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.
The opportunity to participate in cutting-edge scientific research as an undergraduate is one of the most exciting aspects of a UC Merced education.
One of the best preparation opportunities for graduate school is to engage in research as an undergraduate, but at many universities, it’s not until you’re in graduate school that you conduct research.
The Interdisciplinary Humanities (IH) Graduate Group and UC Merced Graduate Division are co-hosting the sixth annual Interdisciplinary Humanities Graduate Student Conference (IH Grad Con) from April 4-6 at UC Merced.
The event provides space for graduate-level networking, student presentations, keynote speakers and exploring the humanities as both academic scholarship and social advocacy.
