Chancellor

20 Years In, UC Merced Celebrates Achievements, Looks to Future

October 23, 2025

Only 20 years since undergraduate instruction began, UC Merced is a recognized leader in conducting academic research, developing young minds for career success and driving economic growth, the university’s chancellor said Wednesday. Speaking to a gathering of campus and community...

Interdisciplinary Humanities Ph.D. student Sabrina Rawson

Incoming Grad Students Awarded Inaugural Inclusive Excellence Fellowship

As part of its commitment to inclusive excellence in graduate research and education, UC Merced has awarded its new Chancellor’s Fellowship for Inclusive Excellence to four incoming Ph.D....

Former Assemblymember Rusty Areias, U.S. Rep. Jim Costa, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz pose for a photo on the UC Merced campus.

California Lieutenant Governor Tours UC Merced

Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis visited UC Merced in early June for a tour of the new Merced 2020 Project facilities and to learn more about water and agriculture concerns. Kounalakis and UC Merced...

UC Merced Receives Largest Philanthropic Gift in Campus History

Philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott and her husband, Dan Jewett, have made the most significant gift to the University of California, Merced, in the university’s 16-year history. Scott...

In addition to the virtual commencement this year, graduates had the option to take part in in-person activities.

Class of 2021 Takes Part in In-person Activities Followed by Virtual Commencement

The pandemic has changed many aspects of life, but UC Merced Bobcats demonstrated their ability to overcome life's unexpected curveballs during an academic year unlike any other. To ensure...

UC Merced, MUHSD Announce Merced Automatic Admission Program

UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz, Ph.D., and Merced Union High School District Superintendent Alan Peterson formally signed the first Merced Automatic Admission Program (MAAP) for students at...

30,105 prospective students seek to become Bobcats in fall 2021.

UC Merced Receives Highest Number of Applications in Campus’s History

In a record year for applicants to the entire University of California system, UC Merced has received a total of 30,105 prospective student applications among freshman and transfer students into the...

2020 brought a wealth of challenges, but once again the Bobcat community proved its resilience, coming together to ensure the university’s mission of teaching, research and service would continue. Photo Credit: Dave Burk © SOM

UC Merced: Looking Back on 2020

There was an undeniable feeling of optimism and excitement in January 2020, as the calendar turned to a new year at the University of California, Merced. The university would be welcoming its fourth...

Congressman Dan Costa (far left) and Assembly Member Adam Gray (far right) joined Chancellor Muñoz and President Vitelli at Friday's signing ceremony.

UC Merced, Merced College Unveil New Transfer Pipeline for Local Students

UC Merced and Merced College are teaming up to make it easier than ever for local students to matriculate through community college and earn bachelor’s degrees from the most respected public...

UC President Michael Drake and UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz

New UC President Drake Praises Merced for Research, Diversity, Student Success

In just 15 years since its founding, UC President Michael V. Drake, M.D., said UC Merced has come to embody the best of what the University of California has to offer when it comes to...