Professor Maggie Sogin is one of 20 faculty members nationwide to receive the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) inaugural Building Research Capacity of New Faculty in Biology (BRC-BIO) award.

The White House announced today (Sept. 2) a $65.1 million award — the largest federal grant ever awarded to the Central Valley — to the Fresno-Merced Future of Food Innovation (F3) Coalition as part of its "Build Back Better" initiative to boost economic recovery after the pandemic.

As one of the leaders for sustainability and equity, UC Merced hosted the first offsite meeting for the Governor’s Strategic Growth Council (SGC) last week.

The mission of the council is to coordinate and work collaboratively with public agencies, communities and stakeholders to achieve healthy, thriving and resilient communities for all Californians.

Just seven years after it began offering graduate degrees, UC Merced’s Sociology Department has already begun shaping the future of the professoriate by placing 11 of its graduate alumni in tenure-track positions — five of those in the 2022-23 academic year.

UC Merced is No. 49 in the United States and No. 23 among public universities in the latest Washington Monthly college rankings recognizing the institutions progress and increasing prestige.

It is also No. 23 “Best Bang for Your Buck” in the western United States.

The magazine released its 2022 rankings this week. The rankings are based on publicly available federal data and focus largely on outcomes for students at 442 national universities, such as social mobility and college loan debt, along with research excellence.

An elementary school field trip to UC Merced sealed the deal for Rajanae Jenkins. The sixth-grader liked its newly minted buildings and the easy drive from her Fresno home.

Fast-forward more than six years. Jenkins is gathered with nearly 2,400 first-year or transfer students for UC Merced's Scholars Bridge Crossing. She is majoring in biology. She has already seen many familiar faces.

"This was literally my only choice," she said.

UC Merced is highlighting incoming students for fall 2022 — a dynamic, diverse and accomplished cohort of new Bobcats.

Isabella Mitchell knew she wanted to move away from Lynwood after graduation in an effort to explore California. After attending UC Merced's annual admitted student open house event in April, the 18-year-old was convinced to call the university home for the next four years.

UC Merced is highlighting incoming students for fall 2022 — a dynamic, diverse and accomplished cohort of new Bobcats.

Robert St. Martin is proud of having been able to balance his studies, extracurricular activities and social life during his four years at Rancho Buena Vista High School in San Diego County. Several Advanced Placement courses and the marching and concert bands kept him busy.

As he prepares to start his journey at UC Merced this month, he knows the juggling act as a Bobcat will help mold him to go even further.

July was a transition month for UC Merced’s Graduate Division as interim Vice Provost and Graduate Dean Chris Kello passed the baton to Professor Hrant P. Hratchian — an Armenian name pronounced Her-ahnt Heratch-yahn — who now leads the division.

“Dr. Hratchian’s appointment is another signifier of our momentum in research excellence,” said Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz. “He will be an essential leader and contributor as we accelerate our drive toward R1 status.”

College Track recently held a retreat at UC Merced that brought almost 200 staff members from all over the country to the site to "reflect, renew and rise together."