Political Science Joins Gallo School Initiative

In September, faculty in the CIS, EBM, and MCS departments voted to include the Political Science department in the proposal for the future Gallo School of Management. There was overwhelming support within each department and unanimous support across the three departments. The Political Science faculty also voted unanimously in favor of joining the Gallo School Initiative.

Additional information, updates, and frequently asked questions can be found at the Gallo School Initiative page on the Division of Management and Information website.
Gallo School Core Planning Team/Executive Committee

Meet the Gallo School Core Planning Team/Executive Committee for AY 2021-22:

  • Rob Innes, Professor, Economics and Business Management
  • Andrew Johnston, Assistant Professor,Economics and Business Management
  • Crystal Kolden, Assistant Professor, Management of Complex Systems
  • Paul Maglio, Professor, Management of Complex Systems
  • Nate Monroe, Professor, Political Science
  • David Noelle, Associate Professor, Cognitive and Information Sciences
  • Alex Petersen, Associate Professor, Management of Complex Systems
  • Michael Spivey, Professor, Cognitive and Information Sciences
  • Jessica Trounstine, Professor, Political Science

Feel free to reach out to anyone on this team with questions, comments, or concerns.
Gallo School Faculty Brainstorming

Faculty from the departments involved in the Gallo School Initiative held a brainstorming meeting on Friday, Oct 22nd. Faculty from CIS, EBM, MCS and POLI discussed to their shared values, the proposal's alignment with the campus strategic plan, and the potential return on investment of the proposed Gallo School .

The outcomes provided the planning team with many useful insights and ideas to support the revision of the pre-proposal (see the compiled results).
Data Science and Analytics Proposals
Faculty from the Gallo School Initiative continue to work on proposals for a self-supporting masters program and a new undergraduate major in Data Science and Analytics (DSA).

The proposal for the Master of Data Science and Analytics is currently being revised given senate feedback on the initial submission last academic year. The team plans to resubmit the proposal in spring 2022. The draft proposal and responses can be found on our Gallo School Initiative page.

A new undergraduate major in Data Science and Analytics has been drafted and has been shared informally across campus to solicit input and feedback, with the hope of moving the final proposal through the approval process starting in spring 2022. The initial draft proposal of the DSA major can be found on the Gallo School Initiative page. Please send comments and feedback on the draft DSA major proposal to Alex Petersen, Paul Maglio, Christian Fons-Rosen, Russ McBride, Jeffrey Yoshimi, or Andrew Shaver.
Call for Nominations: Ruiz Family Chair in Entrepreneurship
The future E. & J. Gallo School of Management seeks nominations for one open endowed chair, the Ruiz Family Chair in Entrepreneurship, which is intended to support teaching, research and public service in the field of entrepreneurship and related disciplines. The Ruiz Chair is part of the Gallo Endowment at UC Merced.

Nominations for the Ruiz Chair will be considered by the Gallo School Initiative’s Executive Committee, and must include:
 
  • Statement (maximum of two pages, 11pt font or larger) describing why the candidate should be awarded the Ruiz Chair and how the candidate's accomplishments align with the intent of the donor.
  • Sketch (maximum of one page, 11pt font or larger) of how the endowed chair funds will be used to support teaching, research, and/or service.
  • Current (up-to-date) curriculum vitae and biobib.

Submit nominations to Alvin Cha, acha2@ucmerced.edu.
Deadline: Friday, December 17, 2021
Ellis Graduate Fellowships Established for Economics and Management
In 2016, UC Merced received a gift to establish the Charles Perry Ellis Fund in which the income and principal are to be used to provide scholarships to students in the fields of economics or management. With support of the Provost, the Office of Philanthropy and Strategic Partnerships, and the Deans of SSHA and SOE, two new annual graduate student fellowships have been created using this fund: the Charles Perry Ellis Fellowship in Economics (for a PhD student in Economics) and the Charles Perry Ellis Fellowship in Management (for a PhD student in Management of Complex Systems). The first Charles Perry Ellis fellowships will be awarded in Spring 2022.
Thank you!
As announced in his State of the University Address, Chancellor Muñoz pledged $1 million to support strategic activities to the three existing schools and the future Gallo School of Management. Aligning with the campus strategic plan, the future school will plan to use the funding to support faculty and student initiatives to increase scholarship, enrollment, and diversity. Thank you Chancellor Muñoz!
What Else is News?
Students in the News

