2022 was a banner year for UC Merced marked with growth, innovation and prestige. As we boldly move forward toward 2023, here's a look back at the stories that stood out this year. 

Solar-paneled Canals Getting a Test Run in San Joaquin Valley

February 8, 2022

The state budget passed by the legislature and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom promises tens of millions of dollars for UC Merced to build the next generation of world-class programs and facilities.

The budget appropriates new funding for campus expansion, climate-related initiatives, the university's Community and Labor Center and a potential housing partnership.

UC Merced students, alumni, leaders and supporters were in Sacramento today to advocate for full state funding for the University of California and to promote the unique opportunities and challenges that face the rapidly growing campus.

Chancellor Dorothy Leland led the group through the first “UC Merced Day” in Sacramento, a new biennial counterpoint to the traditional UC Day.

Open access is a publishing model premised on the idea that scholarly research should be freely accessible to anyone with internet access. UC Merced has staked its claim as a member of the open access vanguard, as one of just five of American universities to have signed on to the OA2020 Expression of Interest.

The University of California, Merced, has directly invested more than $1.1 billion into the San Joaquin Valley economy since the newest UC campus began start-up operations in July 2000, according to the campus’s Division of Business and Administrative Services.

The investment total represents an increase of $155 million over the past 12 months, the university reported. It includes the cumulative value of all wages and benefits paid, construction contracts awarded, and goods and services purchased within the San Joaquin Valley through August 2014.