University of California, Merced - Jody Murray

Conference of California Sociologists Engages ��ý Undergrads

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 20:03:46 +0000

December 3, 2025

Undergraduate students in ��ý's Sociology Club attended the California Sociological Association conference in Berkeley.

More than a dozen undergraduate students in ��ý’s Sociology Club were immersed in the discipline’s breadth of research and professional possibilities during the California Sociological Association’s annual conference.

The two-day gathering, held in Berkeley in early November, was a meaningful experience for the students, many of whom are first-generation scholars, said club adviser and sociology Professor Amanda Mireles.

“The experience strengthened their sense of belonging in higher education, expanded their academic aspirations, and reinforced the university’s commitment to providing transformative opportunities for undergraduate scholars,” Mireles said.

Several ��ý attendees returned from the conference motivated to pursue independent research in capstone classes, to join faculty research teams, or to prepare project proposals to present at the conference next year, Mireles said.

The Sociology Club members who attended the conference were Sofia Bernardino, Ashely Calvillo, Alicia Del Rio, Marlay'ja Hackett, Anthony Harris, Daniel Kariuki, Graciela Martinez, Kevin Ramirez Mora, Kuba Luis Salaam, Mariela Tapia, Ezra Echeverria Tate, Monseratt Gracie-Torres, Brigette Trujillo, and Belinda Higareda-Vazquez.

Younger, Latino and Moderate California Republicans Diverge from Party Line on Immigration Policies

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 21:04:52 +0000

UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Insitute

November 24, 2025

The study revealed significant fractures in California Republicans' support for some immigration enforcement measures.

While California Democrats are nearly unified in their views on current immigration enforcement strategies, Latino Republicans and party moderates, especially women, are most likely to diverge from the GOP majority, according to a study co-authored by a ��ý researcher.

The analysis of an August survey of California voters by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies showed that Democratic opposition to President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement policies never fell below 88% and reached 95% percent on some responses, while Republican responses reveal significant fractures in support for some enforcement measures.

The analysis, released Nov. 17 by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute, was developed by ��ý sociology Professor Daisy Reyes and UC Berkeley professors G. Cristina Mora and Nicholas Vargas.

“These findings suggest that some Republican attitudes on immigration are movable,” Reyes said. “When enforcement practices are seen as inconsistent with constitutional norms, voters — especially younger and moderate Republicans — tend to respond with skepticism rather than partisan reflex.”

According to the data analysis, 45% of California Republicans said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents should be required to show identification, 40% supported due process for all immigrants, and roughly a third opposed expanding enforcement into schools and hospitals, deporting long-term residents or ending birthright citizenship.

'When enforcement practices are seen as inconsistent with constitutional norms, voters — especially younger and moderate Republicans — tend to respond with skepticism rather than partisan reflex.'

Professor Daisy Reyes

A Husband’s Self-esteem Could Protect Against Preterm Births, Study Finds

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 16:02:31 +0000

By Jody Murray, ��ý

November 20, 2025

The study offers one reason some mothers might be biologically protected from preterm birth: their partners’ emotional resources.

A husband’s optimism and confidence might play a crucial, if often unseen, role in helping babies arrive healthy and on time.

A new study from ��ý psychology researchers found that when married fathers reported higher levels of resilience — a quality that includes traits such as optimism, self-esteem and perceived social support — their partners showed lower levels of inflammation during pregnancy and carried their babies longer.

“This is one of the first studies to show that a father’s inner strengths, such as his optimism and ability to cope with challenges, can ripple through the family in measurable, biological ways,” said Professor Jennifer Hahn-Holbrook, a co-author.

The findings were published in the journal Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine.

The research team, led by Ph.D. student Kavya Swaminathan, analyzed data from 217 mother-father pairs who participated in the Community Child Health Network study across five sites in the U.S.

Mothers provided blood samples during pregnancy that were analyzed for C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation associated with an increased risk of preterm birth. Both parents also completed surveys assessing resilience-related traits such as optimism, self-esteem and social support.

