When Nicolette Lecy began her graduate studies at UC Merced, life was anything but typical.
It was August 2020, in the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lecy’s classes were held remotely, and she had limited access to campus.
Another challenge that could have hindered Lecy’s academic goals — she became a mother during the Thanksgiving break of her first semester at UC Merced.
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 reignite the Black Lives Matter movement.
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.
Humanities education has been under fire on college campuses over the past decade.
“There’s a lot of concern nationally about graduate education in the humanities. We’re producing plenty of Ph.D.s but are there enough jobs for them upon graduation?” said anthropology and heritage studies Professor Robin DeLugan, who leads UC Merced’s Research Center for Community Engaged Scholarship (ReCCES).
“How do we make a humanities career more feasible?”
A new state law will make a difference in accessing education for the dependents of disabled veterans in California, thanks to the initiative of UC Merced Interdisciplinary Humanities graduate student Karla Seijas.
Twelve of UC Merced’s graduate programs and one of its schools are among the best in the country in the U.S. News & World Report 2023 Best Graduate Schools rankings, according to results released March 29.
The University of California Office of the President awarded three out of only seven UC-Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Initiative grants to UC Merced faculty members.
The initiative has fostered faculty partnerships with HBCUs to support enhanced diversity and representation of Black scholarship in graduate education and the professoriate since 2017.
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.
A half-dozen UC Merced students and alumni are recipients of significant fellowships to help support their graduate education.
“We’re extremely proud of our undergraduate and graduate students and alumni who have earned prestigious fellowships,” Vice Provost and Graduate Dean Chris Kello said. “These awards will allow scholars to embark on or continue their graduate-level research opportunities.”
(Select the link below to learn more about the recipients.)
Trevor Albertson, who earned his Ph.D. in world cultures and history from UC Merced in 2009, has been appointed interim president/superintendent of Lassen Community College (LCC) by its board of trustees.
Albertson began work at LCC in 2018 and served as dean of Instructional Services before former President/Superintendent Marlon Hall retired in December.
