San Joaquin Valley

Study Indicates Human-caused Dust Events are Linked to Fallow Farmland

June 2, 2025

The Central Valley is a major contributor to a growing dust problem, in large part because of agriculture, researchers say.

An average of more than 1 million acres of idled farmland a year is a significant contributor to a growing dust problem in California that has implications for millions of residents’ health and the state’s climate. A new study published in Nature Communications Earth and Environment...

UC Merced Holds Event For Incoming MAAP Students (Slideshow)

High school students who are on track to qualify for automatic admission to UC Merced and their families were invited to a special engagement on campus. The event took place in the Dr. Vikram...

Local activist Ana María Fabián Lomelí is seen in a still from "Letters2Maybe."

Merced Premieres Professor's Films as Their International Acclaim Grows

Film festivals across the world continue to reach out to filmmaker and Professor Yehuda Sharim to invite him to screen his latest films "El Ojo Comienza En La Mano" (translated to...

Three women stand next to each other in a mock courtroom.

Latinas in Law: Alumnae Advocate for Immigrants in Valley

Linda Barreto ('08), Jessica Jaramillo Perez ('14) and Alejandra Tenorio Zurita ('20) all knew at a young age that they wanted to become lawyers. What they didn't know, however, was...

UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz, Modesto City Schools Superintendent Sara Noguchi and other educational leaders pose for a photo.

Modesto City Schools Becomes Sixth Partner in Merced Automatic Admission Program

With the flourish of a pen on Tuesday (Sept. 27), students in the Modesto area gained an expedited pathway to become future Bobcats at the University of California, Merced. UC Merced Chancellor...

Researchers Take New Approach to Quantify Water Use

Like many other researchers, environmental engineering professors Erin Hestir and Joshua Viers are trying to quantify water use in California’s Central Valley. The difference is, they are...

UC Merced Director of Admissions Dustin Noji and Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified School District Superintendent Yolanda Valdez pose for a photo.

Merced Automatic Admission Program Extends to Cutler-Orosi, Chowchilla School Districts

The University of California, Merced, is adding more Central Valley school districts to its list of participants in the Merced Automatic Admission Program (MAAP). Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified...

A graphic depicts “Boldly Forward: The Campaign for UC Merced.”

UC Merced Launches Landmark $100 Million Fundraising Campaign

Editor's note: Since the launch of the "Boldy Forward" campaign in September, UC Merced has doubled the campaign’s fundraising goal from $100 million to $200 million, thanks in...

Sociology Ph.D. student Jullanar Williams Chancellor’s Fellowship for Inclusive Excellence

Four Ph.D. Students Awarded Chancellor’s Fellowship for Inclusive Excellence

UC Merced has awarded its second cohort of Chancellor’s Fellowship for Inclusive Excellence to four incoming Ph.D. students from the schools of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, Natural...

Members of the Fresno-Merced Future of Food Innovation (F3) Coalition pose for a photo on Sept. 2, 2022.

F3 Coalition Awarded $65 Million in Build Back Better Funds

The White House announced today (Sept. 2) a $65.1 million award — the largest federal grant ever awarded to the Central Valley — to the Fresno-Merced Future of Food Innovation (...