'This study is exciting because it highlights how the people surrounding a pregnant woman can shape her biology in ways that affect both her health and her baby’s.'

Kavya Swaminathan

Preterm birth, defined as delivery before 37 weeks, is a leading cause of infant mortality and lifelong health complications, including heart disease and developmental disorders. High maternal inflammation is a well-established risk factor. The ��ý study indicates one reason some mothers may be biologically protected: their partners’ emotional resources.

In married couples in this study, higher paternal resilience was associated with lower maternal inflammation, which in turn predicted a longer gestation period. Every day in the womb is better for fetal health and development.

“This study is exciting because it highlights how the people surrounding a pregnant woman can shape her biology in ways that affect both her health and her baby’s,” Swaminathan said.

The study does not confirm cause and effect, but it offers strong evidence that emotional and social strength in the father can have physical consequences for mothers and babies.

“Fathers who feel confident and supported might engage in more positive daily behaviors, such as cooking healthy meals, offering encouragement and reducing stress at home,” said Hahn-Holbrook, a Health Sciences Research Institute faculty member. “Emotional connections may also play a role, because couples tend to coregulate their moods and even their immune systems.”

The study draws on the biopsychosocial model, which examines how emotional and social factors interact with biological factors to shape health. Previous research has shown that chronic stress can increase inflammation during pregnancy. The ��ý study flips the lens to examine how positive psychological resources could protect against it.

Others involved in the study included UCLA Professor Christine Dunkel Schetter, one of several primary investigators, along with ��ý psychology Professor Haiyan Liu and Stony Brook University Professor Christine Guardino.

Funding for the study came from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute of Nursing Research.

People Don’t Worry About Losing Jobs to AI, Even When Told It Could Happen Soon

Anonymous — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 18:03:57 +0000

By Jody Murray, ��ý

November 18, 2025

Surveyed workers were slightly more worried by a shorter AI-takeover timeline, but it didn't significantly change their views about government safety nets.

As debates rage about artificial intelligence's impact on jobs, new research suggests that even warnings that AI could disrupt workers' employment soon do little to shake their confidence.

In a survey-based study, political scientists Anil Menon of ��ý and Baobao Zhang of Syracuse University examined how people respond to forecasts of the arrival of “transformative AI,” ranging from as early as 2026 to as distant as 2060.

The researchers found that shorter timelines made respondents slightly more anxious about losing their jobs to automation, but did not meaningfully alter their views on when job losses would occur or their support for government responses such as retraining workers or providing a universal basic income.

Respondents to the survey of 2,440 U.S. adults who read about the rapid development of large language and other generative models, such as Genesis, Claude and ChatGPT, predicted automation might come somewhat sooner. Yet their policy preferences and economic outlooks were essentially unchanged. When the survey’s timeframes were combined, respondents showed modest increases in concern about unemployment due to technology.

“These results suggest that Americans’ beliefs about automation risks are stubborn,” the authors said. “Even when told that human-level AI could arrive within just a few years, people don’t dramatically revise their expectations or demand new policies.”

Menon and Zhang said their findings challenge the assumption that making technological threats feel more immediate will mobilize public support for regulation or safety nets.

The study draws on construal level theory, which examines how people’s sense of time shapes their risk judgments. Participants who were told that AI breakthroughs were imminent were not significantly more alarmed than those given distant timelines.

'These results suggest that Americans’ beliefs about automation risks are stubborn.'

Professor Anil Menon

The survey, fielded in March 2024, assigned respondents randomly to a group. Three groups read vignettes stating job-threatening AI would arrive in a particular year: 2026, 2030 or 2060. A fourth control group received no timeline information.

Each vignette described experts predicting that advances in machine learning and robotics could replace human workers in a wide range of professions, from software engineers and legal clerks to teachers and nurses.

After reading the vignette, participants estimated when their jobs and others’ jobs would be automated, reported confidence in those predictions, rated their worry about job loss, and indicated support for several policy responses, including limits on automation and increased AI research funding.

While exposure to any timeline increased awareness of automation risks, only the 2060 condition significantly raised worry about job loss, perhaps, the researchers said, because that forecast seemed more credible than claims of imminent disruption.

