Campus Community

Open Arms, Open Skies: Students Welcomed at Spirited, Soggy Scholars Bridge Crossing

August 26, 2025

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...

Professors’ Expertise Tapped for Policy Discussions at Drought Summit

Two researchers from the University of California, Merced, are slated to take part in the UC Drought Science, Policy and Management Summit at the state Capitol this week. School of Engineering ...

Researchers Melt Snow to See Climate Change Impacts

In a megadrought like the one California is experiencing, people tend to look at how much rainfall has come along. But it also matters when the snowmelt releases its cache, because the snowpack is...

Students Save Cash Through New Program Offering ‘Office’ for Free

UC Merced students are now using some of the latest and most popular Microsoft Office applications without having to dig into their wallets. The free software is available under Microsoft’s Student...

Professor’s Paper in Nature Communications Indicates Deep Sea Changes

Large, naturally occurring low-oxygen zones in the Pacific appear to be expanding, and there is a sharp change in the number of bacteria that produce and consume different forms of toxic sulfur,...

Students Continue Their Acting Careers at UC Merced

TaNayiah Bryels didn’t get the lead role of Mary in her first-grade Christmas pageant, but it did spark a lifelong interest in theater. The UC Merced student has been acting ever since, landing parts...

McCloskey’s Research Earns Grant from California’s Stem Cell Push

UC Merced Professor Kara McCloskey was recently awarded a highly competitive $500,000 grant to continue tackling significant, unresolved issues in human stem cell biology, as part of an effort to...

Campus Surpasses UC President’s Water Conservation Request

Conserving resources is just a part of the fabric of UC Merced. So it should come as no surprise that university leaders say the campus can not only meet President Janet Napolitano’s call to cut...

Campus Spirit Encouraged Alumna to Pursue Fungi Research

Graduate school is a constant state of discovery, something UC Merced alumna Jackie Shay credits for her current passion: fungus. Shay just returned home from a month in the humid climes of...

Research Week Offers Opportunities to Learn More about Intriguing Subjects

California’s drought is a major topic, including on the UC Merced campus. It will be among the subjects explored during this year’s Research Week, from March 10 through 14. The annual event...