Staff

Nearly 300 UC Merced employees will begin moving into the new Downtown Campus Center at 18th and N streets in January, and local business owners are taking note.

Thad Raczkowski, co-owner of Little Oven Pizza, is thinking about a move. His shop on Main Street has been so successful, he’s eyeing a piece of property down the road that would enlarge Little Oven’s footprint.

“You can directly connect it to the Downtown Campus Center,” Raczkowski said. “It has brought a lot of attention to downtown.”

Traditional UC Merced events — Homecoming, Preview Day and Family Weekend, plus the Chancellor’s Scholars recognition ceremony — came together for a first-of-its-kind bundle of activities that highlighted the campus for current and prospective students, alumni, family members and friends, and the community. Events included a women’s volleyball game, information sessions, women’s and men’s soccer games, a tailgate party and karaoke.

It was only after graduate school, while working as a professor, that James Zimmerman realized something had been missing from his education.

Trained as a nuclear scientist, Zimmerman was well-prepared for a life in the laboratory, where success is measured in data and discovery. Though confident in his ability to understand the atom, Zimmerman was less certain of his ability to lead a classroom.

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.

When Chigoziri Ibechem attended her first planning commission meeting in downtown Merced last November, she had no idea where it might lead.

After the meeting, the psychology major from Los Angeles was greeted by the city of Merced’s principal planner, who noticed her enthusiasm for the city’s Local Transportation project. He invited her to apply for an internship program UC Merced’s sustainability office launched earlier this year to give students education and applied learning opportunities in sustainability-related careers.

Saturday’s annual Journey 5K Fund Run has special meaning for the UC Merced community.

Last November, the campus lost Ryan Nunez — head coach of the men’s and women’s cross country teams — in a tragic motorcycle accident.

UC Merced’s University Communications has launched Newsroom, a revamped news website housing information for the campus community and the general public.

In addition to cosmetic improvements, the site’s launch coincides with the department’s new approach to covering the news at UC Merced and sharing it with the university’s most important audiences.

UC Merced’s University Communications has launched Newsroom, a revamped news website housing information for the campus community and the general public.

In addition to cosmetic improvements, the site’s launch coincides with the department’s new approach to covering the news at UC Merced and sharing it with the university’s most important audiences.

The University of California, Merced, will take a significant step toward establishing a permanent presence in downtown Merced today (June 8), when it breaks ground on its Downtown Campus Center, a three-story administrative facility to be built on the corner of 18th and N streets.

Kopi's Hometown Connections, a popular series of features on KMPH Fox 26 in Fresno, recently visited Merced to highlight the city's many successes, including the rapid growth of its university. Kopi spoke with UC Merced's Richard Cummings about the ambitious, international award-winning Merced 2020 Project and the new Downtown Campus Center.