The study, published in The Journal of Politics, comes amid widespread debate over how large language models and other generative systems will reshape work. Tech leaders have predicted human-level AI may emerge within the decade, while critics argue that such forecasts exaggerate current capabilities.

Menon and Zhang said the study shows the public remains cautious but not panicked, an insight that may help policymakers gauge when and how citizens will support interventions such as retraining programs or universal basic income proposals.

The authors noted several caveats. Their design focused on how timeline cues influence attitudes but did not test other psychological pathways, such as beliefs about AI’s economic trade-offs or the credibility of expert forecasts. The researchers also acknowledged that the survey cannot track changes in individuals’ perceptions over time.

“The public’s expectations about automation appear remarkably stable,” they said. “Understanding why they are so resistant to change is crucial for anticipating how societies will navigate the labor disruptions of the AI era.”

First-generation Students Shine at ��ý. This Week Celebrates Them

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 18:02:33 +0000

By Jody Murray, ��ý

November 3, 2025

Psychology Professor Rose Scott, left, was the first in her family to attend college. First-gen student Narciso Martinez Solorio is a peer mentor.

More than six in 10 ��ý undergraduates are the first in their families to attend a university. The national average for four-year universities is about two in 10.

Opening doors to opportunity for first-generation students is infused into ��ý’s DNA. Young people who had little to no information at home on how to be a young scholar find solid support, a welcoming campus and kindred spirits.

The university is celebrating first-generation students with a whole week of activities, presentations and resources. It starts Monday, Nov. 3, with a First-Generation Week Resource Fair, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Scholars Lane, and an invitation to create vision boards from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Multicultural Center (KL 169)

This first-gen itinerary (don’t miss workshops by ��ý schools on Wednesday and the presentation “Advocating for Yourself: Tools for Success” on Thursday) ties into the national First-Generation College Celebration Day. Held each Nov. 8, it marks the 1965 signing of a federal act designed to make higher education more accessible and affordable.

Paying for tuition was an early concern for Adriana Martinez Diaz. No one in her extended family had applied to college. The application process was mystifying. Then, during an orientation visit to ��ý, she met a staff adviser who guided her and her mother down avenues to information and support.

“That experience gave me the confidence and community I needed to begin my college journey,” said Diaz, a fourth-year student majoring in biology and Spanish.

Narciso Martinez Solorio is a part of ��ý’s support system, serving as a peer mentor in the Calvin E. Bright Success Center. He helps students, including fellow first-gen studens, build confidence, make connections and “truly feel at home.”

Solorio, who grew up in Merced, said he struggled early on, battling thoughts that he didn’t belong on a university campus.

“Over time, I learned to ask for help,” he said. “I learned that I’m stronger and more capable than I thought.”

His academics bear that out: The fourth-year student is on target to graduate a semester early with degrees in chemistry and human biology.

“Being a first-gen student isn’t easy, but it’s powerful,” Solorio said. “We figure things out, support each other and keep pushing forward.”

Miguel Lopez was a middle schooler in San Joaquin, a Fresno County farming town of 3,600, when he learned of the UC Scholars Early Academic Outreach Program. He signed up and leveraged it into an academic career at ��ý, capped by a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2012.

At ��ý, he became the first in his family to discover what higher education is about. “I learned I had the ability to be resilient, to determine ways to succeed, and to be willing to get the support I needed to overcome hurdles.”

Today, Lopez is a senior consultant for experience research at IBM.

Two ��ý professors see themselves in alumni such as Lopez and students such as Solorio and Diaz. Rose Scott and Sarah Depaoli, faculty members in the Department of Psychological Sciences, were the first in their families to attend and graduate from a university.

I learned I had the ability to be resilient, to determine ways to succeed, and to be willing to get the support I needed to overcome hurdles.

Miguel Lopez '12, of his time at ��ý

Scott grew up in a poor, rural community in western New York. When she was 10, an older cousin talked to her about wanting to attend college but worrying she couldn’t afford to.

