A biweekly publication for faculty and staff

2020 Project Is Front-Page News in Sacramento

December 2, 2016

In a busy two weeks of media highlights featuring UC Merced, the most notable might have been a front-page story in the Sacramento Bee about public-private partnerships in California — with the Merced 2020 Project as the prime example. The unprecedented expansion plan has gained interest across the nation among those in the building, construction and higher ed industries. 

UC Merced researchers were in the news again, as well. Professor Mark Aldenderfer — no stranger to major media outlets — was featured in the New York Times for his research showing that ancient Peruvians were cultivating potatoes as far back as 3400 B.C. Professor Miriam Barlow's research on antibiotic resistance was the subject of a feature by KSEE 24 in Fresno, and a project by Professor Stephen Wooding and his students, who examined the distracted-driving behaviors of UC Merced students, was highlighted in the Merced Sun-Star.

The presidential election continues to be a hot topic, and two of our faculty members entered the fray with articles of their own. Mark Harris wrote an op-ed for the Fresno Bee with his thoughts on the election, and Tanya Golash-Boza wrote an explainer about undocumented students pursuing higher education for The Conversation — a piece that was picked up by Newsweek, the San Francisco Chronicle and others.

For more information regarding these news stories, email University Communications.

Top Twitter Mentions

The UC Merced story dominated local coverage of Giving Tuesday, an international day set aside to promote philanthropy. The Twittersphere was no different on Nov. 29. The #GiveTueUCM hashtag reached about 3.6 million individual accounts over the 24-hour campaign.

The fact that 90 percent of students qualify for some sort of financial support captured the attention of influencer I. Marlene King (807,000 followers) and the official Giving Tuesday account (54,100 followers).

With a little enticement from development officer Jeff Porto Jr., former trustee MC Hammer (3.71 million followers) promoted the campaign by retweeting posts.