James Leonard

UC Merced is uniquely positioned to be a change agent in how the academy addresses diversity in STEM, said Professor Donna Riley, the Kamyar Haghighi Head of Purdue’s School of Engineering Education.

If the University of California, Merced, is indeed the future of the UC, that future is looking brighter than ever.

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.

Fred Ruiz’s support of UC Merced goes back decades and includes substantial contributions through philanthropy, advocacy and service.

For his commitment to UC Merced and to education in the San Joaquin Valley, Ruiz has been named this year’s winner of the James L. Fisher Award for Distinguished Service to Education.

UC Merced students, alumni, leaders and supporters were in Sacramento today to advocate for full state funding for the University of California and to promote the unique opportunities and challenges that face the rapidly growing campus.

Chancellor Dorothy Leland led the group through the first “UC Merced Day” in Sacramento, a new biennial counterpoint to the traditional UC Day.

Chancellor Dorothy Leland joined fellow higher education leaders this week to discuss new climate action at the Second Nature 2018 Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit in Tempe, Ariz.

On Monday, Leland spoke as part of a four-member panel focused on “The New Normal: 100 percent Clean Energy.”

When does freedom of speech cross the line and become hate speech? What’s considered protected speech? And, how do universities strike the delicate balance between allowing individuals or groups the right to free speech while protecting those who may be harmed or offended by that speech or the way it is expressed?

These are some of the complex issues that will be discussed Tuesday, Feb. 13, in the Chancellor’s Dialogue on Diversity and Interdisciplinarity speaker series.

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.  

The Merced 2020 Project earned two more awards this week, claiming the top prize for Best Social Infrastructure Project at the P3 Awards in Washington, D.C.

UC Merced is among the nation’s top schools for sustainability for the third straight year, according to the Princeton Review’s Guide to 375 Green Colleges, and achieved its highest score to date with 95 out of a possible 99 points.