Campus Life

UC Merced began its 14th academic year today, welcoming new and returning students into new buildings.

The University of California, Merced men's soccer team enters the season this week ranked No. 23 in the NAIA Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll.

The ranking marks the first time in program history that the Bobcats begin their season ranked. They open their 2018 campaign against No. 22 Westmont College on Wednesday, Aug. 22, on Bobcat Field.

Shakespeare wrote “the play’s the thing.” Of course, he was referring to using a play to catch a murderer, but in Shakespeare’s day, people believed the theater had the power to elicit deep emotion — even move the guilty to give themselves away.

Bobcats are catching on to the power of theater in Merced.

UC Merced’s exuberant spring graduates got the chance to demonstrate their gratitude during the 13th Spring Commencement ceremonies this weekend as many of them paused to thank the faculty members and loved ones who helped them through their college journeys.

During the two ceremonies, UC Merced graduated more than 1,200 students, conferring 1,151 bachelor’s degrees, 18 master’s degrees and a record 49 doctoral degrees.

This weekend, 1,250 UC Merced undergraduate and graduate students, including 52 doctoral candidates — the most in the campus’s 12-year history — are expected to cross the commencement stage and embark on the next chapter of their lives.

“Commencement is the culmination of years of determination and is an exciting time for graduates and their families,” Chancellor Dorothy Leland said. “We are thrilled to celebrate the courage, commitment and spirit of UC Merced students.”

More than 3,700 individuals visited UC Merced last Saturday during the campus’s annual Bobcat Day — a 26 percent increase over 2017 and more than any previous year.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), and UC Merced is hosting a series of events to provide campus community members opportunities to increase awareness and advocate for sexual assault prevention and intervention programing.

A highlight of this month’s activities is the return of “The Vagina Monologues,” a series of monologues and pieces adapted from interviews with women addressing issues of womanhood, sexuality and strength, and ending violence against women. UC Merced undergraduate and graduate students are the cast and crew.

Working in education over the years, I have learned to never let inhospitable and toxic circumstances destroy one’s soul, but to use education as a way to empower, transform, radically heal and cultivate seeds of hope.

The University of California, Merced, has selected political commentator and public affairs professional Maria Cardona and civic leader and entrepreneur Lenny Mendonca to deliver keynote addresses at its 13th commencement exercises, May 12 and 13.

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.”