Campus

At a time of dramatic political division in our society, the role of universities — as places where people can connect with others and explore ideas — is more important than ever, according to Maria Echaveste, the featured guest for a conversation with interim Chancellor Nathan Brostrom.

Brostrom welcomed the former senior White House official before a capacity crowd of campus and community members at the UC Merced Arts & Computational Sciences Building on Nov. 5.

The UC Merced Foundation Board of Trustees welcomed six new members, and an alumni representative, on Wednesday during their fall meeting on campus.

The Foundation welcomed:

American democracy is an evolving force, one on the edge of peril, and the future of our government depends on how — and whether — individual Americans choose to be part of it, says Maria Echaveste, a distinguished public policy advocate and former senior White House official.

“The Future of American Democracy” is the theme of a conversation set for Tuesday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. when UC Merced Chancellor Nathan Brostrom welcomes Echaveste to the campus.

Political science Professor Jessica Trounstine has been awarded the inaugural UC Merced Foundation Board of Trustees Presidential Chair.

This chair was created to recognize the excellent contributions of a faculty member in a field of research at the discretion of the chancellor. Chancellor Emerita Dorothy Leland (2011 – 2019) announced Trounstine’s appointment for her scholarly contributions to the campus at the June 2019 Board of Trustees meeting.

UC Merced has been named one of the best schools for environmental sustainability and quality of campus life, placing 20th on The Princeton Review’s list of top 50 “green colleges.”

A new supplemental health insurance option and a realignment of prescription medications covered under PPOs are among the featured changes in benefits for UC Merced staff and faculty members as the one-month period of Open Enrollment begins at 8 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 31.

During Open Enrollment, every benefits-eligible employee can evaluate current coverage provided by the University of California and explore a range of options for the 2020 calendar year before the enrollment period ends at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26.

UC Merced hosted its annual Homecoming celebration last weekend.

Current and prospective students and their families, as well as members of the community, took part in the Campus and Community Showcase, including face painting, inflatables, information tables and performances by various student clubs.

The Class of 2009 were pioneers of the Bobcat spirit, overcoming obstacles and defying the odds. Ten years later, we look back at UC Merced’s formative beginnings from the perspectives of those who lived the journey. 

Click the link below to read the story.

Audio has become a top form of entertainment over the past several years, in large part due to the rising popularity of podcasts. UC Merced graduate students are seizing the opportunity to help improve science literacy.

A group of Quantitative and Systems Biology (QSB) graduate students started RadioBio, a science podcast that discusses biology topics, in 2016. The podcast sparked from a discussion between the students and Professor Fred Wolf during a graduate professional skills development course.

It’s a new school year, which also happens to be a new chapter of the UC Merced Writing Project.

The UC Merced Writing Project is a local affiliation of the National Writing Project, which aims to improve writing skills among students as well as the art of teaching writing among educators.

The National Writing Project’s mission is to enhance student achievement by improving the teaching of writing, and therefore learning, in the nation’s schools.