Jody Murray

While California Democrats are nearly unified in their views on current immigration enforcement strategies, Latino Republicans and party moderates, especially women, are most likely to diverge from the GOP majority, according to a study co-authored by a UC Merced researcher.

A husband’s optimism and confidence might play a crucial, if often unseen, role in helping babies arrive healthy and on time.

A new study from UC Merced psychology researchers found that when married fathers reported higher levels of resilience — a quality that includes traits such as optimism, self-esteem and perceived social support — their partners showed lower levels of inflammation during pregnancy and carried their babies longer.

As debates rage about artificial intelligence's impact on jobs, new research suggests that even warnings that AI could disrupt workers' employment soon do little to shake their confidence.

In a survey-based study, political scientists Anil Menon of UC Merced and Baobao Zhang of Syracuse University examined how people respond to forecasts of the arrival of “transformative AI,” ranging from as early as 2026 to as distant as 2060.

More than six in 10 UC Merced undergraduates are the first in their families to attend a university. The national average for four-year universities is about two in 10.

Opening doors to opportunity for first-generation students is infused into UC Merced’s DNA. Young people who had little to no information at home on how to be a young scholar find solid support, a welcoming campus and kindred spirits.

They are longtime friends, united by a passion for art and a stubborn determination not to compromise their unconventional styles. Their brushes paint scenes of fieldhands and crops coalescing in blues and reds, of a rural street splashed in watercolor or of shark fins cutting through a beach as a sandcastle rises in the surf.

Ruben Aguilera Sanchez, Frank Ayala and Abel Corchado have known each other for more than four decades. Over the years, the Merced-area men have supported each other’s work, mentored others and pushed back against expectations.

Only 20 years since undergraduate instruction began, UC Merced is a recognized leader in conducting academic research, developing young minds for career success and driving economic growth, the university’s chancellor said Wednesday.

UC Merced Children’s Opera, a performance that delights and enlightens thousands of schoolchildren a year while giving Bobcat students experience in theater, has received support from a generous grant from the Central Valley Opportunity Fund.

UC Merced, recognized nationwide for providing access to a world-class education and transforming young scholars’ lives, is a finalist for the inaugural Excellence in Student Success Award offered by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.

UC Merced is among five universities nominated for the award. APLU, with more than 250 member institutions, advocates efforts to increase student success and workforce readiness; promote research; and bolster community engagement. 

Several points support UC Merced’s nomination:

UC Merced has debuted a writer-in-residence program with one of California’s premier chroniclers of its history, especially the titanic power plays for land and water that have shaped the state’s growth and loom over its future.

Mark Arax, a Fresno native, author and former Los Angeles Times journalist, will host workshops about his craft throughout the academic year. His presence on campus also will offer inside access to a working author.

Spirits were high and futures bright while all else was soaked in a summer storm that made Tuesday morning’s Scholars Bridge Crossing, UC Merced’s traditional greeting to new students, a welcome unlike any before.

Call them Thunder ‘Cats.

The ceremony embraced about 2,000 first-year and transfer students to a campus that this fall semester marks 20 years since the first undergraduate class began at the newly built institution, bringing the power of a University of California education to the Central Valley.