The Bobcat community understands the importance of giving back. This month, UC Merced celebrates 10 years of helping feed those in need in 
partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Distribution, Merced County Food Bank, Merced College and local business Image Masters.
UC Merced is committing to provide Los Angeles high school students the tools and guidance to attend college.
The university is embarking on a partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and the federally funded Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) to increase the number of low-income students who graduate from high school prepared to succeed in postsecondary education and lifelong learning.
The Northern California Chapter of the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation has named UC Merced its newest partner university.
ARCS, a national organization established and operated entirely by women, is committed to the advancement of science in the United States by financially supporting distinguished graduate students in science, technology, engineering, math and medical research disciplines at its partner institutions. The Northern California chapter was founded in 1970; it supports six other universities in the region.
UC Merced’s Director of Pre-Law Studies Mark Harris is taking on a new position to help address racism at Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD).
Officials for the school district created a new position for Harris as district liaison to provide independent recommendations to the district on investigations and racist incidents.
UC Merced has appointed Daniel T. Okoli, Ph.D., as vice chancellor and chief operating officer, overseeing Planning and Development, Facilities, the UC 
Merced Police Department and several other departments.
In announcing the appointment, Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz called Okoli “a deeply collaborative and widely experienced leader.”
In December, the Give to UC Merced 2021 fundraising initiative surpassed the targeted goal of $100,000, garnering a total of $227,569 to support programs and people throughout the university.
Give to UC Merced 2021 was the second year in a row that the initiative has been held over an entire month, having expanded from a single-day event. Nearly 24 percent of the donors were campus friends, 23 percent were staff and faculty, 17 percent were UC Merced alumni, 17 percent were parents and 19 percent were students, with several donors giving multiple gifts.
As part of the 2021-22 Governor’s California Comeback Plan, UC Merced students will get the opportunity to serve their community while receiving financial support for college through the new program #CaliforniaForAll College Fellowship.
UC Merced will delay the start of in-person instruction in light of the highly contagious omicron coronavirus variant sweeping the nation, but otherwise is moving forward with plans for on-site courses and carefully coordinated campus operations for spring semester.
Resident students are scheduled to start returning to campus Jan. 14. Instruction for spring semester is set to begin Jan. 18, but courses will be delivered remotely until Jan. 31 to give students, faculty and staff more time to be tested for coronavirus and take appropriate steps depending on results.
After two years of virtual celebrations, UC Merced will honor the accomplishments of the fall 2021 graduates with a traditional in-person commencement this Saturday.
In addition, the campus is also inviting summer 2021 graduates who had their commencement affected by the pandemic to join the celebration Dec. 18, at The Art Kamangar Center at The Merced Theatre in downtown Merced.
A generous gift from UC Merced alumnus Eric Chen, Ph.D., ’11, and his wife, Joanne Hsu, to establish a new scholarship is advancing the university’s efforts to encourage and support students pursuing medical studies and training in the Central Valley.
Scholarship funding — which includes contributions from the Chen Family Foundation and Chen’s employer, Megaforce International Corporation — will benefit promising UC Merced undergraduates enrolled in the campus’s Bachelor of Science to Medical Degree (BS to MD) program, which is scheduled to launch in Fall 2023.
