Dear Trustees,
We appreciated the opportunity to see so many of you last month and look forward to convening virtually for committee and work group meetings in the coming months. Please look out for scheduling emails and we will follow up with calendar appointments as soon as meetings get confirmed.
As a reminder, the minutes from the October 27 meetings are all saved within the Trustee Resources Box folder and the livestream recordings are linked below.
Please be sure to mark your calendars for the annual "Give to UC Merced" initiative, which will kick off on Giving Tuesday on November 30, and end December 31! Please reach out to Amber Flores, Executive Director of Annual & Special Giving, at amberflores@ucmerced.edu if you would like to consider making a match or challenge gift. If you haven't already, check out the Impact Fund and Oxygen Fund videos linked below to hear from incredible students and alumni that have benefited from this board's support.
As we enter this season of thanks, we would like to express our deep appreciation for the countless ways that you all support our university and programs. Thank you for being valued members of our Bobcat community.
With great gratitude,
Ed, Lisa, and Stephanie
E. Edward Klotzbier, JD
Vice Chancellor
President, UC Merced Foundation
Lisa Pollard Carlson
Associate Vice Chancellor
Vice President, UC Merced Foundation
Stephanie Sia
Director, Foundation Board
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Welcome: Trustee Jeff Watts |
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Jeff Watts is the Chief of Staff at Topcon Positioning Systems (TPS). He reports directly to the President and CEO. His primary areas of responsibility include executive level direction, communication, planning and special projects. In addition, he handles all community relations in the surrounding areas of TPS headquarters in Livermore, CA. Globally, Topcon has a strong culture of social corporate responsibility and Jeff leads its philanthropic efforts in the US. His goal is to grow their presence wherever they can benefit the communities of TPS employees and customers. Jeff and his wife, Connie, reside in Pacific Grove, CA where he is an avid runner.
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Work Group and Committee Updates |
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The Executive Committee has approved changing the name of the "Philanthropy" work group to "Connections and Engagement." The new name will be used on materials moving forward.
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The Executive Committee also approved the formation of a special committee on Climate Leadership. If you are interested in participating, please be sure to email ucmfoundation@ucmerced.edu.
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Full Board Meetings
Wednesday, February 23, 2022
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Executive Committee Meetings
Tuesday, January 25, 2022 | 2:00 pm
Wednesday, May 11, 2022 | 11:00 am
Nominations WG Meetings
February 2, 2022 | 11:00 am
June 1, 2022 | 11:00 am
Other meetings to be scheduled:
Advocacy & Awareness WG
Climate Leadership Committee
Connections & Engagement WG
Entrepreneurial Ecosystem WG
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Thank you to those who have already contributed to the 2021 Trustees' Impact Fund benefiting Student Success!
The fund has already made a positive impact, as a portion was allocated to provide faculty mentors for the San Joaquin Valley Food and Agriculture Cyberinformatics Tools and Science (FACTS) summer bridge program (see video here).
Thank you for all that you do to serve the needs of UC Merced and our incredible students.
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2021-2022 Trustee Resources |
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UC Chancellor's Fellow Talk |
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Friday, December 10, 2021
12:00 to 1:30 pm
Passcode: sociology
Dr. Melina Packer is a Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Gender & Sexuality Studies at the University of California, Riverside. She received her PhD in Environmental Science, Policy, & Management, with a Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies, from the University of California, Berkeley.
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Michael V. Drake, M.D.
President of the University of California
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
5:00 pm
Dr. Michael V. Drake was appointed the 21st president of the University of California in August 2020. He oversees UC’s world-renowned system of 10 campuses, five medical centers, three nationally affiliated labs, more than 280,000 students and 230,000 faculty and staff.
Dr. Drake previously served as president of The Ohio State University from 2014 through June 2020. Prior to OSU, he served in several roles at the University of California including nine years as chancellor of UC Irvine and five years as the systemwide vice president for health affairs.
An ophthalmologist by training, Drake completed his A.B. at Stanford University, his M.D. and residency at UCSF, and his fellowship training in ophthalmology at UCSF and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.
The UC Merced Grand Rounds program is sponsored by the Office of Medical Education and UC Merced. This monthly series of interactive education sessions focuses on topics of interest to the San Joaquin Valley in clinical, community, and translational medicine, health sciences, public health and health systems.
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Friday, December 17, 2021
10:30 am - 4:00 pm
Conference Center and Zoom
You are cordially invited to the bi-annual showcase of student ingenuity from the School of Engineering's signature programs: Engineering Capstone, Engineering Service Learning, and Software Engineering Capstone. I2G is a unique "experiential learning" program that engages external partner organizations with teams of students who design systems to solve complex, real-world problems. The event is a great opportunity to experience the program and get ideas to discuss partnership opportunities and projects.
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Saturday, December 18, 2021
9:00 am - School of Natural Sciences
12:00 pm - School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts
3:00 pm - School of Engineering
The Fall 2021 Commencement Ceremonies will be hosted at the Art Kamangar Center at the Merced Theatre and will be streamed on the Commencement website. Tune in to help us cheer on our graduates as they cross the stage into a new, exciting chapter of life!
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Gov. Gavin Newsom, speaking at UC Merced, announced that the state will support the building of the university’s new medical education building.
The Health, Behavioral Sciences and Medical Education Building will support a B.S.-to-M.D. joint degree program with UCSF-Fresno, starting in 2023, along with public health and psychological sciences faculty and students. Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz, introducing the governor, said the financial support would be significant not simply to UC Merced but the San Joaquin Valley.
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UC Merced's commitment to the success of Latino students has been recognized with the prestigious Seal of Excelencia. The campus is among 10 institutions in the country to receive the reputable certification this year. The seal was presented on October 29 during a virtual ceremony by Excelencia in Education, a national organization devoted to the advancement of Latino student success in higher education.
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California Natural Resources Sec. Wade Crowfoot joined UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz and local leaders on November 2 to discuss the university-led research on drought, fire and broader climate resilience. As a campus with all buildings LEED certified campus and the first public research university in the country to achieve carbon neutrality, Muñoz said, UC Merced is committed to transformative research in sustainability and stewardship of the planet.
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With her first grant from the National Science Foundation, Zhang is studying how pine tree emissions produce particles that act as cloud condensation nuclei. As a new UC Merced faculty member in the Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Zhang received $500,000 to look at HOMs, which have recently been found to play an important role in driving the initial particle growth in the atmosphere.
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2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner and human rights activist Nadia Murad was honored with the Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in Social Justice, Diplomacy and Tolerance during a virtual ceremony on Wednesday, November 3.
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UC Merced recently received a generous donation to establish an endowed scholarship from OMRON Robotics and Safety Technologies, a global leader in intelligent robotic systems based in Pleasanton, CA. The aim is to increase funding for students studying engineering with an interest in a potential career in robotics.
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