“I took from this conversation that if you go to college, you can do more things,” she said. “So I decided, in fourth grade, that I would become valedictorian so I could get all the scholarships and go to college.”

She earned the scholarships, and those plus financial aid got her into Boston University. Her family could not help pay her way.

“I was lucky from day one. There were lots of moments where people could see I had promise but didn’t know what I was doing,” Scott said. “They stepped in to give a little nudge or take me under their wing.”

At ��ý, she recognizes students facing the same challenges she did. Scott talks to them about study habits, preparing for courses and career options. “I try to provide for them what people gave me when I was an undergrad,” she said.

For Depaoli, the get-things-done integrity of her working-class family carried over into her drive to succeed academically. Her father had progressed from sweeping floors at a car dealership as a high schooler to owning a Sacramento-area auto body shop.

Her parents never talked to her about attending college. “They joke that they forgot to tell me not to,” Depaoli said.

She enrolled at California State University, Sacramento. “My mom and dad were extremely supportive, but they couldn’t help with navigating an application or how to act in college or how to study.”

At ��ý, Depaoli connects with first-generation students, telling them to, essentially, take a deep breath. “You don’t have to know your path. Just take a step and your path will unveil itself.”

She also attends every commencement ceremony so she can see the pride in family members’ faces.

“It’s unlike any other university,” she said. “They’re crying when the professors come in. They say, ‘Thank you,’ because they feel we have given their family something that seemed out of reach.”

Old Friends and Bold Art Inspire ��ý Professor’s Latest Film

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 20:02:45 +0000

By Jody Murray, ��ý

October 30, 2025

Three Merced men and the pursuit of their art are the subject of a documentary by Professor Yehuda Sharim.

They are longtime friends, united by a passion for art and a stubborn determination not to compromise their unconventional styles. Their brushes paint scenes of fieldhands and crops coalescing in blues and reds, of a rural street splashed in watercolor or of shark fins cutting through a beach as a sandcastle rises in the surf.

Ruben Aguilera Sanchez, Frank Ayala and Abel Corchado have known each other for more than four decades. Over the years, the Merced-area men have supported each other’s work, mentored others and pushed back against expectations.

“I’m an artist who is Latino, not a Latino artist,” Ayala said.

The three are the subject of the latest film by ��ý Professor Yehuda Sharim. The documentary, “Los Tres,” premieres Saturday, Nov. 1, at the Multicultural Arts Center, 645 W. Main St., Merced (see flier). The film starts at 6:30 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session. There is no admission charge.

“Los Tres” is also scheduled to be screened at 7:15 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21, at the Carnegie Arts Center, 250 N. Broadway, Turlock (see flier). Admission is free.

In a recent get-together over coffee at Merced restaurant, the men talked animatedly about their craft, often finishing each other’s sentences.

“When we first got together in art, we talked about the essence of it and what our purpose was,” Ayala said. “But it’s not what the public wanted. They wanted burros and cactuses, and I don’t do that.”

“We once got a space in some stores, in the windows,” Corchado recalled.

“Mine was rejected,” Ayala said.

“No, no, no, they put up a few of yours,” Corchado said.

Ayala, Corchado and Sanchez said they have dealt for years with galleries, art institutions and other potential display spaces that wanted something other than their surreal creations. They use the word “diabetic” to describe the preferred art style. “You know, sweet and pretty,” said Ayala, a retired high school art teacher.

“I can’t paint like Frank or like Abel, nor can they paint like me,” Sanchez said. “We have our own styles and inspirations.”

Corchado said his work often places people in otherworldly places.

“Like, there’s a girl walking on a path, and the path leads to a sea and a crystal floats above the sea,” he said. “So it’s a kind of fantasy. Surreal.”

“We’re all surreal,” Sanchez chimed in. “Every one of us.”

Sanchez said the trio will kick around themes or ideas, go home and paint their interpretations, then get together to share their work.

“That’s our gallery,” Ayala said. “That’s our studio.”

Sharim, a professor of media and performance studies, was drawn to the trio’s artistic vision and their enduring support for each other.

