Dear Campus Community,
Welcome back, and happy new year. As we begin 2026 together, I have found myself returning repeatedly to one word that feels especially resonant for this moment: community — both the communities we serve and the community we create.
Yesterday, Bobcats came together for the Community Engagement Center’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service; a powerful reminder that Dr. King’s call to serve our communities was never meant to be symbolic, but essential to the change we seek. UC Merced students, staff, and faculty honored his legacy through service across our region: supporting the Unity March and MLK Program in downtown Merced, spending time with seniors at Park Merced, and contributing to stewardship efforts at Yosemite National Park. Together, these acts reflected Dr. King’s enduring question, “What are you doing for others?” and, in very tangible ways, who we are as a university.
That spirit of engagement was also recently affirmed on a national level with UC Merced’s renewed Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, which recognizes institutions where community engagement is deeply embedded in mission, culture, and practice. First awarded to UC Merced in 2015 and now reaffirmed through 2032, this designation reflects years of intentional work across our campus by faculty, staff, students, and community partners to build reciprocal relationships that advance public good. It is particularly meaningful that this recognition comes on the heels of a landmark year in which UC Merced also earned Carnegie R1 status and national recognition as an Opportunity University — we are one of only two universities in California and among 13 nationwide with all three designations. Together, these milestones underscore that excellence and access, research and service, are not competing values here; they are mutually reinforcing.
Our recently published Economic, Fiscal, and Social Impact Analysis further illustrates what this looks like in practice. UC Merced now generates more than $1.4 billion dollars in economic impact, supports more than 8,600 jobs, and accounts for roughly one in every 15 jobs in Merced County. Yet beyond these impressive figures is a deeper story: one of social mobility, expanded opportunity, and partnerships that strengthen schools, clinics, nonprofits, and local agencies throughout the Central Valley. These impacts are felt daily in families, neighborhoods, and futures.
In December, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott — whose extraordinary generosity has included a second transformational gift to UC Merced — reflected publicly on the power of collective action. In that post, she cited a Hopi tribal leader’s prophecy written years ago, and I encourage you to read it in full. The closing words feel especially poignant today: “The time of the lone wolf is over… We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”
Our strength comes from standing together, grounded in service, guided by purpose, and committed to one another, to the communities we serve, and to the community we create.
Thank you for the care, creativity, and resolve you bring to UC Merced each day. I look forward to the year ahead, and to continuing this work together in community.
Go ‘Cats!
Juan Sánchez Muñoz
Chancellor
