Chancellor

UC Merced Graduates Encouraged to Embrace Every Moment

May 19, 2025

With cheers, hugs and leis, more than 1,500 UC Merced graduates received a celebratory sendoff to their bright futures as a prominent keynote speaker told them to make the most of the here and now. Hundreds of families and friends joined the graduates in three days of commencement ceremonies at...

Chancellor First in Speaker Series Promoting UC Merced Women

Chancellor Dorothy Leland will be the first speaker in a new series, “Women We Admire,” which features women who work on campus. The series, presented by The Chancellor’s Advisory...

U.S. flag flies in front of UC Merced students

Statement From Chancellor Leland on DACA

The decision to end DACA is a cruel bait-and-switch for the many young adults who are living, learning, and working here under its protections. Congress must now step up and pass legislation that...

Graphic displaying UC Merced's top-10 ranking from Washington Monthly.

Washington Monthly Ranks UC Merced Top-10 in the U.S.

UC Merced ranks among the top 10 universities in the nation for the success of its first-generation and underrepresented students, according to Washington Monthly’s 2017 College Rankings. The...

Chancellor Dorothy Leland, Mayor Mike Murphy and others at the Downtown Campus Center event.

Downtown Campus Center Celebrates Construction Milestone

UC Merced marked the end of the structural phase of construction for its Downtown Campus Center on June 22 when community partners signed a beam as a symbol of an effort to increase campus and...

Campus Marks Largest Class, Year of Growth With 2017 Commencement

More than 1,200 undergraduate and graduate students are expected to participate in the University of California, Merced’s 12th commencement ceremonies this weekend — its largest class since opening...

National Book Award Winner to Give Talk on Racism

Ibram X. Kendi, one of the nation’s most prolific and accomplished young professors of race, is this spring’s guest speaker as part of the Chancellor’s Dialogue on Diversity and Interdisciplinarity...

Event Celebrates Generosity of Donors

Campus friends and supporters were recognized for their charitable spirit at UC Merced’s third annual Celebration of Philanthropic Leaders event, held on campus March 25. During a reception on the...

Pulitzer Winner, HP Executive to Speak at Commencement Ceremonies

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Héctor Tobar and HP Inc. Chief Diversity Officer Lesley Slaton Brown are the keynote speakers for the University of California, Merced’s 12th commencement...

In-State Demand for UC Merced Admission Hits a Record High

The University of California, Merced, received more than 18,000 applications from California high school seniors seeking admission for Fall 2017 — a 10.1 percent increase from the previous year, or...