All Stories

UC Merced Aerial Picture
Lighting the Path: Thank You and Farewell to Charles Nies
May 27, 2024
It’s spring break 2009 and Jane Lawrence is rushing across campus, the words from the phone call still ringing in her ear. The unimaginable is happening and she must tell Charles Nies, First Lady Michelle Obama is coming to UC Merced as... Read More
High-Speed Rail, High-Quality Jobs: Career Trek Shows Students Opportunities
May 23, 2024
California high-speed rail, a multibillion-dollar project designed to connect the Central Valley to Los Angeles and the Bay Area, promises swift transportation, the protection of agricultural land and contributions to a cleaner environment... Read More
UC Merced Expands Automatic Admission Opportunity for Porterville Students
May 22, 2024
A new partnership between UC Merced and Porterville Unified School District (PUSD) will guarantee admissions for qualifying incoming students. Through the Merced Automatic Admissions Program (MAAP), Porterville students can be assured... Read More
Untangling Hmong History with UC Merced’s Ma Vang
May 21, 2024
Exploring sources of historical narratives can take you to places where walls seem to move and truth feels fluid and interchangeable. Ma Vang’s research has focused on how people narrate their histories, tracking the lived experiences of... Read More
Following the Mission to Improve Valley Health Care
May 15, 2024
It was a groundbreaking Tuesday night so there were shovels. Many shovels. Full sized, posterized, miniaturized (in a gift box). All to mark a symbolic turning of earth for UC Merced’s Medical Education Center. The tools also evoke ... Read More
Scholar Workshop Studies Genocide from Several Angles
May 15, 2024
An online workshop this week aims to deconstruct one of humanity’s most destructive traits: genocide. UC Merced’s Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences is bringing together an interdisciplinary panel of scholars for “... Read More
Ground Broken for Medical Education Building at UC Merced
May 15, 2024
University of California and campus leaders broke ground Tuesday evening on a building to be constructed of steel, glass and Earth-friendly electronics. But the Medical Education Building at UC Merced is also fashioned from decades of... Read More
Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center Gets $3.9 Million Extension
May 14, 2024
UC Merced’s Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center has earned multiyear funding to continue its mission to embolden community partners and share policy-influencing data in the long battle against the pervasive use of tobacco and other... Read More
Free Performance Takes Opera Down to the Farm
May 13, 2024
UC Merced Arts invites everyone to a free performance that serves up whimsy, interactive fun and an inspiring message with a big helping of … operatic singing.  “Panic in the Barnyard,” a children’s story for the young and young at heart... Read More
SSHA Honors Outstanding Graduating Students
May 12, 2024
*/ Thirteen graduating students were honored by UC Merced’s School of Social Science, Humanities and Arts for outstanding academic careers. At a reception held May 9, Interim Dean Heather Bortfeld said the honorees all made their mark... Read More
UC Merced-led Collaborative Awards $10.6 Million to Community, Education Partners
May 9, 2024
The WE Will! Education and Workforce Collaborative, spearheaded by UC Merced and composed of partners from Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties, has awarded $10.6 million to community and education partners in the tri-county region... Read More
Stretchy Material That Gets Stronger When Hit Has Exciting Potential
May 8, 2024
Much of the work Yue (Jessica) Wang does at UC Merced sounds like science fiction: She creates flexible material that gets stronger the more you hit it. And it conducts electricity. Science, yes. Fiction, no. This work is happening. It was... Read More
More Than 1,300 Bobcats Will Cross the Stage During UC Merced Commencement Weekend
May 7, 2024
More than 1,300 students plan to participate in UC Merced's Spring 2024 Commencement, celebrated with three distinct ceremonies on the campus's Recreation Field. The first ceremony honors Graduate Division students and will begin at 6 p.m... Read More
UC Merced Announces Spring Commencement Speakers
May 6, 2024
The speakers who will address graduating UC Merced students at their commencement ceremonies May 10-12 come from a variety of backgrounds and achievements, but all three are vanguards in their fields. Friday evening, students earning... Read More
My UC Merced Journey, Class of 2024
May 3, 2024
As senior Bobcats prepare to walk the stage this weekend, we asked them to reflect on their own personal journeys at UC Merced. In response, we received stories of growth, self-exploration and change. The next chapter in their lives will... Read More
Happy Birthday to Undergrad Journals that Spark Students’ Aspirations
May 1, 2024
It’s a pair of special birthdays for UC Merced’s two student-run journals for undergraduates. The Vernal Pool , which publishes creative stories, poems and images, turned 10 this academic year. Meanwhile, it’s the sweet 16th for the... Read More
Author Jorge Cham Simplifies Science in an Entertaining Way
May 1, 2024
“Raise your hands if you want to know a secret,” acclaimed author and cartoonist Jorge Cham instructed a crowd of young children. Hundreds of tiny arms shot up in unison toward the cafeteria ceiling. “Butterflies drink with a straw,” he... Read More
Campus Grad Slam Winner Examines ‘Gut Viruses: Friends or Foes?’
April 29, 2024
Earlier this month, Ambarish Varadan competed in UC Merced’s Grad Slam finals and seized the title of Campus Champion. This was the second time the Quantitative and Systems Biology (QSB) Ph.D. candidate from Fremont vied for the top prize... Read More
Student Production of ’26 Pebbles’ Encircles Tragedy with Healing and Hope
April 29, 2024
It is impossible to avoid — the real-life event that frames the play “26 Pebbles” is disturbing. Heartbreaking. Which makes all the more remarkable the play’s uplifting message of human resilience and the ability to come together after an... Read More
Researchers Find Unexpected Cellular Residence for Protein Vital in Neurodevelopment
April 25, 2024
In Professor Xuecai Ge ’s lab, where UC Merced researchers study how cells talk to each other to develop and differentiate, a recent surprise discovery is lending insight as to how erroneous cell signals lead to disease and birth defects... Read More