Jody Murray

UC Merced's CAPE Takes Extraordinary Steps to Prepare Legislative Interns

June 5, 2025

UC Merced CAPE Legislative Fellows Sacramento interns Rep. Adam Gray

Mariel Garcia accepted a welcoming handshake from the chief of staff for state Sen. Tim Grayson. A large photograph of rolling hills at sunset near Walnut Creek, a city in Grayson’s district, dominated a wall in the compact reception room. “Good to meet you,” said the chief of...

Film Documents the Struggle of Growing Old Behind Bars

A UC Merced professor entered the bleak world of a fading, 64-year-old man in a Virginia state prison to illustrate the challenges of being elderly and incarcerated. “Where’s My Coffee...

UC Merced political science mock legislative hearing

Social Sciences Graduate Programs Shine in U.S. News Rankings

UC Merced’s School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts made a splash in the latest rankings of university graduate programs compiled by U.S. News and World Report. The university...

Address Stigma, Build Strength: UC Merced Co-leads Project to Lower LGBTQ2S+ Use of Nicotine

LGBTQ2S+ individuals use tobacco and nicotine products at significantly higher rates than straight and cisgender people, research shows. Reasons can include stress and other health problems brought...

Maddison Crump and two other UC Merced students

Bright Center Student Lightens Lives with Determination, Empathy

Sometimes you meet a young person who makes such a powerful impression that you want to vault forward a few decades to see how much they lifted others and elevated our world. Maddison Crump is one...

Central Valley Stories event attendees and one painting

Central Valley Stories Seminar Connects Students to Community

Among the UC Merced students’ impressive creations in the dimly lighted room — dioramas, poems, photo collages, paintings in bold colors — Derek Miller’s creation attracted...

Huntington garden and two UC Merced professors

UC Merced Doubles Down on Huntington Distinguished Fellowships

The Huntington Library in San Marino is one of the world’s greatest sources for independent research in the humanities, with documents and artifacts that span 11 centuries. Scholars from more...

New Hmong School Curriculum in Spotlight at UC Merced Conference

Educators from across California will gather at UC Merced for an up-close look at a curriculum that teaches schoolchildren about Hmong Americans — their history in Southeast Asia, their...

Todo Cambia Festival Takes New Artistic Directions

Todo Cambia, UC Merced’s annual Human Rights Film Festival, is about more than film this year. The seven-day festival kicks off Saturday, March 1 with a talk and readings by a former...

5 Questions for Indigenous Author of Acclaimed Memoir Coming to UC Merced

Deborah Taffa, an Indigenous author and educator whose book about growing up in a mixed-race home and struggling with social acceptance was hailed as one the best memoirs of 2024, will make a...