James Leonard

Antonio Villaraigosa is no stranger to partisanship. The former mayor of Los Angeles and a former state legislator visited UC Merced on Tuesday as part of the Chancellor’s Speaker Series and spent more than an hour answering questions from the audience and from interim Chancellor Nathan Brostrom.

Villaraigosa said he learned from his time in the Legislature — which included two years as Democratic leader and two years as speaker — the pitfalls of that partisanship.

UC Merced has celebrated a number of milestones and achievements in Chancellor Leland’s eight years on campus. Here are 10 of her greatest hits, as compiled by the Division of External Relations.

It’s before dawn on a Saturday morning in mid-May — not a time anyone would expect the UC Merced campus to be busy. But it is.

This is Spring Commencement, and there is much work to do.

Parking and transportation staff are placing signage and temporary fencing. In the kitchens, dozens of dining and catering workers are preparing breakfast for thousands of people, including the police officers and transportation employees who will spend the morning guiding traffic, answering questions and maintaining order.

The University of California, Merced, today announced the appointment of longtime faculty member and administrator Gregg Camfield as Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost.

Camfield has served in the role on an interim basis since the retirement of Thomas W. Peterson on June 1. His appointment follows a nationwide search that included input from throughout the campus community.

A new effort is underway to lay the groundwork for the next major development at UC Merced — a fourth school, this one with the Gallo family name on it.

The planning initiative is a faculty-led effort to create a new, transdisciplinary school that draws upon the expertise of scientists, researchers and practitioners from broad backgrounds to instill the next generations of leaders with the skills and knowledge needed to understand, design and manage complex systems.

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.

UC Merced is uniquely positioned to be a change agent in how the academy addresses diversity in STEM, said Professor Donna Riley, the Kamyar Haghighi Head of Purdue’s School of Engineering Education.

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

Less than two years after breaking ground on its unprecedented campus expansion, the University of California, Merced, last week celebrated the opening of the first three buildings of the Merced 2020 Project.

More than 400 people were on hand for an opening celebration Thursday, including UC Merced Chancellor Dorothy Leland and UC President Janet Napolitano. Leland and Napolitano also met with students Friday, and visited with more students and their families during move-in.

Fred Ruiz’s support of UC Merced goes back decades and includes substantial contributions through philanthropy, advocacy and service.

For his commitment to UC Merced and to education in the San Joaquin Valley, Ruiz has been named this year’s winner of the James L. Fisher Award for Distinguished Service to Education.