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Lunch Program and Events

One of the hallmarks of University Friends Circle’s programming is our monthly luncheons featuring outstanding UC Merced professors or local Merced area subject experts.

Luncheons are generally held on the first Tuesday of each month during the academic year, October through April. Members are encouraged to attend and are invited to bring guests who may be interested in that month's topic or in a future membership in UFC. Interested persons who are not yet UFC members are also welcome, but registration and lunch payment are required in advance. Here is a printable PDF of the 2023-24 Luncheon Programs.

NEXT LUNCHEON: "Medical Education in the San Joaquin Valley" by Dr. Margo Vener, Director of Undergraduate Medical Education. Vener worked at UCSF for 20 years and still practices at the institution's refugee clinic. She became familiar with the Central Valley's healthcare woes while on a task force that relocated the San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education (SJV PRIME) from UC Davis to UCSF Fresno in 2018. SJV PRIME and UC Merced's new B.S.-to-M.D. pathway, SJV PRIME+, offer a tailored track for medical students interested in providing care for the underserved communities in the Valley. It will be Tuesday, April 2, 2024, at the MCOE Mondo Building in downtown Merced, 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Registration will open at the end of March.

In addition to monthly luncheons, members are invited to participate in a variety of special events and initiatives. This includes the annual UC Intercampus Trip, UC Merced athletic events, distributing Snacks for Scholars shortly before finals each semester, a lively holiday social, and participation in the UFC Book Club. Each May, the Scholarship and Awards Reception and Annual Meeting are held jointly. This is a wonderful opportunity for members to meet the recipients of the UFC Scholarship and Community Service Award and engage with the students who directly benefit from UFC’s fundraising efforts.

PAST LUNCHEON PRESENTATIONS

  • Making Eco-Theatre in a National Park: Shakespeare in Yosemite, presented by Professor Katherine Steele Brokaw
  • Deciphering Shark Ecology through Chemistry, Presented by Dr. Sora Kim, Department of Life & Environmental Sciences
  • Advancing Regional Knowledge: The Sierra Nevada Central Valley Research Archive at UC Merced, presented by Emily Lin, Director of Strategic Initiative, Archives & Special Collections, and also Seeing Is Believing: Using Fluorescent Labels and Proteins to Make the Invisible Visible, presented by Dr. David Gravano, Technical Director of the Cytometry Stem Cell Instrumentation Foundry. Both talks were part of the January Luncheon.
  • Pray for Rain: Drought and the Ancient Maya, a screening of the documentary film Underworlds: Belize, presented in November 2023 by Dr. Holley Moyes, Professor of Anthropology & Heritage Studies, with specializations in the archaeology of religion, cave archaeology, and sacred spaces.
  • The Food Innovation Initiativewas presented in April by Professor Josh Viers, watershed scientist with expertise in resource management and environmental decision making.

 

PHOTOS

  • List of past performances in Making Eco-Theater in a National Park: Shakespeare in Yosemite, presented in March by ProfessorKatie Steele Brokaw:

  • Map of shark fossils in Deciphering Shark Ecology through Chemistry, presented in February by Professor Sora Kim:

  • Where Are They Now? - a November panel of alumni Linda Barreto ('08), Uday Bali ('08) and Kristynn Sullivan ('15)

  • Scenes from a luncheon: 

      

We hope you will join us!