Brenda Ortiz

Center Engages Campus, Community with Africa and its Diaspora

February 27, 2025

Two female standing in front of a poster

This story is part of a series for Black History Month. Read more stories highlighting Black excellence at UC Merced. The brutal deaths of African Americans George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and others at the hands of police officers five years ago catalyzed for Black communities to unite globally and...

Hrant P. Hratchian now leads UC Merced's Graduate Division.

Hratchian Takes the Helm as Graduate Dean, Shares Vision for Division

July was a transition month for UC Merced’s Graduate Division as interim Vice Provost and Graduate Dean Chris Kello passed the baton to Professor Hrant P. Hratchian — an Armenian name...

Applied Math Grad Student Awarded Prestigious NIH Fellowship

Doctoral student Ali Heydari recently received the Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award, also known as the National Institute of Health F31 fellowship....

A new four-student cohort will be formed each spring, and each cohort spends two years in the program.

New Bioinformatics Training Opportunity Opening for Undergraduates

Starting this fall, undergraduates interested in the biomedical sciences will have an opportunity to take part in a new and innovative training program that will give them strong foundations in...

Meet incoming first-year student Jordynn Lewis.

Incoming Student Excited to Participate in Public Health Research

UC Merced is highlighting incoming first-year students for fall 2022 — a dynamic, diverse and accomplished cohort of new Bobcats. Jordynn Lewis is excited to start her journey as a UC Merced...

incoming first-year student Joselle Talabong

High Achiever from Delano Headed to UC Merced

UC Merced is highlighting incoming first-year students for fall 2022 — a dynamic, diverse and accomplished cohort of new Bobcats. It’s no surprise Joselle Talabong was named Student...

Palmer Headed for Capitol Hill as Campus’s First Congressional Science Fellow

UC Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow Hannah Palmer, Ph.D., was named as the 2022-23 Congressional Science Fellow by the Geological Society of America (GSA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS...

Undergraduate mechanical engineering student Victor Oregon

Location Draws Salinas Senior to UC Merced

Victor Oregon will attend UC Merced to study mechanical engineering this fall. A key factor in his decision to attend UC Merced was its proximity to his family and to Yosemite National Park....

Grad Student Awarded Prestigious Department of Energy Fellowship

Environmental Systems Ph.D. student Leila Wahab is one of 80 graduate students to receive the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) highly competitive Office of Science Graduate Student Research (...

Meet Ariana Valera an incoming first-year student for fall 2022.

Local Athlete, Student Leader Chooses UC Merced

UC Merced is highlighting incoming first-year students for fall 2022 — a dynamic, diverse and accomplished cohort of new Bobcats. Ariana Valera was born and raised in Merced. The fact that...