Campus Community

The American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation Recognize UC Merced's Leadership in Community Engagement

January 12, 2026

collage of photo with yellow text on a blue background reading Carnegie Elective Reclassification for Community Engagement

UC Merced has once again been recognized as a national leader in community-engaged scholarship. The 2026 Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement affirms the university’s deep and expanding commitment to serving the public. The designation from the American Council on...

New Director Looks to Build on Sexual Violence Prevention Efforts

UC Merced was ahead of the curve in 2009, when it created the Violence Prevention Program to combat sexual violence, dating and domestic violence, and stalking on campus and in the community just...

Researcher’s Solar-Powered Water Heaters Could Save Energy and Money

UC Merced Professor Gerardo Diaz is developing solar-powered water heating technology that could reduce the demand for natural gas in businesses and homes and lower the costs for business and ...

Engineering Students Find Success, Passion and Possible Lifesaver in Research Lab

A team of UC Merced engineering students — plus one from a nearby state university and two from a local high school — made progress this summer on prototypes of portable machines for diagnosing...

Young Students a Glimpse of College Life, Leadership

Ke-Myrion Anderson had never set foot on college campus before he spent a week at UC Merced in July. The Fresno eighth-grader was one of 150 students from across California who were invited to live...

New Research Center to Leverage High-Performance Computing Hardware

Faculty members from the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Chemistry and Chemical Biology and Mechanical Engineering groups are forming the newest research center at UC Merced, seeking the...

Alumna Stays Local, Pledges to Serve the Underserved

When she began her journey at UC Merced, Sheena Truong had the future planned out. She’d graduate, go to dental school and become an orthodontist. But Merced had more to offer — and in a roundabout...

Alumnus Named Women's Volleyball Coach

Surabordin “Ai” Prachumsri has been hired to take the helm as UC Merced’s second head coach in women's volleyball and the first alumnus to become a head coach for the campus. Prachumsri brings a...

Alumnus Finds His Purpose in Education

Editor's note: The following story appeared in the spring issue of UC Merced Magazine. When Abraham Olivares moved to Merced at age 20, a career in education was the furthest thing from his mind....

Professor’s Mercurial Studies Involve Tree Bark, Fish and Water

From the forests of Tuscany, Italy, to the shores of a San Diego reservoir, Professor Marc Beutel is hunting mercury. Beutel, one of the newest professors in the UC Merced School of Engineering, has...