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For Turlock High Grad, UC Merced is Just Far Enough from Home

March 6, 2026

Breyenne Pierce, a utility player on the water polo team, demonstrates her skills.
Breyenne Pierce wasn't sure UC Merced was for her. The Turlock High graduate had followed her passion for water polo to Sierra College in Rocklin. As she was concluding her community college experience, she started looking for a four-year university to complete her degree. "Honestly...
Marcus Shaw will celebrate his dream of earning a Ph.D. in sociology at the university’s first Fall Commencement ceremony Dec. 16.

Former Street Kid Fulfills Educational Promise with Ph.D.

As a teenager in Merced, Marcus Shaw lived a life marked by poverty, poor choices and indifference to education. The idea of college — especially at the new UC Merced campus — seemed...
Aerial view of UC Merced and its new construction

Campus’s Economic Impact on State Nears $3 Billion

UC Merced has infused nearly $3 billion into California’s economy since its inception — including more than $1.6 billion in the San Joaquin Valley — in salaries, goods and...
Bob Tinker

Campus Voices: UC Merced’s Innovation Has Only Just Begun

As an entrepreneur based in the cradle of technology innovation, I am fortunate to be regularly exposed to innovative people, innovative ideas, and innovative organizations working on big...
Woman pointing to a high-resolution LED screen

Donors' Pioneering Vision Creates Lasting Library Legacy

Decades ago, attorney Leo Kolligian was one of the early champions of a new University of California campus in the San Joaquin Valley. His years of unwavering leadership and commitment helped pave...
Two researchers kneeling in a green, grassy field.

Hellman Fellowships Give Young Professors a Leg Up on Research

Jason Sexton traveled to research sites to learn more about the evolution of monkey flowers. Teamrat Ghezzehei installed soil sensors in the Sierra. Asmeret Berhe laid the foundation for a large...
Female student addressing a classroom of high school students

Outreach Links Students With the Community

A unique collaboration between UC Merced students and inmates from the Sierra Conservation Center is helping Tuolumne County attract new businesses. The Captivated Thinking Project ...
6 adults in business suits holding a large honorary check in the amount of $125,000

Wells Fargo: Partners in Education and Economic Growth

UC Merced is distinguished by its trailblazing ethos, and the university has pushed the boundaries of innovation in ways that impact both the campus and the wider community. This is due in large part...
Rufus Bobcat and a UC Merced student

Hundreds of Students Already Giving Back to Campus

If this year’s Giving Tuesday was a success — and by every measure, it was — that success was due in large part to the generosity of UC Merced students. The day-long fundraiser...
A man in a white shirt is seen in profile looking through the eyepiece of a microscope.

Process That Kills Damaged Cells Hints at New Cancer Therapies

Scientists have long known that cells originating from an animal’s anterior — the body’s upper half — tend to grow, divide and survive better than those from the posterior....

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