Re: Excessive Heat
To: Faculty and staff
The heat wave gripping the western United States— expected to last through next week — is great cause for concern and for caution. As the Central Valley faces triple-digit temperatures, I trust campus managers and supervisors will exercise every opportunity to keep our community safe.
I also urge faculty and staff to check in on each other and on loved ones, in particular older and very young people, who might not be as equipped to cope with this heat; a brief power outage could have tragic consequences for those with mobility issues.
I would call this heat “extraordinary,” but sadly it no longer is. The severe temperatures, flooding, drought and terrible storms that increasingly plague our country and our world are very present evidence of the effects of climate change.
Efforts to understand and counter these effects must be robust and untiring. I am so proud of the focus of UC Merced on addressing climate change and its impacts — on workers, on social equity, on forests, on infrastructure, on the agriculture that keeps the Valley and the nation fed. Our researchers and students see the issues clearly and devote incredible time, energy and intellect to helping humanity reverse, or adapt to, this problem of our own making.
UC Merced’s mission and record of success will, I have no doubt, change the world for the better. These terrible times only reinforce the urgency of that mission and heighten our resolve.
Be safe.
Juan Sánchez Muñoz, Ph.D.
Chancellor
