DECEMBER 2022
Dear UC Merced Fellows,

I hope this message finds you well and enjoying the holiday season. As we close a productive and eventful semester and year, we wanted to take a moment to thank you for all that you do to move our campus forward. We would not be where we are today without the early and longstanding support of the board's past and current members, and we appreciate the many ways you continue to contribute to our mission.

We would also like to acknowledge that many fellows have already contributed to our recently launched comprehensive fundraising campaign, Boldly Forward: The Campaign for UC Merced, as well as our annual year-end Give to UC Merced initiative. We have made great progress on both fronts, and your support has been so incredibly pivotal in enabling our university's continued growth and success.

Included below for your perusal are some of the recent news highlights from our campus, a special video greeting from Chancellor Muñoz and Dr. Aguirre-Muñoz, and the latest issue of UC Merced Magazine.

On behalf of the UC Merced Foundation, we wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season! Please take care and don't ever hesitate to reach out to us at ucmfoundation@ucmerced.edu.


Warmest regards,

Stephanie Sia
Director, UC Merced Foundation Board
Holiday Video
UC Merced Magazine
FOUNDATION UPDATES
Boldly Forward: The Campaign for UC Merced
Thank you to those who sponsored and attended the Illuminate event in October to celebrate the launch of the Boldly Forward campaign. The evening’s program featured recognition of UC Regent Emeritus and founding UC Merced Foundation Trustee Fred Ruiz and Diplomat Mitzie Ruiz, and an announcement of their transformational $15 million gift to support scholarships for students from the Central Valley. Please take a moment to view this video highlighting Fred and Mitzie’s impact on our community.
Due to the great momentum our campaign has already seen, Chancellor Muñoz also announced that we are doubling our campaign goal to $200 million. Visit our campaign website at boldlyforward.ucmerced.edu to learn more.
Trustees' Impact Fund
If you are interested in supporting the board's fundraising initiative, the 2022 Trustees' Impact Fund, gifts can be made online here. Please don't hesitate to reach out to ucmfoundation@ucmerced.edu with further questions.
EVENTS
Fall 2022 Commencement
Neither chilly temperatures nor a thick blanket of dense fog could dampen the smiles and spirits of hundreds of Bobcats as they participated in UC Merced's Fall 2022 Commencement. Nearly 450 graduates took part in three separate ceremonies at the Art Kamangar Center at the Merced Theatre this past weekend. Read more here, and check out the Commencement Chronicle for highlights and recordings. 
Athletics

Seniors Andres Lua and Anthoni Martin of the University of California, Merced men's soccer team have been named to the 14-player United Soccer Coaches NAIA Men's All-West Region Team. The two Bobcats were also named NAIA Honorable Mention All-Americans earlier this month.
Please visit our athletics website for information on games and upcoming events.
UNIVERSITY NEWS

UCs Merced and Santa Cruz became the newest campuses in the system to be named agricultural experiment stations (AES). An AES is a place-based scientific research center at a land-grant university that explores challenges and develops improvements to different aspects of the agricultural endeavor by working with farmers, ranchers, suppliers, processors and others involved in food production and agriculture.

A day before the midterm election, Gov. Gavin Newsom made a surprise visit to a political science class at UC Merced. Newsom was invited by Assemblymember Adam Gray, who co-teaches the class and provides insight about how government, specifically the California State Legislature, operates.

On October 31, UC Merced and Fresno City College (FCC) signed the Merced Promise Pathway Program memorandum of understanding (MOU). The signing of this MOU further extends access for transfer students in the Central Valley. FCC is the largest community college in the Central Valley region. This partnership will provide students with a dedicated transfer counselor with expertise in UC Merced transfer admissions and knowledge of FCC support services.

Molecular and Cellular Biology Professor Michele “Nish” Nishiguchi has been inducted as a Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences and was recently named president-elect for the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB).

She is one of 11 distinguished scientists inducted at the California Academy of Sciences’ Annual Fellows Gathering this year.