To the UC Merced community,
Along with all of you who volunteered on Bobcat Day, April 23, I was amazed by the number of attendees and their deep interest in all that UC Merced has to offer.
More than 6,100 students, family members and friends registered to attend this signature event that put the full array of academic, athletic, cultural and social offerings of our campus on display. Hundreds of faculty, students and staff came to campus to talk to future Bobcats, their parents and their supporters about why UC Merced should be their path to a brighter future.
Truly, I was proud to see so many of you volunteer for this event that was so important to our campus.
I urge you toward this same level of passion and commitment as we prepare for our first in-person spring commencement since May 2019. Greeting and applauding the nearly 1,460 young people who receive their diplomas and doctoral hoods on May 14 and 15 will be an invigorating experience that will remind all of us yet again exactly why we have chosen careers in higher education.
The May 14 ceremony will feature a keynote address by Fred Ruiz, a former UC Regent, current UC Merced Foundation board member and longtime Central Valley entrepreneur, whose Ruiz Foods has become a multimillion-dollar national brand. On May 15, graduates will hear from Regent Emerita Cecilia Estolano, a Southern California native, founder of Estolano Advisors and CEO of Better World Group
In addition, on May 13, we will celebrate those graduates of the classes of 2020 and 2021 who were unable to have an in-person commencement ceremony — a chance to renew old acquaintances and not only celebrate their graduation but learn how their lives have changed since their days in Merced.
Staff are needed for a variety of roles, and faculty will join the procession and the stage party as they congratulate all those students whom they have guided over these past several years.
Thank you for all that you do, every day, for our students, our university and California.
Sincerely,