“Their work is so inspiring. We might be used to seeing Chicano art in one way, but they rebel and challenge those expectations,” Sharim said.

“The documentary is also about friendship, about being generous with each other. It’s about community as a space of resistance and transformation, where art teaches us about a radical sense of activism, care and compassion."

20 Years In, ��ý Celebrates Achievements, Looks to Future

Anonymous — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 15:58:05 +0000

By Jody Murray, ��ý

October 23, 2025

In his annual address, Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz said the state of ��ý is "strong, respected and ascendant."

Only 20 years since undergraduate instruction began, ��ý is a recognized leader in conducting academic research, developing young minds for career success and driving economic growth, the university’s chancellor said Wednesday.

Speaking to a gathering of campus and community leaders, along with members of the ��ý Foundation Board of Trustees, Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz delivered his annual State of the University address, honoring the pioneering spirit and can-do determination of the faculty, staff and students who celebrated the university’s grand opening in fall 2005.

Less than a handful of buildings were complete on a campus still bustling with construction workers. Most of the first classes were held in the library.

Muñoz said founding Chancellor Carol Tomlinson-Keasey, in an opening day address, told her audience that “��ý resolved to reach the high standards for education and innovation set by the University of California's previous nine campuses.

“The chancellor knew then, as I do now, that the people assembled to learn, to teach, to work and inquire at ��ý have indeed been and remain categorically up to the task.”

Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz, left, and Keith Alley at the State of the University event. Alley and his wife, Jill, created an endowment for undergrad student research. Keith Alley is ��ý's founding vice chancellor for research and graduate dean.

Muñoz announced that one of ��ý’s founding leaders made a generous contribution to the university’s future. Keith Alley and his wife, Jill, created an endowment with ongoing funding and pledged up to $2 million in support of undergraduate student research. Keith Alley was ��ý’s first vice chancellor for research and graduate dean. He also served as provost from 2006 until his retirement in 2012.

Among the 20 years of firsts cited in the address:

��ý’s economic impact totals $1 billion annually in Merced County and nearly $1.4 billion in California, according to a new study. A soon-to-be-released report by Beacon Economics, commissioned by the university, said ��ý supports 1 in every 15 jobs in the county and more than 8,600 jobs statewide. The university’s research enterprise generates $158 million in economic output in California, with every research dollar ��ý invests in research doubling in economic activity.
��ý advanced in recent national college rankings. U.S. News & World Report placed the university 25th among public universities, and The Wall Street Journal ranked it 14^th among all universities. Both reports placed ��ý third for social mobility, which measures the improvement of students’ economic and social standing through knowledge, skills and opportunity.
More than 95 percent of the student body is Californian, including nearly 40 percent from the Central Valley. In addition, 65 percent of new students in the current semester are the first in their families to attend college.
The Merced Automatic Admissions Program, known as MAAP, offers a streamlined application to high school students who meet UC qualifications. Fresno Unified, the state’s third-largest school district, joined MAAP in September, adding to a list of about 40 districts statewide.
Earlier this year, ��ý reached the nation’s highest status for public research universities, attaining the R1 classification from the Carnegie Foundation. The university also earned Carnegie’s new “opportunity” status for emphasizing access to underrepresented or low-income students and for producing graduates who earn significantly above expectations. Only 21 universities nationwide and three in California hold both classifications.
Other highlights from the chancellor included the growth of the Agricultural Experiment Station, the ongoing construction of the Medical Education Building and of the Promise Housing project for transfer students; and the start of the third cohort of students in the San Joaquin Valley PRIME+ pathway, designed to train physicians with Valley roots to practice in the region.

Muñoz returned to the remarks by Tomlinson-Keasey to draw a bright throughline from the promise of 2005 to the achievements of 2025.

“She said, ‘Our university will not be finished in 20 years, not in 50 years, not in many lifetimes. But let us begin,’” he said. “I am so very proud of what we have become at ��ý. I am in awe of what we can be.

“As my predecessor said 20 years ago, I say again today: Let us begin.”

