Diversity

Horses, cattle and other livestock dotted broad, flat ranchland as the rental car followed Highway 140 toward Catheys Valley. It was February 2022. Delia Saenz was seeing the San Joaquin Valley for the first time. All the views were fresh and new.

And comfortingly familiar.

“I was struck by the beauty of the land and by the life emerging from the fields. Seeing all the critters,” she said. “It took me back to my childhood.”

Green energy solutions are critical to meet current and future power demands, and while solar and wind power are great, they are also site-specific and intermittent.

Each year, faculty members recognize their colleagues in the Academic Senate for outstanding teaching, research and mentorship, impacts on their fields, and their dedication to diversity and scholarly public service. For the 2021-22 academic year, 18 faculty members are being honored.

In recognition of their accomplishments, each recipient will receive a framed certificate, and their names will all be engraved on plaques on display in the Senate Office. Each recipient also receives $1,000, except for the winner of the Excellence in Faculty Mentorship Award, who receives $2,500.

Each year, faculty members recognize their colleagues in the Academic Senate for outstanding teaching, research and mentorship, impacts on their fields, and their dedication to diversity and scholarly public service. For the 2021-22 academic year, 18 faculty members are being honored.

In recognition of their accomplishments, each recipient will receive a framed certificate, and their names will all be engraved on plaques on display in the Senate Office. Each recipient also receives $1,000, except for the winner of the Excellence in Faculty Mentorship Award, who receives $2,500.

UC Merced is highlighting incoming first-year students for fall 2022 — a dynamic, diverse and accomplished cohort of new Bobcats.

When deciding on a university, Emanuel Armando Angel, known as Manny, knew he wanted to commit to an institution whose core value is to build a relationship with the education of its students while preparing them for a successful life.

For the first time, UC Merced has partnered with local higher education institutions for a two-day symposium dedicated to education research findings from the Central Valley.

As a first-generation Latina, Linda Barreto says she understands the importance of perseverance and determination to prevail in life. It’s a mindset that has led her to become the youngest and first Latina in Fresno County to pass the California Legal Specialist Exam in Immigration Law.

The Legal Specialist Examination consists of eight short essay questions and 75 multiple-choice questions and tests whether an attorney has a proficient understanding of the fundamental laws, rules and procedures applicable to that area of law.

The Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in IT (CMD-IT) announced Professor Juan C. Meza as the 2022 recipient of the Richard A. Tapia Achievement Award for Scientific Scholarship, Civic Science and Diversifying Computing.

In front of more than 1,400 fellow Bobcats, Cathryn Flores and Maya Morris, the student commencement speakers for the Class of 2022 will share their words of congratulations and encouragement with their fellow graduates.

Flores will speak to the graduates of the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts (SSHA) at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 14, at the university’s Recreation Field. The Fremont native is majoring in English and minoring in writing. She said her four years at UC Merced have molded her into the person she is today.

For the first time since spring 2019, UC Merced will honor the achievements of spring graduates with a traditional in-person commencement weekend this month.

“We are proud of all these young people who worked so diligently, with the support of their families, their friends and our outstanding faculty and staff, to earn their degrees,” said Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz. “This on-campus weekend will be a grand celebration of their accomplishments and a fitting start to the lives of success upon which they will embark.”