Beyond Juneteenth:

The Valuing Black Lives Initiative

The UC Merced community acknowledges the declaration of Juneteenth as a federal holiday carries little weight if it is not accompanied by actionable change. In June, the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion released a report on the university’s Valuing Black Lives Initiative. The report lays out accomplishments of the Valuing Black Lives Task Force and introduces an interactive data dashboard that tracks:

  • Progress toward diversifying faculty and staff through equity-based hiring practices
  • Admission, retention and graduation rates of Black undergraduates
  • Allocations of funds for Black success across constituencies (i.e., students, staff and faculty)

In a response to the report, Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Gregg Camfield developed a memorandum that provides short-term, mid-term and long-term goals, the units responsible for the oversight of each goal, and financial commitments being made. Everyone is invited to participate in a town hall about the Valuing Black Lives Initiative, scheduled for noon-1:30 p.m. Sept. 9. Watch your inbox for details.

Stella Ngai

Succeeds Elisabeth Gunther as Chief Counsel

There’s a change of the legal guard at UC Merced. Chief Counsel Elizabeth has retired after six years of service in the campus leadership role. Her successor is Stella Ngai, who has worked for the UC Office of the President since 2006, including the last 11 years as an attorney for UC Legal.

Ngai, a California native and daughter of an immigrant from Hong Kong, graduated from UC Berkeley and Santa Clara School of Law. Prior to her UC roles, she was an assistant district attorney in San Francisco.

She is believed to be the first Asian American chief counsel in the UC system.

Gunther, who retired June 29, served for 15 years in UC’s legal services. She gave strategic support to four of UC Merced’s five chancellors and played a pivotal role in completion of the Merced 2020 construction project.

STRATEGIC PLAN

Moving Forward This Fall

In fall 2020, UC Merced launched the development of a campuswide Strategic Plan that will serve as a “north star” to 2030, the university’s 25th anniversary. Following months of collecting ideas from the UC Merced community, and an intensive effort to convert those ideas into a guiding framework, the campus will begin implementing the Strategic Plan this fall. The goals and objectives outlined in the plan reflect the campus’s intention to continue to expand the reach of the UC Merced’s mission by focusing institutional energies on the core of its work.

This includes the ambition of being the youngest university ever to achieve a very high research (R1) designation in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education and to become a national leader in equitable education. Watch your inbox for important announcements and visit the Strategic Plan’s website for the latest information.

$20 Million Gift Is Largest in University History

“Higher education is a proven pathway to opportunity,” philanthropist MacKenzie Scott wrote on her blog, “so we looked for two- and four-year institutions successfully educating students who come from communities that have been chronically underserved.”

Scott found UC Merced, a university whose mission includes providing opportunities for first-generation students and those from marginalized populations. The result: a $20 million gift, the largest single donation in the university’s history.

“This gift and the affirmation it provides will further support our continued commitment to inclusive excellence and determined path toward R1 research status. It is indeed a special time to be a part of the proud Bobcat community,” Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz said.

The donation was among $1.68 billion in gifts announced June 15 by Scott and her husband, Dan Jewett. In 2020, they identified $5.84 billion worth of donations to various organizations and institutions.

The $20 million gift was a win for UC Merced staff tasked with spreading the word about the university’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

“The amount of increased philanthropic support we are receiving is the result of being able to tell amazing stories from all across our campus — the awe-inspiring work of faculty, staff and, of course, our students,” said Vice Chancellor and Chief External Relations Officer E. Edward Klotzbier.

WELCOME

new staff

FEBRUARY 1 — AUGUST 6, 2021

  • Ashley Alejandre
  • Shelton Autry
  • Shirley Balbin-Stacher
  • Cynthia Cortez
  • Brenda Cuevas
  • Scott Davis
  • Brad de la Cruz
  • Francesca Dinglasan
  • Juan Flores
  • Sylvia Franceware
  • David Gonzalves
  • Tomiko Hale
  • Joseph Hefta
  • Corina Herrera-Smith
  • David Iniguez
  • Nathaly Juarez
  • Chali Lee
  • Desiree Lopez
  • Margarita Loza
  • Lauren Ludlow
  • Marie Lujan
  • Celeste Magana-Casillas
  • John Mathews
  • Stella Ngai
  • Sara Patino
  • Chelsea Ramirez
  • Amarpreet Randhawa
  • Chanelle Reese
  • Esmeralda Renteria
  • Charles Rush
  • Linda Safer
  • Aaron Samarin
  • Tracy Staiger
  • James Kenneth Tarleton
  • Vicente Velarde
  • Cynthia Villalobos
  • Yoly Woo-Hoogenstyn
  • Keota Xiong
  • Adrienne Yeung
  • Chi Yi Leng Yang