Desert Weeks (MCS) was awarded CSU Chancellor's Doctoral Incentive Program [ UC Merced Newsroom]

Ben Falandays (CIS) was awarded the Marr Prize [ UC Merced Newsroom ]

Tevin Williams (CIS) Awarded Inaugural Inclusive Excellence Fellowship [ UC Merced Newsroom ]

Ketika Garg (CIS) wins UC Guru Gobind Singh Fellowship [ UC Merced Newsroom ]

Faculty in the News

Professors Colin Holbrook and Ramesh Balasubramaniam (CIS) published a paper on their research on sympathy people have for one another [ UC Merced Newsroom ]

Professor Paul Smaldino (CIS) was featured in article on human evolution [ Then24.com ]. His new study on how and when psychologists change their beliefs was also featured in the news [ UC Merced Newsroom ]

Professor Teenie Matlock (CIS) was interviewed about metaphors of breast cancer [ USA Today ]

Professor Teenie Matlock (CIS) along with Professors Lace Padilla (CIS) and Spencer Castro (MCS) honor Indigenous Peoples Day and Native American Heritage Month [ UC Merced Newsroom ]

Professor Tyler Marghetis (CIS) was interviewed to discuss his research on regimes and ruptures across timescales [ Complexity Simplecast ]

Professor Catherine Keske (MCS) research shows  the Central Valley is ripe for biochar studies [ UC Merced Newsroom ]

Professor Tracey Osborne (MCS) was featured in articles discussing the new UC Center for Climate Justice [ Daily Bruin, UC Merced Newsroom]

Professor Roger Bales (MCS) was featured in news on California 's drought [ Phys.org ]

Professors LeRoy Westerling and Crystal Kolden (MCS) voiced concerns over new US Forest Service directives. [ UNM Newsroom ]

Professor Crystal Kolden (MCS) was featured many times in news about wildfire and climate change [ People, The Verge, WAMU, KQED, WWNO, NPR, SF Gate, UC Merced Newsroom ]

Professor John Abatzoglou (MCS) was interviewed and featured in various media outlets discussing wildfire, drought and climate change [ Aljazeera, Salon, Sierra Sun Times, Heavy.com, The Madison Leader Gazette, YouTube-CBS This Morning, abc30.com , Mashable, Sierra Sun Times, The Conversation, The New York Times ]

Professor Paul Maglio (MCS) presented some thoughts on the future of management education at McGill University's Precision Convergence Webinar Series [ What the recording of the webinar ]

Professor Jessica Trounstine (POLI) spoke on Race and Regulation at the University of Pennsylvania's Lecture Series [ Watch the recording of the webinar ]

Programs in the News

The Political Science Department received state funding to establish a new center for policy studies at UC Merced [ Merced Sun-Star, UC Merced Newsroom ]

For more, see our News page. Got news? Let us know!
UC Merced's Innovation + Design Hub aims to increase entrepreneurial activity on campus. The monthly speaker series features conversations with successful entrepreneurs. 

For information on upcoming speakers and events see the Innovation+Design Hub site or contact innovate@ucmerced.edu.
Speaker Series
The Division of Management and Information precedes the proposed Ernest and Julio Gallo School of Management at UC Merced, which if approved will combine the Departments of Cognitive and Information Sciences, Management and Business Economics, Management of Complex Systems, and Political Science with the goals of understanding and improving management of resources and institutions in nature and in society; promoting scholarship and teaching to understand and enhance the behavior, design, and performance of complex human and natural systems; studying and identifying practical implications for businesses, organizations, markets and governments by building knowledge of physical, cognitive, economic, political, and natural processes; and advancing human well-being, diversity, and equity while promoting sustainability of natural ecosystems