Community Service

Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service: A Day On, Not a Day Off

January 15, 2026

UC Merced students shown leading the MLK Jr Day Unity march.

UC Merced will honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. by hosting a day of action, inviting the campus and community to serve together on Monday, Jan. 19. In keeping with King’s call to build a “beloved community,” UC Merced’s Community Engagement Center is inviting...

UC Merced Celebrates Largest Graduating Class

A joyous throng of 776 degree candidates of the University of California, Merced, today marched through the Beginnings Sculpture and onto the campus’ South Bowl to receive their prized degrees,...

Speaker, Singer Grateful for Commencement Opportunities

Grecia Sanchez and Blaine Hartsock know they’re more than lucky. Out of dozens of UC Merced seniors, they were chosen to speak and sing, respectively, at the 2012 Commencement ceremony. “I don’t...

Senior Earns Prestigious Study Opportunities

UC Merced senior Jesse Anaya answered his phone one day to hear an unfamiliar voice ask, “Are you ready to change the world?” “Yes,” he replied. “Now, who is this?” A representative from the Harvard...

Campus' Violence Prevention Program Wins Congressional Award

UC Merced was awarded the Allied Professional Award from the Congressional Victims’ Rights Caucus this month at the group’s annual ceremony in Washington, D.C. Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, and Rep...

UC Research Resource Center to Serve San Joaquin Valley

An innovative community-university partnership to empower San Joaquin Valley residents to analyze and communicate their most pressing challenges launches in Fresno this month. The Participatory...

Campus' Ties with Community Continue to Increase

The bond between the San Joaquin Valley and the University of California, Merced, continues to strengthen. This past year, UC Merced's ongoing research endeavors produced new knowledge...

UC Merced to Connect Research, Practices to Improve Youth Well-Being

In an effort to help improve the health of young people in the Central Valley, the University of California, Merced, will host a conference next month to connect innovative researchers with community...

Police Mentor Program Steers Youngsters Toward College

Uriel Bravo is about to become a freshman at Merced High School, but he's already thinking about college — thanks partly to the encouragement of a UC Merced program. “I really want to go to college...

Engineering Service Learning Links Students with Community

Mix up a few buckets of goo, and what do you have? A messy and fun science lesson for local schoolchildren — courtesy of UC Merced students who help the community through an innovative engineering...