Alumni

Michael Pierick’s road to presenting as part of the UC Merced delegation at this week’s UC Board of Regents meeting started in 2012, with a pit stop on the way to a basketball tryout at Sonoma State.

Both of Pierick’s parents attended UCLA and encouraged him to check out the newest UC campus while driving to Sonoma from San Diego, where Pierick was finishing his senior year at Rancho Bernardo High School.

“When I got to campus, it was just this close-knit community,” Pierick said. “I could really be the person I wanted to be.”

It’s that time of year again - time to show your Bobcat pride at UC Merced’s annual Homecoming celebration.

Students, staff, faculty, alumni and the community are welcome to the two-day event, which will include a downtown block party for the first time.

The event kicks off Friday at the Downtown Campus Center (DCC). Since its opening in January, the DCC has helped revitalize downtown Merced and, from 6-11 p.m., it will be the site of new Homecoming events.

The Merced Sun-Star announced its 20 Under 40 honorees in 2018 and for the second consecutive year, numerous UC Merced alumni, staff and faculty members were chosen for their efforts to make the community a great place to live, work and learn.

If the University of California, Merced, is indeed the future of the UC, that future is looking brighter than ever.

UC Merced began its 14th academic year today, welcoming new and returning students into new buildings.

Shakespeare wrote “the play’s the thing.” Of course, he was referring to using a play to catch a murderer, but in Shakespeare’s day, people believed the theater had the power to elicit deep emotion — even move the guilty to give themselves away.

Bobcats are catching on to the power of theater in Merced.

Let There Be Energy-Efficient Light

The University of California is spearheading a statewide effort to advance the purchase of 1 million high-quality, energy-efficient light bulbs for campus buildings and residences across the state.

In creating scholarships to help future generations of Bobcats succeed, UC Merced staff members and alumnae Monique de Villa (’16) and Danielle Armedilla (’12) are cementing the legacy they are leaving for campus.  

De Villa and Armedilla were honored for their generous contributions at last month’s scholarship signing ceremony on Bobcat Day — a thank-you tradition that began a few years ago.

This weekend, 1,250 UC Merced undergraduate and graduate students, including 52 doctoral candidates — the most in the campus’s 12-year history — are expected to cross the commencement stage and embark on the next chapter of their lives.

“Commencement is the culmination of years of determination and is an exciting time for graduates and their families,” Chancellor Dorothy Leland said. “We are thrilled to celebrate the courage, commitment and spirit of UC Merced students.”

Last month, the UC Merced Alumni Association (UCMAA) established the UC Merced Alumni Association Journey Endowment with $25,000 it collected through fundraising efforts to support initiatives throughout campus.

Over the past several years, UC Merced alumni — especially UCMAA board members — have directed contributions to the alumni association to support the educational journeys of current and future students.