A Year to Remember: UC Merced Made the Most of 2020

There was an undeniable feeling of optimism and excitement in January 2020, as the calendar turned to a new year at the University of California, Merced. The university would be welcoming its fourth chancellor in the summer, and celebrating its 15th anniversary and the opening of a slew of shiny new buildings in the fall. By any measure, it was to be a momentous year for UC Merced.

UC Merced, Merced College Unveil New Transfer Pipeline for Local Students

UC Merced and Merced College are teaming up to make it easier than ever for local students to matriculate through community college and earn bachelor’s degrees from the most respected public university system in the world, all without ever having to leave their hometown.

Grad Services Bolstered to Better Support Students Remotely

UC Merced’s Graduate Division provides many programs throughout the year to ensure students succeed academically, including faculty and peer mentoring programs, free tutoring, and social and well-being activities to help foster a sense of belonging and community.

New UC President Drake Praises Merced for Research, Diversity, Student Success

In just 15 years since its founding, UC President Michael V. Drake, M.D., said UC Merced has come to embody the best of what the University of California has to offer when it comes to research excellence, social mobility and diversity.  

Drake chose UC Merced as the first campus he would visit after taking over as the UC’s 21st president in August, succeeding President Janet Napolitano. The president spent the day with Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz, meeting with faculty, students and staff in physically distanced gatherings on campus. 

SNRI Sees a Leadership Transition

Change is everywhere at UC Merced this year, from hiring a new chancellor to the completion of a major campus expansion. The Sierra Nevada Research Institute (SNRI), an early hallmark of research excellence at UC Merced, is also making a change: After a 13-year tenure, Faculty Director Professor Roger Bales has stepped down and Professor Tom Harmon is taking the reins.

Gallo Management School Proposal Moves Forward

As UC Merced welcomes its fourth chancellor and continues to build its reputation as a world-class research institution, it has also reached a milestone in planning for the campus’s first new school since its opening — the proposed Ernest & Julio Gallo School of Management.

Zatz Aiming for R1 Status as Interim Head of Research, Economic Development

Graduate Dean Marjorie Zatz has a new title, at least for now. Starting this summer, she is serving as interim vice chancellor for Research and Economic Development, filling the slot left open when Vice Chancellor Sam Traina stepped down to return to the faculty.

Zatz has been shadowing Traina since spring and said her primary goal in the new role will be positioning the campus to earn R1 research status. This status is given only to those doctoral-granting universities conducting “very high research activity” by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

UC Alum Juan Sánchez Muñoz Named UC Merced’s Fourth Chancellor

The University of California Board of Regents approved today Dr. Juan Sánchez Muñoz’s appointment as UC Merced’s fourth chancellor. Muñoz comes to UC from the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD), where he has served as president since 2017.

Nature Retreat Teaches Students the Importance of Service to Community

Hiking to the top of Marin County’s iconic Mount Tamalpais gave a group of UC Merced students not only a magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean, but insight into how they, as individuals, can contribute to their communities’ enrichment.

Chancellor Brostrom Welcomes Maria Echaveste for Conversation on Democracy

At a time of dramatic political division in our society, the role of universities — as places where people can connect with others and explore ideas — is more important than ever, according to Maria Echaveste, the featured guest for a conversation with interim Chancellor Nathan Brostrom.

Brostrom welcomed the former senior White House official before a capacity crowd of campus and community members at the UC Merced Arts & Computational Sciences Building on Nov. 5.