Three-year Grant Lifts Joy Provided by ��ý Children’s Opera

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 15:50:53 +0000

By Jody Murray, ��ý

October 20, 2025

Uriah Brown, left, performs in the 2025 ��ý Children's Opera production,"Treble Trouble." Brown, a music educator and professional opera singer, has worked with the production for more than a decade.

��ý Children’s Opera, a performance that delights and enlightens thousands of schoolchildren a year while giving Bobcat students experience in theater, has received support from a generous grant from the Central Valley Opportunity Fund.

The three-year, $90,000 grant to the opera and the Merced County Office of Education (MCOE) will strengthen the sustainability of the opera, which is produced annually by ��ý Arts and operates largely on the work of dedicated contractors and the seemingly bottomless energy of Jenni Samuelson, the opera’s director and a music lecturer for ��ý Global Arts Studies.

“This grant provides the sustainability we need to keep the Children’s Opera thriving,” said Samuelson, an opera singer herself who grew up in Merced and has taught at ��ý since 2011. “It ensures we can continue presenting engaging, high-quality performances that connect our community’s youth with our campus through music and storytelling.”

The Children’s Opera is performed each spring in coordination with MCOE’s arts program. This academic year’s production, “The Ghost in the Opera House,” marks the opera’s 16th year, with a free community performance scheduled for May 23, 2026, at the Art Kamangar Center at The Merced Theatre downtown.

Each performance features professional opera singers, musicians and designers. ��ý students work alongside these professionals, both on stage and in the production crew. The book and lyrics for each show are written by Nancy Steele Brokaw, an Illinois-based educator and writer.

The shows feature classic opera tunes recognizable from pop culture but with words rewritten to fit a family-friendly plot. Audience members are taught songs and cues early on and are urged to interact with the performers.

��ý students Lois Lopez, left, and Chi Ude perform in "Treble Trouble."

“Jenni and our production team are extremely efficient and do incredible work with a fairly modest budget,” said Collin Lewis, executive director for ��ý Arts. “The Children’s Opera looks and sounds like any educational program that you would find at a major performing arts center.

“We’re thrilled that these high-quality productions continue to engage and educate thousands of children in Merced each year and have attracted philanthropic partners in the area, such as the Central Valley Opportunity Fund.”

The CVOF grant will be used to increase compensation for the professional performers, upgrade production equipment, and launch a new educational outreach program that will strengthen the opera’s connections with its annual attendees and attract new schools and educators.

CVOF, part of the philanthropic Central Valley Community Foundation, is a private, donor-advised fund dedicated to improving the lives of residents of the greater Merced community. CVOF strives to be a catalyst for additional public and private resources, and for establishing regional partnerships aimed at equitable, lasting and systemic change.

“One of my favorite things in this community is the Children’s Opera. You can immediately see the impact on those little faces,” said Kim Garner, Merced regional director of the Central Valley Community Foundation and facilitator of the Opportunity Fund.

“Having infrastructure that shows the benefits of arts in education is so important,” said Noelle Chandler, MCOE arts program specialist. “The grant allows us to not only help with funding and support, but to unite the curriculum for multiple opportunities.”

��ý a National Finalist for Student Success Award

Anonymous — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 14:41:27 +0000

By Jody Murray, ��ý

October 16, 2025

��ý is a finalist for the Excellence in Student Success Award offered by a national organization of public universities.

��ý, recognized nationwide for providing access to a world-class education and transforming young scholars’ lives, is a finalist for the inaugural Excellence in Student Success Award offered by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.

��ý is among five universities nominated for the award. APLU, with more than 250 member institutions, advocates efforts to increase student success and workforce readiness; promote research; and bolster community engagement.

Several points support ��ý’s nomination:

A student body in which 61% are eligible for Pell grants and 65% are the first in their families to attend a university.
Two consecutive years ranked third by U.S. News & World Report for social mobility – a graduate’s ability to improve their economic status compared to that of their parents or their earlier life circumstances
The Merced Automatic Admissions Program (MAAP) guarantees streamlined admission for qualifying high school students from 40 districts throughout California. MAAP students accepted to ��ý are more than twice as likely to enroll as all other students.
The Merced Promise expands pathways for transfer students. Construction of affordable housing and the opening of a Transfer Student Resource Center have fueled a 20% year-over-year increase in transfer enrollment.
The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center offers access to faculty-mentored inquiry. About 42% of fourth-year students graduate with research experience, strengthening retention and a sense of belonging.

