Dear UC Merced Fellows,
The fall semester is well underway – students are back and have brought with them new energy and enthusiasm to our campus. We welcomed our largest first-year class ever of 2,466, in addition to new transfer and new graduate students, and began the academic year with a total enrollment of 9,266. All our Bobcats have exemplified incredible resilience and perseverance, and we are honored to continue supporting their success as we carry out UC Merced's mission.
Though we must remain nimble to prioritize the safety and health of our community during this transition, we are grateful for the opportunity to resume normal operations and to welcome our partners back to campus.
We hope that you can join for this year's State of the University on Thursday, October 7 at 11:30 am. The luncheon is a ticketed event with limited capacity, so please be sure to visit engage.ucmerced.edu/SOTU2021 to register. You may also contact Stephanie Sia at ucmfoundation@ucmerced.edu or 209-382-4142.
Finally, I wanted to make sure that you saw two very exciting pieces of news (articles featured below). In June, UC Merced received its largest philanthropic gift in campus history, $20 million, from MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett. This week, the US News & World Report released their annual rankings – UC Merced is now ranked 38th among public universities and 93rd overall. Thank you for the important role you all have played over the years, as advocates for our students and campus, to make these achievements possible and to get UC Merced to where it is today. With your support, we will continue to rise.
Thank you for being a part of our community. Please don't hesitate to reach out should you have questions or would like to connect.
Warm regards,
Ed
E. Edward Klotzbier, J.D.
Vice Chancellor
President, UC Merced Foundation
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Philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott and her husband, Dan Jewett, have made the most significant gift to the University of California, Merced, in the university’s 16-year history.
Scott announced the $20 million gift in a blog post June 15. In all, the couple donated $2.74 billion to 286 organizations, including nonprofits and groups working to combat racial discrimination. UC Merced is the only University of California campus to receive a gift in the couple’s generous giving history.
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The University of California, Merced, continues its historic climb in the venerable US News & World Report rankings of U.S. universities, with the 2022 list recently released. UC Merced remains in the top 100, rising to 93rd among national universities — up 72 spots over four years. The campus is 38th among public universities and 18th among R2 universities.
UC Merced is No. 4 for creating social mobility and No. 8 for the economic diversity of its students, with more than 60% of the school’s undergraduate students receiving Pell Grants, the federal financial aid program for low-income families.
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2021 State of the University |
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Thursday, October 7, 2021
11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Dr. Vikram and Priya Lakireddy Grand Ballroom
Join us for the State of the University – an annual UC Merced tradition. Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz will deliver his address during an intimate luncheon in the new Dr. Vikram and Priya Lakireddy Grand Ballroom. Chancellor Muñoz will discuss important issues facing the university as we look to the future of our campus and community.
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At the June board meeting, Denise Watkins passed the gavel to incoming Chair Curtis Riggs. In recognition of all that the board accomplished under her three years of dedicated leadership, Chancellor Muñoz presented Denise, our "BOT MVP," with a custom jersey and crystal gavel. We are immensely grateful and look forward to Denise and Curtis' continued partnership and guidance advancing the work of the Foundation. |
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Thank you to Trustee Ray O'Connor and Alumni Representative Trustee Janna Glaze for their service. We look forward to their continued engagement through the UC Merced Fellows program.
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Trustees Josh Becker and Bob Tinker celebrated 20 years of service on the UC Merced Foundation Board of Trustees.
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Trevor Albertson Ph.D. ’09 has a history of “firsts” during his time with UC Merced. In addition to being among the university’s earliest doctoral students, having entered the World Cultures and History program in 2006 and earned his Ph.D. in Political Diplomatic History in 2009, he is the first UC Merced graduate to be appointed for a three-year term to the UC Merced Board of Trustees. Now he, along with his wife Katherine, have created the Albertson Family Fellowship Fund, making Albertson the first UC Merced alumnus to endow a fellowship.
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The Board of Trustees has voted to direct the 2021 Trustees' Impact Fund towards the area of Student Success. If you would like to contribute, gifts can be made online (engage.ucmerced.edu/foundation-gift) or by completing and returning this form.
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With a new $20 million federal grant, UC Merced becomes part of a multi-institutional research collaborative to develop artificial intelligence — or AI — solutions to tackle some of agriculture’s biggest challenges related to water management, climate change and integration of new technology into farming.
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Nearly 1.2 million students in California are not native English speakers, many coming from Spanish-speaking households. Transitioning to an English-speaking classroom can be difficult for these students, but UC Merced’s Teacher Preparation Program is poised to remedy these challenges with its recent bilingual authorization.
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In July, Joseph Bello presented his findings for the prestigious Donald A. Strauss Foundation Scholarship to United Spinal, the longstanding nonprofit dedicated to overcoming the stigma of disability and increasing inclusivity for wheelchair users.
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This fall, UC Merced is launching a new civil engineering major that will sit within the existing civil and environmental engineering major. The program is available to first-year students and will focus on modern civil engineering concepts with an emphasis on sustainability.
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