As we prepare to celebrate our 20th academic year, we have a unique opportunity to revisit our brand: to reflect on our journey, reimagine our future, and reaffirm who we are. We began as the first research university of the 21st century. Two decades later we stand as a light shining on what is possible. We serve first-generation students. We lead the nation in enhancing social mobility. Today, we are a student-centered research university serving Merced, the Central Valley, the state of California, and the world as an engine of access, opportunity, learning, research, and community engagement. Further, we are among fewer than 200 R1 universities in the nation, and one of only 21 that are both R1 and designated as an Opportunity University. In California, we are one of just three with both honors. These distinctions are more than accolades. These distinctions are proof of our purpose and our promise. Our brand is more than how we look or what we say. It is the lived experience of our students and alumni as they thrive. It is the dedication of our faculty and our staff as they shape knowledge and transform communities. It is the enduring impact we create together as we move UC Merced forward.

First believe. Further dream. Forward achieve.