Campus Community

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...

Public Health Grad Student’s CDC-funded Research Helps Mosquito Control

Public health Ph.D. student Ryan Torres presented research at last month’s Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California Conference in San Diego that could be foundational for future...

Students walk along Scholars Lane on campus.

University Friends Circle Offers Scholarship Opportunity for Student Volunteers

UC Merced students who are active in the community are encouraged to apply for the University Friends Circle Distinguished Volunteer Scholarship for the upcoming 2020-2021 academic year. The...

UC Merced Alum Takes Helm at Lassen Community College

Trevor Albertson, who earned his Ph.D. in world cultures and history from UC Merced in 2009, has been appointed interim president/superintendent of Lassen Community College (LCC) by its board of...

UC Regents’ Committees to Meet at UC Merced Jan. 30-31

UC Merced will host members of the University of California Board of Regents Jan. 30-31, as the board’s Presidential Selection and Public Engagement and Development committees meet with the...

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 to Screen Acclaimed Documentary as Part of Human Trafficking Prevention Month

Worldwide, nearly 25 million people are victims of human trafficking, a criminal enterprise that generates $150 billion each year — more than the combined annual profits of Exxon, Microsoft, BP...

Public Health Ph.D. student Chia Thao's research interests center on improving minority health disparities and promoting well being.

Ph.D. Student Gets to the Root of Health Disparities Facing Hmong Farmers

Chia Thao was a teenager when she arrived in Fresno with her family to begin a new life. She was born in a refugee camp in Thailand, where her Laotian parents had fled after the Vietnam War....

Family and friends of the newest UC Merced graduates gathered at Joseph Edward Gallo Recreation and Wellness Center last weekend for Fall Commencement.

UC Merced Celebrates Newest Fall Graduates

Nearly 200 students took part in the campus’s Fall Commencement exercise Sunday at the Joseph Edward Gallo Recreation and Wellness Center as friends and family cheered them on. Jessica...

Rufus the Bobcat and the UC Merced campus community rung in the holiday season at the Beginnings lighting and food drive last week.

UC Merced Rings in Holiday Season with Beginnings Lighting, Food Drive

UC Merced’s iconic Beginnings sculpture represents arms reaching out to embrace students as they embark on a higher education journey filled with wonder, excitement and joy. Those same...