Outreach

For the first time, UC Merced has been awarded a Platinum rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements under the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS.)

Platinum is the highest rating a higher education institution can receive for its sustainability programs and actions. Currently, only 11 institutions throughout the nation have earned this rating.

The University of California, Merced, continues to pave the way to success for local high school students. The campus announced the expansion of the Merced Automatic Admission Program (MAAP) for students at Dinuba Unified School District (DUSD).

The new partnership will allow students with a weighted GPA of 3.5 with no grade lower than a “C” to be automatically admitted to UC Merced through a streamlined admissions process.

As part of her goal to give back to her alma mater as well as the San Jose community that supported and fostered her growth, UC Merced alumna Nohely Aguilar (’12) has established a scholarship to assist students who follow in her footsteps.

The Nohely Aguilar Scholarship Fund will provide financial assistance to college-bound students who select the path from Mt. Pleasant High to UC Merced, the same as Aguilar’s academic journey.

For the first time, UC Merced has partnered with local higher education institutions for a two-day symposium dedicated to education research findings from the Central Valley.

UC Merced’s Office of Sustainability’s Bobcat Eats Food Waste Awareness and Prevention Program, in partnership with United Way of Merced, Community Initiatives 4 Collective Impact and the 18th St. People’s Garden, has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle.)

The UC Merced Community and Labor Center (CLC) has received a historic multimillion-dollar award to continue its mission of conducting research and educating the public about low-wage work, immigrant and workers' rights, workplace health and safety, among other issues.

After a three-year delay due to the pandemic, Bobcat Day is back at UC Merced. The day is dedicated to first-year students, transfer students and their families to explore all the campus has to offer.

On Saturday, April 23, incoming students can take campus tours, meet with faculty, attend presentations from each of the academic schools, talk to Financial Aid and Admissions staff, discover student clubs and organizations, and much more.

A team of UC Merced engineering students brought hands-on lessons on drones and robotics to hundreds of children and families at the recent Tri-Valley Innovation Fair.

“Drones and robots are a gateway, a spark for young people to explore STEM,” said Leigh Bernacchi, program director of the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) and the Banatao Institute at UC Merced, who led the students in the all-day demonstrations at the March 19 fair.

Last year, UC Merced received the largest research grant in its history. The $10 million Secure Water Future (SWF) award, led by Professor Joshua Viers in cooperation with other UC campuses and other partners, is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and aims to improve agricultural and environmental water resilience.

The new UC Merced Bobcat STEM Scholars Program, funded by a $1.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), will provide four years of scholarship support for up to 10 eligible incoming students per year who declare majors within the university’s School of Natural Sciences (SNS).