I Appreciate...

Words from the campus community

Who Do You Appreciate?

As we approach the end of this remarkable – and remarkably challenging – year, who has made the journey easier for you? Who among the campus community do you appreciate for their experience or friendship? For their resilience or sense of humor?

We are debuting a feature in Inside UC Merced that we call I Appreciate. It will feature words and images that convey the teamwork and friendships we enjoy. Here a couple entries. Others will appear in future Inside UC Merced editions.

Want to take part? Tap the button to identify a colleague and describe briefly why you appreciate them. We will follow up to arrange a photo.

Thank you. We appreciate your time.

Stephanie is our department “specialist,” which means she helps us with just about everything. She has a positive, can-do attitude that I appreciate almost every day.

Ashlie Martini

Professor, Mechanical Engineering

appreciates

Stephanie Lopez

Department Specialist

Emily Lin

Director of Strategic Initiative, Archives & Special Collections

appreciates

Sara Davidson Squib Head of Research & Learning Services

"Sara and I have been through many adventures together during our combined three decades-plus at UC Merced – from getting lost in the Forbidden City to getting home from Logan Airport. Amid crises, heartaches, triumphs, celebrations and day-to-day work, I'm always thankful for your steadfast friendship."

Chancellor Hails Valley Ties, Announces Initiatives in Address

Our dedication to our region’s success is of course

at the center of all that we do.

Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz

The chancellor of the San Joaquin Valley’s only UC campus celebrated its connections to the region and provided the first look at how it will use a historic $20 million gift in his State of the University address.

Speaking before a live (and properly distanced) audience in the Vikram and Priya Lakireddy Grand Ballroom, Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz cited several ways in which UC Merced is serving the Valley:

  • Difference-making research in agriculture and fire science
  • Programs to help community college and high school students enroll at UC Merced
  • A vaccination clinic cosponsored with Merced College, Mercy Medical Center and Merced County

Muñoz also announced plans to create a Center for Research, Equity, Anti-Racism and Transformative Engagement (CREATEs). Supported by state funding, the group of scholars and community members will tackle social inequities.

The Chancellor also revealed several ways UC Merced will invest a university-record $20 million gift received in June from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott:

  • Three new $1 million endowed professorships, with matching funds from the UC Office of the President, that focus on scholarship that advances diversity, equity and justice
  • Support for the university library’s project to create an archive of the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada
  • The construction of a demonstration and engagement pavilion at the site of the now-demolished Virginia Smith Trust barn on the natural reserve adjacent to campus. The project will use matching funds raised by the UC Merced Foundation
  • A total of $1 million to the deans of UC Merced’s three schools and the director of the Gallo Management Program
  • $1 million each to the Academic Senate, Staff Assembly and student organizations to develop transformative programs
  • $1 million to create public art at the university

The state of UC Merced is indeed exceptional. And because of our shared vision, our shared resources and our shared efforts, our shared future is boundless.

Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz

Scholars Bridge Crossing Returns

After a one-year absence because of the pandemic, the Scholars Bridge Crossing returned. The university’s oldest student tradition unfolded under a clear, blue sky on an early fall morning. First- and second-year students walked over Scholars Bridge and passed through the Beginnings sculpture, continuing a ritual that began in 2005. “It felt good,” said Keith Adams, a first-year student from North Hollywood. “It was cool to be able to look up at the arms of the sculpture and say, ‘I’m here.’”

Honoring the First Among Us

Indigenous (adj.): Relating to the earliest known inhabitants of a place and especially of a place that was colonized by a now-dominant group.

On Oct. 11, UC Merced observed Indigenous Peoples’ Day, acknowledging the rich and diverse history of those who came before us and who are still with us today. To mark the day, a blessing event was held at the new Toluma Grove on campus. “Toloma” means “bobcat” in various dialects of the Miwuk people, one of two tribes – the Yokuts is the other – who first inhabited or passed through the land where UC Merced now stands.

“Those of us with local indigenous ancestry are grateful for the recognition,” said Vice Provost Teenie Matlock, who attended the ceremony.

