UC Merced Magazine | Volume XIX, Issue VII

WE R1: ADVANCING BOLD RESEARCH & INNOVATION

UC Merced’s historic achievement in our designation as an R1 8QLYHUVLW\ E\ WKH &DUQHJLH &ODVVLȰFDWLRQ RI ,QVWLWXWLRQV RI +LJKHU (GXFDWLRQ UHȱHFWV RXU FDPSXVǽV ORQJWLPH FRPPLWPHQW WR UHVHDUFK IRFXVHG RQ UHDO ZRUOG LPSDFW DQG VROXWLRQV IRU GLVSDULWLHV WKDW DȯHFW LQGLYLGXDOV IDPLOLHV DQG FRPPXQLWLHV 5HFHLYLQJ WKH SUHVWLJLRXV 5 GLVWLQFWLRQ ZKLFK FHPHQWV RXU SODFH DPRQJ WKH QDWLRQǽV WRS WLHU UHVHDUFK XQLYHUVLWLHV LV SRVVLEOH EHFDXVH RI WKH YLVLRQDU\ SKLODQWKURSLF GHGLFDWLRQ RI RXU VXSSRUWHUV 7KURXJK %ROGO\ )RUZDUG 7KH &DPSDLJQ IRU 8& 0HUFHG ZKLFK VXSSRUWV RXU HQGXULQJ SULRULWLHV ǹ LQFOXGLQJ /HDGLQJ WKURXJK 'LVFRYHU\ ǹ ZH ZLOO EH DEOH WR EXLOG RQ WKH PRPHQWXP RI RXU JURZLQJ SURPLQHQFH DQG QDWLRQDO UHFRJQLWLRQ DQG IXOȰOO RXU JUHDW SURPLVH DV WKH ȰUVW QHZ $PHULFDQ UHVHDUFK XQLYHUVLW\ RI WKH VW FHQWXU\

Join UC Merced in expanding inquiry and pushing the boundaries of knowledge.

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I’m excited for this new beginning, and I like the idea of being the first person to bring an ag-tech chair to UC Merced. — Trustee Christine Long

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UC Merced Foundation Board of Trustees member Christine Long, a longtime business owner and leader in the Central Valley’s agricultural industry, is the latest campus advocate to create a chair to expand research capacity and excellence. The newly established Christine Nemec Long Endowed Chair in Agricultural Technology will be housed in the School of Engineering and is UC Merced’s first chair in the ag-tech field. “The San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys are the most fertile valleys in the world, and UC Merced is in the middle of that,” Long said. “Why shouldn’t Merced be a leader in Christine Long

ag-tech? Agriculture is changing and is becoming more advanced and technical. People who work in ag-tech are much more skilled than they used to be, and they require a new understanding. “Ag-tech is a brand-new field for me, too,” she added. “I’m excited for this new beginning, and I like the idea of being the first person to bring an ag-tech chair to UC Merced.” UC Merced holds 16 endowed chairs — seven in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and the Arts; four in the School of Natural Sciences; and two under the future Gallo School of Management. With the addition of the Long Chair in Agricultural Technology, the School of Engineering now has three endowed chairs.

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