Desiree Lopez

Gov. Gavin Newsom, speaking at UC Merced on Monday, announced that the state will support the building of the university’s new medical education building.

The Health, Behavioral Sciences and Medical Education Building will support a B.S.-to-M.D. joint degree program with UCSF-Fresno, starting in 2023, along with public health and psychological sciences faculty and students.

“We hope that students stay in the Valley and serve the people who made their education possible. To develop the talent, it takes time. But this is the beginning,” Newsom said.

Distinguished UC Merced Director of Medical Education and public health Professor Dr. Thelma Hurd has been appointed the inaugural Thondapu Family Endowed Chair in Medical Education.

“I am both gratified and honored,” said Hurd. “It is truly an important step in establishing a long-term medical education program on the campus and for the community.”

The University of California, Merced, continues its historic climb in the venerable US News & World Report rankings of U.S. universities, with the 2022 list released this morning.

UC Merced remains in the top 100, rising to 93rd among national universities — up 72 spots over four years. The campus is 38th among public universities and 18th among R2 universities.

For the first time, UC Merced’s Political Science and Interdisciplinary Humanities (history discipline) graduate groups made national rankings.

US News & World Report’s annual rankings, released today, also highlighted the campus’s growing School of Engineering, as most of its programs climbed the charts.

Like many students at UC Merced, pre-medical student Nina Bouzamondo-Bernstein faced uncertainty as the COVID-19 pandemic spread throughout the world.

She had applied for more than 40 clinical research care openings, but the pandemic had closed them all down. Feeling cornered by the changes happening around her, she decided to take charge of the situation.

“I decided to take steps to give other students the resources they needed to continue studying,” Bouzamondo-Bernstein said. “That’s when I came up with the idea of an online platform.”

The pandemic has changed many aspects of life, but UC Merced Bobcats demonstrated their ability to overcome life's unexpected curveballs during an academic year unlike any other.

To ensure each student’s accomplishments are celebrated, UC Merced will host its second virtual spring commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 15, for the Class of 2021.

UC Merced takes pride in encouraging the younger generation to learn more about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers by counting on some of the top educators in the fields.

To help expand the knowledge and encourage young girls to think about careers within STEM, cognitive science Professor Lace Padilla and mechanical engineering Professor Ashlie Martini recently highlighted their work on the CBS television show “Mission Unstoppable,” a series that spotlights cutting-edge female scientists and STEM professionals to inspire young girls.