2022 was a banner 12 months for UC Merced marked with growth, innovation and prestige. As we boldly move forward toward 2023, here’s a glance back on the stories that stood out this 12 months.
February 8, 2022
A research paper published by graduate student Brandy McKuin is near becoming a reality. McKuin’s findings showed that covering California’s 4,000 miles of water canals could reduce evaporation by as much as 82%, saving about 63 billion gallons of water a 12 months. Covering the state water canals with solar installations would also generate 13 gigawatts of renewable power, equaling roughly 1/sixth of the state’s current installed capability. A state-funded pilot program in partnership with the Turlock Irrigation District called “Project Nexus” is scheduled to interrupt ground in early 2023.
February 24, 2022
The 2021 drought directly cost the California agriculture sector about $1.1 billion and nearly 8,750 full- and part-time jobs, in keeping with estimates in a recent evaluation led by UC Merced researchers. Lead creator of the report Professor Josué MedellÍn-Azuara paints a bleak picture if conditions persist, stating “…a better tier of adaptation measures may come into play to scale back economic impacts on agriculture and communities that host hundreds of households counting on agriculture for a living.”
March 28, 2022
Keith Ellis, who received his bachelor’s degree in 2012, became the primary UC Merced alumnus to serve on the UC Board of Regents – the University of California governing body. His recent position as alumni regent is the newest addition to his prolonged history of involvement with the university, having served as president of the UC Merced Alumni Association from 2014-2020. Ellis has been a key player in encouraging diversity and equity in his various roles and a robust advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, the visually impaired and first-generation college students. Ellis will serve a two-year term which began on July 1, 2022, and ends on June 30, 2024.
April 26, 2022
Providing access and opportunity for college students from underrepresented backgrounds is a core tenet of UC Merced’s mission. Several programs and initiatives are in place that facilitate this work, the newest being the 1300 Campaign. In collaboration with CSU Stanislaus, the expansion of the Sacramento-based program into Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties was announced with the shared goal of enrolling 1,300 more young people of color from the Central Valley within the UC and CSU systems by 2030.
May 2, 2022
The UC Merced Community and Labor Center (CLC) received a historic multimillion-dollar award to proceed its mission of conducting research and educating the general public about low-wage work, immigrant and employees’ rights, workplace health and safety, amongst other issues. The funding will support the creation of a Employee Resource Center to advance efforts at greater public education of employees’ rights in a region marked by a few of the nation’s best employee and environmental inequities.
May 10, 2022
Nominated by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, science Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe was named the brand new director of the Office of Science within the federal Department of Energy. She previously served because the chair of the U.S. National Committee on Soil Science on the National Academies; was a leadership board member for the Earth Science Women’s Network; and is a co-principal investigator within the ADVANCEGeo Partnership. Berhe will hold the position through the duration of Biden’s term.
June 21, 2022
Starting within the 2022-23 academic 12 months, UC Merced added men’s and ladies’s water polo and men’s and ladies’s outdoor track as varsity intercollegiate sports. The additions bring the overall variety of varsity sports to 12. Water polo, which can be elevated from a UC Merced sports club team, will call the Aquatics Center home and compete within the Collegiate Water Polo Association. The track program goals to give attention to distance track in the beginning while competing as a member of the Cal Pac within the NAIA.
July 7, 2022
UC Merced prides itself on its sustainability efforts and continues to boost the bar annually. In recognition of its achievements on this arena, UC Merced was awarded a Platinum rating – the best rating a better education institution can receive – by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). AASHE uses probably the most widely regarded framework for publicly documenting long-term sustainability goals for high-achieving institutions internationally. In truth, only 11 institutions throughout the nation have earned Platinum rating.
July 12, 2022
There may be now a direct route from the heavily-traveled Highway 99 to UC Merced, because of the completion of the third segment of Campus Parkway. The project, which goals to alleviate congestion in town of Merced and make travel to and from the university way more efficient, was accomplished a few 12 months ahead of schedule. The brand new corridor is anticipated to offer a boon to the local economy, already ushering in recent businesses, developments and jobs. It also lays the inspiration for a planned loop system that may facilitate surrounding communities, improve traffic flow and the transportation of products and connect the whole region to UC Merced.
