Leadership

Open Arms, Open Skies: Students Welcomed at Spirited, Soggy Scholars Bridge Crossing

August 26, 2025

Spirits were high and futures bright while all else was soaked in a summer storm that made Tuesday morning’s Scholars Bridge Crossing, UC Merced’s traditional greeting to new students, a welcome unlike any before. Call them Thunder ‘Cats. The ceremony embraced about 2,000...

The Beginnings sculpture on the UC Merced campus.

UC Alum Juan Sánchez Muñoz Named UC Merced’s Fourth Chancellor

The University of California Board of Regents approved today Dr. Juan Sánchez Muñoz’s appointment as UC Merced’s fourth chancellor. Muñoz comes to UC from the University of Houston-...

UC Merced students in the Leadership & Service Living Learning Community take in the view from atop Mount Tamalpais.

Nature Retreat Teaches Students the Importance of Service to Community

Hiking to the top of Marin County’s iconic Mount Tamalpais gave a group of UC Merced students not only a magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean, but insight into how they, as individuals, can...

NYT Best-Selling Author Michael Lewis to Speak on Current Markets

New York Times best-selling author Michael Lewis will visit the UC Merced campus for a conversation with interim Chancellor Nathan Brostrom on the future of economic markets. While some authors...

UC Merced Welcomes Visit by Junior Leadership Merced Students

Fifteen students from Merced County high schools experienced a bit of college life this week as part of the Junior Leadership Merced program. The students visited UC Merced on Monday, Nov. 25,...

Interim Chancellor Nathan Brostom welcomes Maria Echaveste to UC Merced for a conversation on "The Future of American Democracy."

Chancellor Brostrom Welcomes Maria Echaveste for Conversation on Democracy

At a time of dramatic political division in our society, the role of universities — as places where people can connect with others and explore ideas — is more important than ever,...

Founding Professor Named Associate Dean of Natural Sciences

The School of Natural Sciences has a new associate dean for Academic Programs, founding faculty member Professor Michael Colvin. “With his experience as a researcher and administrator,...

Zanzucchi Appointed Associate Dean for Student Services and Academics

Anne Zanzucchi has worn many different hats in her 14 years at UC Merced and now she is preparing to enter her newest role as associate dean for Student Services and Academics for the School of...

ice Provost and Graduate Dean Marjorie S. Zatz was selected as one of the Top 35 Women in Higher Education by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education.

‘Diverse’ Names Zatz One of the Nation’s Leading Women in Higher Ed

UC Merced’s Vice Provost and Graduate Dean Marjorie S. Zatz was selected as one of the Top 35 Women in Higher Education in Diverse: Issues In Higher Education’s eighth annual special...

Ph.D. students Craig Ennis and Vicky Espinoza visited Sacramento with Vice Provost and Graduate Dean Marjorie Zatz to speak with lawmakers about the contribution of graduate research to California's development.

Graduate Students Make a Case for Research at Capitol

Two UC Merced Ph.D. students took to the State Capitol yesterday with representatives from the other UC campuses to advocate for the importance of the research being done across California. Craig...