From major naming gifts to scholarships, research support to endowments, UC Merced’s donors have made significant contributions that will have a lasting impact on students, the campus and the community.
“We have come a long way in the short time since our university opened, and our campus is thriving and poised for great advancements this year,” said Chancellor Steve Kang. “Our friends and supporters make possible so much of the work we do.”
More than 449 donors, including about 33 alumni, contributed to UC Merced in 2006-07 totaling $6.3 million. Private support lies at the heart of the university’s vital partnerships with the community and continues to support people, programs and projects on campus.
One example of that support comes from Sarah R. Kurtz, a scientist in the National Center for Photovoltaics at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, who donated $225,000 to further research at the only UC campus with a designated solar energy research program.
“I am very pleased that UC Merced has chosen to create a research program related to solar energy, and especially that this program focuses on concentrating technologies,” Kurtz said. “No other university in the country has an effort in this area.”
Another is the Merced County Community Foundation, which funded UC Merced’s first grant from Agriculturalists for Scientific Environmental Research of nearly $200,000. Using that support, engineering professor Tom Harmon is leading a team of students exploring ways to test nitrate levels in soil and water.
A $105,000 gift from the Pellissier family helped start a new tradition at UC Merced — the Vital and Alice Pellissier Family Distinguished Speaker Series. The series brought its first guest to campus last spring – Nobel Prize-winning chemist Sherwood Rowland.
“Because we are losing the physical location and buildings that my grandparents left, we especially wanted to do something to remember them by,” Dennis Pellissier said.
Minnie and Sophia Andow wanted to honor their parents’ strong belief in higher education, so they established The Andow Family Fund with a $105,000 gift to UC Merced. The gift is a donor-directed fund, which allows the Andows time to determine the specific purpose of the donation while it accrues interest.
The Doherty family donated $50,000 to establish The Edward and Marion Doherty Fund. This Doherty family legacy will provide financial support for students looking to experience the wonders of Yosemite.
“Nine new UC Merced interns arrived in Yosemite in May 2007,” said Kathy Dimont of Yosemite National Park. “Each year more students will benefit from the Doherty family’s generosity, come to love the park and experience its wonders.”