July 18, 2022
Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state of California provided UC Merced with a financial boost by allocating over $100 million to the university in the newest budget. The brand new funding is earmarked for campus expansion, climate-related initiatives, UC Merced’s Community and Labor Center and a possible housing partnership with Merced College. Chancellor Muñoz praised the work done by UC Merced’s long-time supporters, including Assemblymember Adam Gray, Sen. Anna Caballero, Assemblymember Jose Medina, “…and, in fact, Gov. Newsom, who has been a steadfast supporter of this university.”
September 2, 2022
UC Merced is a proud member of a coalition that was on the receiving end of one among the most important federal investments within the Central Valley’s history. Named the Fresno-Merced Way forward for Food Innovation Coalition or F3, the group – which incorporates Fresno State in addition to local farmers, agricultural organizations, community colleges and manufacturers – was awarded $65.1 million as a part of the Biden Administration’s “Construct Back Higher” initiative to spice up economic recovery following the pandemic. Among the many projects that can be funded is iCREATE – an agricultural technology hub that may connect farmers across the valley to industry, boost productivity, create jobs and construct capability for regional sustainability.
September 12, 2022
UC Merced accomplished a three-peat this 12 months, landing on the U.S. News and World Report’s annual list of the Top 100 Colleges for the third 12 months in a row. The university was slotted at No. 97 overall and No. 42 for public universities. Moreover, of the 133 schools classified as R2 reasearch institutions within the nation by the Carnegie group, UC Merced got here in at No. 15. The campus also ranked No. 13 for economic diversity and No. 5 for creating social mobility by enrolling and graduating large proportions of disadvantaged students who were awarded Pell Grants.
September 14, 2022
Entitled “Boldly Forward,” UC Merced initially launched its first comprehensive fundraising campaign with an ambitious goal of $100 million by the 12 months 2030. Soon after, the goal was doubled to $200 million following a quick start – which included a transformational $15 million gift from Fred and Mitzie Ruiz – that exceeded projections. The funds which might be raised will enhance the university’s ability to fulfill the best needs and find solutions for pressing issues facing the Central Valley and beyond. The initiative will even help the campus prepare for increased student enrollment, which is anticipated to achieve 15,000 by the tip of the last decade.
September 26, 2022
Led by Department of Molecular and Cell Biology Professor Michele Nishiguchi, UC Merced received a $12.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a recent institute that may have a look at the impact climate change is having on ecosystems. Whereas most climate change research focuses on what you possibly can see, the brand new institute dubbed INSITE – the INstitute for Symbiotic Interactions, Training and Education – goals to “approach this problem through a microbial lens, so we proposed symbiotic interactions,” said Nishiguchi. “Microbes are invisible, they usually are necessary because they’re on every part.”
October 26, 2022
During 2022, sociology Professor Charlie Eaton was an interview subject for several high-profile media outlets including the Latest York Times, the Washington Post and CNBC. His most visible interview was a guest spot on the “Dr. Phil Show” where the subject of dialogue was President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel billions of dollars in federal student loans. Eaton’s research, which focuses on the relationships between financialization and growing inequalities in higher education, and recently-published book on the subject “Bankers within the Ivory Tower” made him a much sought-after interviewee.
November 2, 2022
The Merced Automatic Admission Program, or MAAP, provides Central Valley highschool students a transparent path to UC Merced by guaranteeing admission to the university upon achievement of certain criteria by their senior 12 months. This system began in Spring of 2021, but really began making headway this past 12 months when Dinuba Unified School District signed on the dotted line. Since then, the partnerships with school districts up and down the valley have grown exponentially, increasing UC Merced’s reach to over 33,000 students.
November 16, 2022
UC Merced’s designation as an Agricultural Experiment Station (AES) is yet one more feather within the university’s research cap. Announced together with UC Santa Cruz throughout the Board of Regents November meeting, the designation comes with additional funding and collaboration opportunities to explore and resolve issues throughout the agriculture and food production industries. The 2 universities join UCs Berkeley, Davis and Riverside in sharing the excellence and were the primary campuses to receive the designation in 50 years.