Brenda Ortiz

Jonathan Grady brings more than 14 years of experience as a researcher, educator and leader in academia to his new role as associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs and dean of students at UC Merced.

Grady comes from University of Michigan, Flint, where he was assistant vice chancellor of student success and was responsible for the vision and direction of Educational Opportunity Initiatives, Counseling and Psychological Services, Orientation, Disability and Accessibility Services, Intercultural Programming, and the Student Success Center.

If you love California’s great outdoors and are interested in learning about the state’s natural history and ecology, unleash your inner John Muir by becoming a certified naturalist through a state program that’s offered at UC Merced.

More than 80 undergraduate and graduate students gathered in downtown Merced on Dec. 16 for UC Merced’s first-ever Fall Commencement.

Graduates — along with their family and friends, faculty and a score of staff volunteers — assembled for the ceremony, held at the Art Kamangar Center at the Merced Theatre. More than 700 people filled the venue’s lower and upper levels.

It’s been five years since Shavone Charles walked across the stage at commencement. On Saturday (Dec. 16), she will return as UC Merced’s first alumni keynote speaker at Fall Commencement.

As a teenager in Merced, Marcus Shaw lived a life marked by poverty, poor choices and indifference to education.

The idea of college — especially at the new UC Merced campus — seemed like an opportunity for someone else. Yet on Dec. 16, Shaw will participate in the university’s first Fall Commencement ceremony and celebrate his dream of earning a Ph.D. in sociology.

Crediting UC Merced with much of his success, Shaw said the ceremony will be one of the biggest moments of his life.

During this year’s Give Tue UC Merced annual 24-hour campaign of giving, participants will have more options to which to direct their support, including a new fund that assists with the emerging and unique needs of student groups as the campus grows.

The annual day of giving at UC Merced — Give Tue UC Merced (#GiveTueUCM) — presents many opportunities for donors to help students and programs.

Every opportunity is equally worthwhile because #GiveTueUCM is ultimately about supporting student success, but everyone has their favorite causes.

During this year’s Give Tue UC Merced annual 24-hour campaign of giving, participants will have more options to which to direct their support, including a new fund that assists with the emerging and unique needs of student groups as the campus grows.

UC Merced alumnus Daniel Lobato (’13) always planned to give back to the campus that provided him an education.

As a student, Lobato started with modest donations during the university’s annual Giving Tuesday fundraiser, which returns Nov. 28 as Give Tue UC Merced.

Karen Merritt came from a family without much money. Like nearly 90 percent of UC Merced’s students, financial aid made her college dreams a reality. However, she quickly learned the costs of higher education don’t end with tuition, room and board.

“There were occasions when I needed special help in buying books or taking an extra course I didn’t realize was necessary,” she recalls.