"We're still alive. We're still here. This history lives on in us."
For author and artist Gayle Romasanta, the story of Filipino American labor leader Larry Itliong is both a reflection of and a tribute to the Central Valley communities that raised him and the families who still call the region home.
UC Merced Arts has announced its season of concerts, exhibitions, festivals and programs, beginning with the Merced Symphony's annual Side-by-Side Concert.
UC Merced Arts has announced its season of concerts, exhibitions, festivals and programs, beginning with the Merced Symphony's annual Side-by-Side Concert.
Fueled by a $38 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott — her second to UC Merced and the largest single philanthropic gift in the university's history — and the sustained generosity of the Bobcat community, 2025-26 was UC Merced's strongest fundraising year on record.
The campus raised more than $68 million during the fiscal year, pushing Boldly Forward: The Campaign for UC Merced to nearly $180 million. The milestone nearly doubled the prior fundraising record of $36 million, set in 2022-23.
"These works are a tribute to nature, to culture, and to time itself."
That's how UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz described "Four Seasons of Yosemite" during a reception at the Leo and Dottie Kolligian Library, where campus leaders and community members, donors and the artist himself gathered to celebrate the university's milestone acquisition of the four monumental stained-glass murals.
For the second year, UC Merced has partnered with the Campos Foundation to host the Campos ENgage Engineering Summer Bridge Academy, a weeklong summer program aimed at supporting underrepresented minority and female students interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
Editor's note: This story is republished from the Spring/Summer 2026 issue of UC Merced Magazine.
Dr. Garima Handa's journey from an undergraduate at UC Merced to a physician specializing in interventional cardiology at Dignity Health in the Central Valley was a full circle one.
Four members of the UC Merced Foundation Board of Trustees have created a $100,000 endowed scholarship designed to remove financial barriers for Las Positas College students on the path to earning a UC Merced degree.
Four members of the UC Merced Foundation Board of Trustees have created a $100,000 endowed scholarship designed to remove financial barriers for Las Positas College students on the path to earning a UC Merced degree.
A $3 million grant from the Gates Foundation is advancing UC Merced’s efforts to expand educational pathways and improve college and career outcomes for thousands of high-school students across the San Joaquin Valley.
