Dear Trustees,
We hope that you all have continued to remain safe and healthy during this challenging time. While we do not know how or when this crisis will resolve, UC Merced will continue to put the safety of our community and the needs of our students first as we determine our plans for the coming months. Remote learning will continue through both summer sessions, and the determination of how our great work of teaching, research, and service will continue in the fall will be informed by data and guidance from state and county public health officials. We will continue to share updates with the board as they become available.
We wanted to take a moment to thank you again for your support of our university and for the many contributions we have received to both the annual
Trustees' Impact Fund
and the
Student Emergency Fund
.
Your generous support truly makes a meaningful impact on our campus and on the wellbeing and success of our students.
Next
Saturday, May 16 at 10:00 a.m.
we will celebrate the
Class of 2020
with a virtual commencement ceremony. While in-person ceremonies will still be scheduled when safe to do so, we are excited to honor our graduates virtually in a unique way next weekend. Please join us in commemorating our students' achievements by attending the live-stream ceremony
online here
!
Also happening in a virtual format next week is the biannual
Innovate to Grow
showcase. The program will be held via Zoom on
Friday, May 15 at 12:00 p.m.
Register to attend here
and find more
information here
.
As announced in the April newsletter, the full board meeting scheduled for
Wednesday, June 17
will be held virtually through Zoom. The Executive Committee met via Zoom this week and made the decision to schedule our work group meetings separately from the June 17 meeting in order to allow more time for work groups to discuss their goals prior to reconvening with and reporting to the full board. Please look out for emails with additional details on the June meetings soon.
Should you have any questions in the meantime, please don't hesitate to reach out to
ucmfoundation@ucmerced.edu
. Please take care, and we look forward to connecting with you virtually soon.
Best,
E. Edw. Klotzbier
Vice Chancellor
President, UC Merced Foundation
Lisa Pollard Carlson
Associate Vice Chancellor
Vice President, UC Merced Foundation
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2020 Trustees' Impact Fund
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Thank you to the many trustees that have already made their contribution to the 2020 Trustees’ Impact Fund in support of the
Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve
.
We are currently at 40% participation and have already reached 50% of our total fundraising goal for this fund. For those that have not yet done so, please consider making your annual gift today and help the board reach their goal of
100% trustee participation
in advance of the June board meeting. Should you have any questions on your annual contribution, please contact Lisa Pollard Carlson at
lpollard@ucmerced.edu
or (209) 291-8169.
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June 2020 Meeting Schedule
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We will be conducting our meetings for the remainder of this academic year virtually through Zoom. Please be on the lookout for emails with updates and information regarding the work group and full board meetings to be held in June.
June 8 - 12, 2020
Work Group Meetings (details coming soon)
June 17, 2020
Full Board Meeting
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Save the Date: 2020 - 2021 BOT Meetings
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Please mark the following dates on your calendar for the 2020-2021 full board meetings:
October 28, 2020
February 24, 2021
June 23, 2021
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Nominations Co-Chairs, Monya Lane and Chris Long, shared a couple key updates with the Executive Committee earlier this week.
In light of the current circumstances, the Nominations Work Group has paused consideration of nominees and will not be recommending any trustee candidates for approval at the June meeting. They plan to resume outreach this summer to consider nominees for the fall.
They also shared that they are in conversation with trustees whose current terms are ending on June 30 to discuss interest in either renewing for another three-year term of service or graduating to the UC Merced Fellows program.
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Whether you are missing the campus or would like to virtually introduce someone to our university, we hope you find this extensive
interactive tour
useful.
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Read about the numerous online services made available to students by the Office of Leadership, Service and Career, including workshops and career fairs.
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Economics Professor Greg Wright participates in a Q&A on COVID-19's impact on the economy. In this piece he details the impact of unemployment and compares features of this economy to the 2008 recession and the Great Depression.
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When UC Merced began transitioning to emergency remote instruction in late March, hoping to lessen the spread of COVID-19, Jackie Shay didn't waste any time jumping in to help her fellow teaching assistants make the shift.
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Graduate student Ritwika Vallomparambath PanikkasserySugasree and fellow researchers observed how babies develop language by vocally “foraging”— looking for sounds that elicit reactions from adult caregivers.
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Professor Ashlie Martini’s study of friction is helping a Canadian agriculture-development organization breed crunchier varieties of apples.
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Graduate student Katie Daniels finishes her Ph.D. at the end of the semester and has a tenure-track position at Cal Poly Pomona starting this fall.
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Find information regarding the pandemic and its impact on our campus updated regularly on this website.
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UC Merced Arts: Shelter-in-Place Virtual Art Show
Participate in and peruse the virtual art show posted on
UC Merced Arts' Instagram
. Check out Chair Denise Watkins' beautiful contribution to the show on the left!
If you would like to submit a piece, send to
arts@ucmerced.edu
and include the following:
- JPEG or PNG file of your piece
- Your Instagram account name
- Title of your piece
- Medium used, i.e. oil paint, collage, etc.
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Choose from a wide selection of virtual backgrounds to download and use during your Zoom meetings. There are various campus locations, branded backdrops, as well as options to celebrate our Spring 2020 graduates!
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Documentary by Professor Yehuda Sharim
You may have met Professor Sharim at the Impact Showcase in October. His documentary film about a family transitioning from Iran to life in Texas has been selected as a finalist in the International Documentary Film Festival Vienna, and can be
streamed online here
through May 14. Article about the honor can be
read here
.
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Bobcat Summer STEM Academy
UC Merced CalTeach is offering week-long classes for K-12 students and one-day seminars open to all this summer! Offerings will be released the week of May 18.
Sign up here
to receive the emails with more information.
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Activities for Young Bobcats
The UC Merced Early Childhood Education Center (ECEC) has been sharing with families many great activity ideas for their young bobcats that have been at home for the past several weeks. The extensive list has been
compiled here
.
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Social Stories by Conscious Discipline
The ECEC also shared two great resources for teaching kids about what is going on in the world right now. The free short stories are linked below.
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Future Bobcat Coloring Book
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Choral Class
UC Merced faculty Jenni Samuelson serves as director for the Merced Children's Holiday Choir. She has taken her rehearsals to
YouTube
and invites other children to "crash" her weekly course!
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