News

Professor Charts Path to Broader Participation in Climate Action

July 21, 2026
The battle over climate change rages on multiple fronts, from fights against staunch denialism to arguments over well-intentioned technocratic solutions. In “Climate Change and Civic Engagement,” UC Merced sociology Professor Paul Almeida tracks where the push for...

UC Merced's Flores Honored for Work with the Community and Labor Center

July 21, 2026
The Pacific Sociological Association recently honored UC Merced sociology Professor Edward Flores, faculty director of the university's Community and Labor Center, with its Distinguished Contribution to Sociological Praxis Award. According to the selection committee, Flores earned the distinction...

UC Merced Launches Communities of the Valley Series with Dutch American History

July 21, 2026
David Zwart hadn't even finished introducing himself as the keynote speaker for "The Dutch -American Story in the San Joaquin Valley" at the UC Merced event on July 14 before he'd found a connection in the audience.  "Any connections?" the historian and associate professor at Grand Valley State...

UC Merced Co-Hosts Institute that Sharpens Instruction of Reading, Writing

July 16, 2026
UC Merced has established its identity as a world-class research university that welcomes learners who historically have been left out of higher education. Nearly three-quarters of its undergraduates are first-generation college students. This distinction put the university in welcome company when...

UC Merced Scientists Use Sewage to Track Nicotine Use in Central Valley

June 24, 2026
Key points: Researchers successfully tested a technique that uses human sewage to measure the use of nicotine products such as cigarettes and vaping pens in a selected community. The project, led by scientists at UC Merced, can strengthen public health efforts by supplementing surveys about...

All-faculty Rock Band Cuts Album at UC Merced Recording Studio

June 22, 2026
An all-faculty rock band formed in a professor’s garage a decade ago has released the first album produced at UC Merced’s digitally advanced recording studio. The album showcases the eight members of G Street Revolution. Their day jobs cross a spectrum of academics: engineering, sociology,...

A Pioneer Bobcat Blazes a Path Through Law and Technology

June 18, 2026
Editor's note: This story is republished from the Spring/Summer 2026 issue of UC Merced Magazine. Temnee Wright, ’08 has realized a successful career as legal counsel at several Silicon Valley companies. Her interest in law was forged at UC Merced, where she made the most out of being a student in...

New Study Urges Earlier Detection of Valley Fever as Cases Climb

June 3, 2026
Key Points: Valley fever is widely underdiagnosed and often mistaken for common respiratory illnesses, leading to delayed diagnosis and unnecessary antibiotic use. Cases are rising and spreading geographically, driven by climate patterns, soil disruption and population growth, making the...

Sociology Ph.D. Student Receives Prestigious Dissertation Fellowship

June 3, 2026
Jarrod L. Brown Jr. is the first UC Merced graduate student to be awarded the National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation fellowship, supporting his doctoral research in structural inequality in higher education. The sociology Ph.D. candidate, who is one of 35 recipients selected from nearly...

From Wild Mushrooms to Punchlines, Bobcats Learn in Out-of-the-Box Ways

May 26, 2026
Editor's note: This story is republished from the Spring/Summer 2026 issue of UC Merced Magazine. Walk across UC Merced’s campus on any weekday, and you might hear laughter spilling from a classroom, feel the thrum of a wind tunnel or spot students crouched in a field searching for mushrooms. Not...

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