Gifts

From Dreams to Degrees: Graduates Celebrate with Scholarship Donors

June 12, 2025

UC Merced’s graduating Class of 2025 recently celebrated its achievement at the campus’s spring commencement, joined by family members, close friends and loved ones. For two graduates, Jahaira Morales and Bryan Gutierrez, the ceremony also was an opportunity to meet with a couple of...

Graduate student Boe Mendewala is UC Merced's 2020 Grad Slam champion.

Physics Ph.D. Student Named Grad Slam Campus Champion

UC Merced’s Graduate Division wrapped up its annual Grad Slam competition this week, announcing Physics doctoral candidate Boe Mendewala as its campus champion. The judges awarded two...

‘Philanthropy Day’ Celebrates UC Merced’s Growing Culture of Giving

The Bobcat culture of giving will be celebrated with cookies and fun on Thursday, as the campus marks UC Merced Philanthropy Day hosted by the Student Alumni Association. “The annual...

Students Push ‘Give Tue UC Merced’ to Record Number of Donors

Goal achieved! UC Merced supporters turned out in force on Giving Tuesday with a record number of donors contributing to campus scholarships and fellowships. More than 1,300 individuals donated...

Students walk across campus at UC Merced

UC Merced Aims to Draw 1,000 Donors in a Day with ‘Give Tue UC Merced’ Campaign

Jose Nava-Mejia hopes to work in renewable energy after he graduates from UC Merced. That means every moment spent on his environmental energy courses is a moment invested in the planet’s...

Pellissier Lecture: Spreading Excellence on a Larger Scale

Bestselling author and Stanford University Professor Robert Sutton will share principles and examples of “Scaling Up Excellence,” the title of his presentation as this year’s Vital...

Guatemalan Nobelist Announced as This Year’s Spendlove Prize Recipient

Nobel laureate Rigoberta Menchú Tum, recognized for her work in social and ethno-cultural reform, has been selected to receive the 2018 Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in Social Justice...

Vice Chancellor Ed Klotzbier, Monique de Villa (’16), Danielle Armedilla (’12), and Chancellor Dorothy Leland

Alumnae Staff Members Honor Family With Endowed Scholarships

In creating scholarships to help future generations of Bobcats succeed, UC Merced staff members and alumnae Monique de Villa (’16) and Danielle Armedilla (’12) are cementing the legacy...

New Endowment Enhances Alumni Association’s Initiatives

Last month, the UC Merced Alumni Association (UCMAA) established the UC Merced Alumni Association Journey Endowment with $25,000 it collected through fundraising efforts to support initiatives...

Nathan Parmeter, Arlene Kranich, Melissa Becerra and Haipeng Li

New Scholarship Pays Homage to Persistence and Research

A generous gift from the grandmother of a UC Merced alumna and current staff member is benefitting two undergraduate students who put the UC Merced Library to good use. Melissa Becerra, a third-...