Jody Murray

5 Questions for Indigenous Author of Acclaimed Memoir Coming to UC Merced

February 11, 2025

Deborah Taffa, an Indigenous author and educator whose book about growing up in a mixed-race home and struggling with social acceptance was hailed as one the best memoirs of 2024, will make a special visit to Merced this month. Taffa will make two appearances Tuesday, Feb. 18 to read from...

Illustration of burning cigarette in test tubes

Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center Enlists Wastewater Tests in Fight Against Smoking

UC Merced's Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center has embarked on an innovative partnership with university researchers who can track an entire community’s health and habits with...

World-spanning Art for Earth Kicks Off UC Merced Arts Spring Season

An exhibition that collects artistic visions from five continents and weaves them into a compelling plea to protect our planet has found the perfect home for the first few months of 2025. At least...

COVID Lockdown Disrupted Preschoolers’ Social Skills, Trailblazing Research Shows

Lockdowns. Social distancing. Shuttered schools and businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic and its sweeping disruptions set off a stampede of “what it’s doing to us” research, focused...

Why the Battle Against Cancer Needs Awesome Video Games

Cancer is vicious. In 2025, it is expected to cause more than 618,000 U.S. deaths — nearly twice the combined populations of Merced and Modesto. Each year, almost half of this nation, young and...

Novel Research Reveals Costs, Rewards for Youth Who Serve as Emotion Interpreters

Young people whose parents or caregivers aren’t acclimated to their community’s dominant language and culture play a valuable role in bridging communication gaps, including unspoken...

uc merced fall commencement father and graduate son

Speakers Set for UC Merced Fall Commencement

The head of one of the largest municipal housing authorities in the United States and the first undocumented resident to earn at Ph.D. at UC Merced will be keynote speakers at the university’s...

uc merced standup comedy class performers and professor

In UC Merced Standup Comedy Course, Joy is the Punchline

Katherine Cai is on stage, reminiscing about high school. “My dad tried to teach me geometry. You know how that goes. The questions get more and more difficult and Dad gets more and more...

Bobcats Bring Valley’s Love for Soccer to a National Stage

The significance of soccer in the San Joaquin Valley cannot be overstated. It’s a sport that connects communities, bridges borders and stretches across generations of fathers and mothers and...

Ending Health Disparities Starts with Good Data, National Authority Says

Solid and sharable research data must go hand in hand with collaboration and caring to tackle the health gaps that trouble minoritized and underserved populations in the San Joaquin Valley...