Tokman and Angelo Kyrilov, both UC Merced professors, opened the doors of Kids Discovery Station, they have seen more than 65,000 visitors.

As a young institution in the University of California system, UC Merced has placed a strong emphasis on serving students who are the first in their families to pursue graduate education.

With its strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, UC Merced’s Graduate Division has created a supportive environment for students from all backgrounds by implementing several programs and policies, including a peer mentoring initiative designed for incoming graduate students.

Humanities education has been under fire on college campuses over the past decade.

“There’s a lot of concern nationally about graduate education in the humanities. We’re producing plenty of Ph.D.s but are there enough jobs for them upon graduation?” said anthropology and heritage studies Professor Robin DeLugan, who leads UC Merced’s Research Center for Community Engaged Scholarship (ReCCES).

“How do we make a humanities career more feasible?”

“Raise your hands if you want to know a secret,” acclaimed author and cartoonist Jorge Cham instructed a crowd of young children. Hundreds of tiny arms shot up in unison toward the cafeteria ceiling.

“Butterflies drink with a straw,” he said. Bustling with excitement, the students expressed their astonishment with “oohs” and “wows.”

Earlier this month, Ambarish Varadan competed in UC Merced’s Grad Slam finals and seized the title of Campus Champion.

This was the second time the Quantitative and Systems Biology (QSB) Ph.D. candidate from Fremont vied for the top prize. Last year, he placed second among the top 10 contenders.

UC Merced Foundation Board Trustee Robert Bernstein, M.D., and his wife, Diplomat Jane Binger, Ed.D., have made generous donations to support Grad Slam.