Other acknowledgements:

  • To mark Native American Heritage Month in November, UC Merced will debut the Toloma 5K run. The course winds its way around the campus, including a pass through the Beginnings sculpture and a finish at Toloma Grove.
  • The UC system has launched an initiative designed to repatriate Native American and Native Hawaiian ancestral human remains and cultural items to native organizations and lineal descendants. The initiative, called the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, is in its final stage of approval.

Holding a Walking Meeting? We’ve Got a Map for That

The folks at the Health Science Research Institute have a suggestion for your next meeting: Get up, go outside and take a walk.

With the university ramping up in-person activities this fall and the main campus fully configured to its Merced 2020 Project layout, conditions are ideal for walking meeting (handy tip: Limit the group to three or four and use them to brainstorm or build consensus). All feature “waypoints” where participants can meet, and each one goes by the Kolligian Library, where walkers can grab refreshments at the Lantern Café.

Most important, the routes get bodies in motion and outside campus buildings.

“When you’re moving around, your brain seems to work differently,” said HRSI Executive Director Trevor Hirst, the primary driver behind the map. “Your flow is better. I feel you have better ideas, conversations happen more freely, and you’re less constrained by the limitations of a conference table.”

The 2020 20

A 20-minute walk around the original and Merced 2020 Project campus cores.

The Half Hour

An extension of The 2020 20, adding 10 minutes by going around the sports and recreation spaces.

Life, the Universe and Everything

A route that takes walkers to the Lake Yosemite footbridge. Its name derives from its 42-minute length. Douglas Adams aficionados will understand.

The map also offers four tips that use HSRI as a mnemonic:

Hydrate

Bring a water bottle.

Sunscreen

Don’t forget to wear a hat.

Respect

Walk to the pace of the slowest in your group and remember that not everyone has the same level of ability.

Innovate

Enjoy your walking meeting and get creative.

Program Extends Outreach to Valley High School Students

A UC Merced program designed to increase the number of youths from disadvantaged backgrounds to continue their post-secondary education has received federal funds that will support it for the next five years.

The Talent Search program run by the university’s Center for Educational Partnerships (CEP) earned five grants totaling more than $6.9 million, the U.S. Department of Education announced. The grants will allow CEP to give students from 10 San Joaquin Valley high schools the opportunity to receive financial counseling and academic support to prepare them for college.

“We are excited to expand CEP’s footprint in the Valley and to offer Talent Search participants the services and resources needed to graduate with the greatest number of postsecondary choices from the widest array of options,” said Orquídea Largo, interim associate vice chancellor for student affairs.

WELCOME NEW STAFF

SEPTEMBER 1 - NOVEMBER 1

  • Maricela Aguilar
  • Jaime Alcaraz
  • Mark Bold
  • Emma Broderick
  • Maria Caballero-Cisneros
  • Edgar Ceja
  • Soledad Chavez
  • Rahma Cohin
  • Marianne Contreras
  • Francisco Correa-Guerrero
  • Violeta De La Cruz Bonilla
  • Sarah DuRoff
  • Antonio Estrada
  • Meredith Fear
  • Toby Fitzpatrick
  • Ericka Garcia
  • Erica Garduno
  • George Glover Jr.
  • Stephanie Grace
  • Jonathan Gutierrez Santiago
  • Saned Hernandez
  • Maribel Herrera de Martinez
  • Christina Hicks
  • Jamy Hilomen Ramos
  • Tamara Isaac Cooksey
  • Gurpreet Kaur
  • Rahma Kohin
  • Jasmin Ledesma
  • Angela Liu
  • Elizabeth Lopez
  • Gozong Lor
  • Dominik Machado
  • Michael McGeary
  • Kim McMillon
  • Erin Meyer
  • Jessica Molina Borda
  • Doris Perez
  • Cinthia Quesada
  • Cesar Ramirez
  • Maya Ramirez
  • Rogelio Rodriguez
  • Cindy Salcedo
  • David Ruiz Sanchez
  • Jocelyn Shilue
  • Mackenzie Slayton
  • Brandon Takata
  • Donald Thrasher
  • Maria Valencia
  • Angelique Vargas
  • Frankie Vasquez
  • Arturo Velazco
  • Andrea Villarreal
  • Nora Vue