A biweekly publication for faculty and staff

You are here

Home › News › Campus Kicks Off the Year in Style ›

Campus Kicks Off the Year in Style

September 7, 2016

Media Highlights

UC Merced began its 12th academic year two weeks ago, and the influx of students is having an impact on the local economy, according to the Merced Sun-Star. The Sun-Star also covered an emotional, inspiring Bridge Crossing ceremony that welcomed new students to the university.

ABC 30 took the new academic year as an opportunity to highlight the campus’s increasing demand and innovative expansion plan. That plan, the 2020 Project, was also noted in a Reuters article about public universities turning to public-private partnerships to meet construction needs.

The new year also brought new accolades — most notably, Washington Monthly gave UC Merced high marks for value and social mobility in its rankings, drawing attention from the Merced Sun-Star and the Stockton-based Central Valley Business Journal.

UC Merced’s drone research expertise — in particular, the Merced-based UC Center of Excellence on Unmanned Aircraft System Safety and its director, Brandon Stark — earned mention in an Associated Press article on precision agriculture that appeared in the Washington Post, San Jose Mercury News and others.

Two faculty members were also in the spotlight recently. Sociology Professor Whitney Laster Pirtle wrote an op-ed on racist online comments for the Huffington Post. And Seng Vang, a lecturer in the Merritt Writing Program, was sought out by NBC News for his expertise on Laos for an article about President Barack Obama’s historic visit there.

Top Twitter Mention

Recent graduate Kayla Littlejohn is beaming with pride — and for good reason — as she heads to Howard University to pursue her Master of Social Work degree. 

More Twitter Mentions

Ed Joyce of Capital Public Radio shared the Associated Press article highlighting UC Merced's drone research with his more than 13,000 followers.

And Sally Ride Science at UC San Diego, a nonprofit with nearly 16,000 followers on Twitter, tweeted about their extensive article on Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe's research in soil science and her career in academia.

In the News, compiled by University Communications, captures UC Merced's recent media coverage and social media mentions. For more information regarding these stories, email University Communications.