"Being selected as one of only five finalists for this prestigious award is evidence of the tremendous progress our campus is making in centering the needs of our students through strategic, data-informed initiatives," Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Betsy Dumont said.

The other nominees for the award are the University of Illinois Chicago; Northern Illinois University; the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; and the University of Texas at San Antonio. The winner will be announced in November.

APLU President Waded Cruzado said, “We’re delighted to highlight institutions that are on the leading edge of advancing student success and ensuring more students benefit from the transformational power of a college education.”

Writer-in-Residence Mark Arax Chronicles California's Lifeblood: Water

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 21:44:57 +0000

By Jody Murray, ��ý

September 18, 2025

Author and Central Valley native Mark Arax will serve as ��ý's writer-in-residence this academic year.

��ý has debuted a writer-in-residence program with one of California’s premier chroniclers of its history, especially the titanic power plays for land and water that have shaped the state’s growth and loom over its future.

Mark Arax, a Fresno native, author and former Los Angeles Times journalist, will host workshops about his craft throughout the academic year. His presence on campus also will offer inside access to a working author.

The writer-in-residence program is co-hosted by the ��ý Library and the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts. The intent is to make this a feature of every academic year.

“This is an honor,” Arax said, “and it comes at an interesting time because I’m embarking on a new book.”

Arax is a two-time winner of the California Book Award and a recipient of Stanford University's William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. His most recent work, “The Dreamt Land: Chasing Water and Dust Across California,” was hailed by critics as one of the most important books about the West.

“The Dreamt Land” delves into the state’s epic battles over water. Its predecessor, “The King of California,” co-written with Rick Wartzman, chronicles J.G. Boswell, a powerful cotton grower in the Central Valley.

“The writer-in-residence program reflects our commitment to bringing distinguished voices to campus who can inspire our students,” said Leo Arriola, dean of the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts. “Mark's work does so powerfully by deepening our understanding of the Central Valley’s history and the stakes for our future, especially in how we manage land and water resources.”

Arax’s Armenian heritage deeply affects his work. His 1996 book, “In My Father’s Name,” describes the 1972 killing of his father, Ara Arax, along with the Armenian immigrant experience.

There are three writer-in-residence workshops scheduled; more will be announced. All are free and open to the public, and are scheduled for 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in Classroom and Office Building 2, room 170:

Sept. 23: Stories About Place
Oct. 14: Creative Non-fiction: How Does it Work?
Nov. 4: Investigative Journalism: Our Last, Best Hope When Democracy Corrodes

Check this library webpage for information and updates about the writer-in-residence program.

University of California, Merced - Jody Murray

Conference of California Sociologists Engages ������ý Undergrads

Younger, Latino and Moderate California Republicans Diverge from Party Line on Immigration Policies

A Husband’s Self-esteem Could Protect Against Preterm Births, Study Finds

People Don’t Worry About Losing Jobs to AI, Even When Told It Could Happen Soon

First-generation Students Shine at ������ý. This Week Celebrates Them

Old Friends and Bold Art Inspire ������ý Professor’s Latest Film

20 Years In, ������ý Celebrates Achievements, Looks to Future

Three-year Grant Lifts Joy Provided by ������ý Children’s Opera

������ý a National Finalist for Student Success Award

Writer-in-Residence Mark Arax Chronicles California's Lifeblood: Water

Conference of California Sociologists Engages ��ý Undergrads

First-generation Students Shine at ��ý. This Week Celebrates Them

Old Friends and Bold Art Inspire ��ý Professor’s Latest Film

20 Years In, ��ý Celebrates Achievements, Looks to Future

Three-year Grant Lifts Joy Provided by ��ý Children’s Opera

��ý a National Finalist for Student Success Award