San Joaquin Valley

For Turlock High Grad, UC Merced is Just Far Enough from Home

March 6, 2026

Breyenne Pierce, a utility player on the water polo team, demonstrates her skills.

Breyenne Pierce wasn't sure UC Merced was for her. The Turlock High graduate had followed her passion for water polo to Sierra College in Rocklin. As she was concluding her community college experience, she started looking for a four-year university to complete her degree. "Honestly...

Three people featured in the film walk together

'Letters2Maybe' Explores Struggle for Stability and Happiness Among Immigrants

“Letters2Maybe,” the latest film by Professor Yehuda Sharim with UC Merced’s Department of Global Arts Studies, premiers next week at the New Jersey International Film...

A new Regional Climate Change Assessment by a team of UC Merced and affiliated researchers illustrates problems and possible solutions facing California’s biomes and communities.

Faculty Report IDs Top Climate Challenges Facing Valley

California’s Central Valley is on the front lines of climate change. The Fourth Regional Climate Change Assessment, by a team of UC Merced and affiliated researchers, illustrates the biggest...

Survey: Fresno Voters Concerned with Pandemic, Spending Priorities, Basic Needs

A representative sample survey of Fresno voters, now in its second year, is giving area policymakers insight into the opinions and concerns of the people they represent. The UC Merced Community...

Bakersfield College, grad student fellowship

With Fellowship, Grad Students Pay It Forward at Community College Level

Their community college experiences occurred hundreds of miles apart, but Kim Arellano Carmona and John Wilson each found the support and inspiration that would propel them to Ph.D. candidate studies...

Student Cathryn Flores poses in front of a University of California, Merced sign.

From Shakespeare to Music Awards Shows: UC Merced Undergrad Hits the Right Notes

This time around, what happened in Las Vegas will not stay there — at least for Cathryn Flores. The fourth-year undergraduate, who's working on a major in English and minor in writing,...

Fourth-graders at a Merced elementary school are introduced to agriculture-related sciences by undergrads in the FARMERS program.

USDA Grant Supports Diverse Ag-related Learning and Training for Students

Students at UC Merced and those who might someday become Bobcats are the focus of FARMERS, Professor Rudy M. Ortiz’s training program funded again for $1 million by the U.S. Department of...

Professor Josué Medellín-Azuara is heading up a new study of drought's effects on agricultural communities.

Researchers to Study, Report on Impacts of Drought on Agriculture and Communities

Just because there has been rain lately doesn’t mean California is drought-free. A new $1.5 million research grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture is supporting School...

Professor’s COVID-tracking Earns Her a Spot in New Center of Excellence

School of Engineering Professor Colleen Naughton has been selected to be part of a Center of Excellence, along with colleagues at UC Davis, funded by a National Institutes of Health grant. Ceres...

Study: Many Immigrants Perceive Racial Discrimination at Work, in Health Care

In recently published reports, Department of Public Health Professor Maria-Elena Young, Public Health doctoral student Sharon Tafolla and colleagues at UCLA discovered that Latino and Asian...