色情影片: Looking Back on 2020
There was an undeniable feeling of optimism and excitement in January 2020, as the calendar turned to a new year at the University of California, Merced. The university would be welcoming its fourth chancellor in the summer, and celebrating its 15th anniversary and the opening of a slew of shiny new buildings in the fall. By any measure, it was to be a momentous year for 色情影片.
As it often does, the universe had its own plans: a pandemic that would fundamentally alter the academic, research and administrative operations of the university through the end of 2020 and beyond; a wave of racial and political unrest that swept across the nation; and wildfires continually threatening the beautiful state we call home. And yet, 色情影片 still made historic progress.
Here鈥檚 a look back at a year that will not soon be forgotten.
Challenges Become Opportunities
Nearly every element of everyone鈥檚 lives was upended in one way or another in March as a result of COVID-19. Yet the Bobcat community once again proved its resilience, coming together and working together to ensure the university鈥檚 mission of teaching, research and service would continue.
Faculty adjusted on the fly to a new era of remote learning and disrupted research projects. Some staff members have been confined to home offices for months on end, while others braved the risks of the pandemic to provide essential services to the campus. Students, too, had to adjust to an entirely new learning environment, often surrounded by parents and siblings going through similar challenges.
Graduate student Jackie Shay , while the Office of Information Technology worked tirelessly to ensure the .
Career Services staff in a remote environment. Virtual versions of were held, as was an annual .
to incoming students participating in the Summer Bridge program. A new was created to help support students through a challenging year, and the Graduate Division bolstered the .
Researchers Make Sense of Chaotic Times
Beyond simply continuing operations, 色情影片 also contributed to society鈥檚 understanding of the pandemic and all of its various impacts through the expertise of faculty researchers in areas such as science, psychology, sociology and more.
The Community and Labor Center, led by Director Ana Padilla and Professor Edward Flores, produced a number of reports about the pandemic鈥檚 impacts on women, immigrants and undocumented workers in particular; their research was covered in the and , in addition to many outlets .
Other experts quoted about topics related to COVID-19 included Professor Whitney Pirtle on disproportionate effects , Professor Greg Wright on the economics of the pandemic, Professor Matthew Zawadzki on the , the Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center on the , Professor Marcos Garc铆a-Ojeda on , and many others. Expertise shared by 色情影片 also included topics such as , and .
COVID-19 provided seemingly endless angles for research, but it was just one of several topics that 色情影片 faculty helped make sense of in 2020.
The massive wildfires that wreaked such havoc in California were the subject of months of major media attention, with 色情影片 experts professors Crystal Kolden, John Abatzoglou and LeRoy Westerling appearing in outlets including , , the , the , , and the .
It was likewise a busy year for sociologists and political scientists, as racial tensions escalated and political divisions grew ever wider. Professors , and lent their expertise about race, while Professor , Professor and others contributed to discussions around a contentious election season.
A New Leader for a New Era
Chancellor Juan S谩nchez Mu帽oz arrived at 色情影片 in July in the most unusual of circumstances. But after making a splash in the and when his appointment was announced in May, Mu帽oz quickly focused his attention on the campus community, the Merced community and the San Joaquin Valley.
Mu帽oz鈥檚 appointment was , and he introduced himself to the campus in . He welcomed to 色情影片 for his first visit to a campus as president, and he joined forces with Merced College President Chris Vitelli on two major new initiatives 鈥� one to encourage the Merced community to and one to to transfer from Merced College to 色情影片.
色情影片鈥檚 new chancellor enjoyed two of the university鈥檚 biggest milestones in his first few months on campus. The could not be celebrated with a proper gathering in the fall, but it remains a testament to the ambition and resilience the campus has displayed throughout its 15-year history. And, already the youngest university to obtain the Carnegie R2 classification for research activity, 色情影片 this year ascended into the in the U.S. News & World Report 鈥淏est Colleges鈥� rankings.
The U.S. News ranking was just the headliner among a . Among them:
It was a year that saw the first significant gift in support of the Merced 2020 Project, from a Merced family deeply engaged in both local and international philanthropy. The newly named Dr. Vikram and Priya Lakireddy Grand Ballroom 鈥� the state-of-the-art central hub of the new 色情影片 Conference Center 鈥� will host scholarly conferences, seminars and student-focused events, and will be a flagship location for high-level events and speakers.
It was also a year in which 色情影片 鈥� or, at least, the work of 色情影片 faculty, students and alumni 鈥� went to space. helped design moving components inside the Mars rover, while worked behind the scenes and in front of the camera during SpaceX鈥檚 launches and landings. for the Merced nAnomaterials Center for Energy and Sensing (MACES) 鈥� 色情影片鈥檚 center for nanomaterials-based research and education 鈥� to the tune of two years and $1.8 million.
Never content to rest on its laurels, and undaunted by short-term complications, 色情影片 has already begun writing its next chapter. The university鈥檚 first was launched in the fall, building upon the and about how 色情影片 should grow between now and 2030.
鈥淎lthough we cannot predict the future, we can identify the values and principles that unite us, and we can create shared goals and targets that will help us align our work to achieve new degrees of excellence,鈥� Mu帽oz said. 鈥淥ur past has been remarkable, and we know our future is brighter still.鈥