Staff

Mitchell Vanagten, executive chef for UC Merced’s Lakeside Catering , has been named Chef of the Year by the Monterey Bay chapter of the American Culinary Federation.

The award from the chapter, of which Vanagten is vice president, recognizes members for exceptional community service and promotion of the culinary craft, and demonstration of a high standard of expertise and leadership in the workplace.

A significant grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will advance UC Merced's efforts to create a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of college readiness among high-school students in the San Joaquin Valley, particularly those from underrepresented and socioeconomically diverse backgrounds.

Editor's note: In honor of Black History Month, the UC Merced newsroom is highlighting some of the organizations, services and people who serve or represent the Black community on campus.

An organization that was created in a time of tragedy and crisis has been a force for good for UC Merced's Black community.

Hundreds of UC Merced supporters made it crystal clear they believe in the university's mission, giving a record-breaking amount to support current Bobcats and other members of the campus community, through scholarships and fellowships, research projects and more.

A total of 692 gifts were made during the campus's annual monthlong fundraising campaign, Give to UC Merced, which amounted to nearly $1.3 million in vital funding for the university.

When Carlos Martinez was growing up in Southern California, his experience outdoors largely consisted of the irrigated lawns and tidy trees of his local park. Camping and hiking were not in his family’s recreational repertoire. Meanwhile, high school and work kept him too busy to focus on much else.

Martinez’s diligence paid off with an offer of admission to UC Merced. Like all undergraduate biological sciences majors, he completed more than a few laboratory classes involving pipettes and test tubes.

The year just ending has been one for the college sports record books and many kudos are due to the Bobcat athletes and their coaches.

UC Merced men’s and women’s outdoor track swept the California Pacific (Cal Pac) Conference Championships in their inaugural seasons. Women’s soccer beat 14^th-ranked Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the Cal Pac Tournament Championship game and got to hoist their first trophy in front of Bobcat Nation on Bobcat Field.

After Thanksgiving wraps up, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday take hold of many people's time, attention and dollars. However, there is another day of opportunity — one that holds the potential of creating a positive ripple effect originating at UC Merced and extending across the globe.

The new issue of Foundry, a digital platform similar to a magazine, assembled by the University of California Humanities Research Institute (UCHRI), features works by three members of the UC Merced campus community.

UC Merced was recently awarded a significant grant from Genentech, a member of the Roche group, to create the UC Merced Center for Health Equity. The initiative will focus on eliminating health disparities and advancing health equity throughout the San Joaquin Valley, particularly among the region’s Hispanic, Latinx, immigrant and rural communities.

Distinguished rankings, new academic offerings, world-class research and campus expansions were among the highlights of the UC Merced State of the University address delivered by Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz.

"The state of this 20-year-old institution is unparalleled in the history of American higher education," said Muñoz. "And now I would like to invite you to join me in imagining an even more impactful future for our campus, faculty, staff and students."