First-generation doctoral student Josiah Beharry made history in 2023 when he was chosen as the first student regent from UC Merced.
In addition to being the 50th student to serve on the Board of Regents that governs the University of California system, Beharry also is the first publicly identified undocumented DACA student to be named.
Born in Trinidad, he immigrated to the U.S. with his family at age 3 and was raised in Ventura.
Vice Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Economic Development Gillian Wilson has been named a 2023 American Astronomical Society (AAS) Fellow — the preeminent organization of professional astronomers in North America.
Special Assistant to the Chancellor and sociology Professor Marjorie Zatz has been elected to the 2022 class of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), adding to the list of previous UC Merced recipients.
She is the first social scientist from UC Merced to be elected an AAAS fellow.
Graduate Division’s Competitive Edge Summer Bridge program for incoming Ph.D. students was identified as a Program to Watch by Excelencia in Education, a national effort to identify evidence-based programs that improve Latino student success in higher education.
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 pronounced Her-ahnt Heratch-yahn — who now leads the division.
“Dr. Hratchian’s appointment is another signifier of our momentum in research excellence,” said Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz. “He will be an essential leader and contributor as we accelerate our drive toward R1 status.”
As part of its commitment to inclusive excellence in graduate research and education, UC Merced has awarded its new Chancellor’s Fellowship for Inclusive Excellence to four incoming Ph.D. students from the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts whose studies will contribute to the representation of Black scholars in academia and beyond.
For the second year, the Margo F. Souza Student Leadership Center and the Office of Student Involvement (OSI) held the 2021 UC Merced Leadership Awards virtually. The April 30 event provided an opportunity for the center to acknowledge all student leadership witnessed by individuals at UC Merced and celebrate award recipients, including 21 individuals and four organizations.
Vice Provost for Academic Personnel Teenie Matlock has been honored with the Athena Award for Academic Leadership by the Women in Technology Initiative at the University of California.
UC Merced’s Graduate Division provides many programs throughout the year to ensure students succeed academically, including faculty and peer mentoring programs, free tutoring, and social and well-being activities to help foster a sense of belonging and community.
