Chancellor

Former Gov. Gray Davis Awarded Chancellor’s Medal for Transformative Leadership in Bringing UC Merced to the Central Valley

February 24, 2026

UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sanchez Munoz and Governor Gray Davis pose with the Chancellor's Medal

At an intimate gathering of supporters, UC Merced awarded former Gov. Gray Davis the Chancellor’s Medal — the university’s highest honor — in recognition of his instrumental role in bringing the 10th University of California campus to Merced. The medal was presented...

Two Alumni Create Legacies Through Scholarship Endowments

Jessica “JaeJae” Julian (2010) and Marko Zivanovic (2014) are proving that giving back shortly after graduation can be possible. During the campus’s Giving Tuesday...

New Lecture Series Articulates Campus’s Core Values

Carlos Castillo-Chavez has had, by all accounts, an extraordinarily successful academic career. He began as an immigrant from Mexico City and wound up researching and teaching at Cornell University...

Campus Honors Impact of Top Donors at Annual Event

Campus supporters, administrative and academic leadership, faculty members, students and alumni gathered for UC Merced’s Celebration of Philanthropic Leaders event, held March 19 to recognize the...

Lecture to Highlight Campus’s Diverse, Interdisciplinary Spirit

UC Merced is launching a new public lecture series that combines the campus’s emphasis on interdisciplinary scholarship with its strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. The Chancellor’s...

Community Group Recognized for Charitable Work

The UC Merced Foundation Board of Trustees recently honored the University Friends Circle (UFC) for its philanthropic efforts. Each year, the board honors a philanthropic leader — or in this year’s...

FAA Chief, Silicon Valley Entrepreneur to Speak at Commencement

Two trailblazers in their fields will grace the stage during the 11th commencement at the University of California, Merced. Bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree candidates will hear words of...

UPDATE: Board of Regents Approves Campus Expansion Plan

NOTE: After receiving approval from two key committees Thursday morning, UC Merced’s 2020 Project was approved by the full Board of Regents on Thursday afternoon, in a vote that was initially...

An Update From Chancellor Leland

Dear Campus Community/UC Merced families, I am writing to share the latest developments in the investigation that were released today by the FBI and the steps that our community is taking to recover...

Saturday Message from Chancellor Leland to Campus Community

UC Merced Chancellor Dorothy Leland issued the following message to the campus community Saturday, Nov. 7: Dear campus community: Yesterday, I sent out the message reminding members of our campus...