UC Merced chancellor, ex UC regent bullish on graduates’ impact on state

When UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz and former UC Regent Cecilia Estolano witnessed graduates like Valaria Valencia and William Preciado grace the commencement stage on Sunday, they saw a little bit of themselves.

Sánchez Muñoz, overseeing a commencement in person for the first time since taking over as UC Merced chancellor in 2019, flashed back to his university graduation.

“I remember that my father was very nervous. He was not someone that wore very grandiose clothing. He was a trabajador (worker),” said Sánchez Muñoz, following the 2-hour ceremony.

“The university wasn’t an environment that inspired confidence in the man. He was a strong man, but it was an environment that was unfamiliar to him, to my mom.”

Ever since, Sánchez Muñoz has tried to make all families feel at home during commencements. That is why he sprinkled in Spanish during his speech on Sunday.

“I’ve always thought in administration to try to create an environment where the families of the students were celebrated,” said Sánchez Muñoz.

Estolano, who earned her undergraduate degree at Harvard, recalled a small ceremony in Mather House where the professors “know your name and actually interact with you.”

“That’s something that UC Merced offers that a lot of universities do not,” said Estolano. “It was beautiful sitting up on stage, and as students – not just the PhDs and masters but undergraduates – had professors know their name, call out and cheer for them.

“That was beautiful. That did not happen when I graduated from Harvard.”

Valencia, who majored in biological sciences, was among many first-generation college graduates. Her parents moved to the U.S. from Michoacán, México.

“My parents really pushed me to get a degree because they never had a chance,” said Valencia, who wants to focus on biotech research. “They moved out here to the United States for me to have these opportunities. So, I’m doing it for them.”

Valencia, who is from San Pablo, also wants to be an example for her younger brother.

“It’s good pressure, like supporting pressure,” she said about her parents’ expectations of her. “I have a little brother trying to set an example for him.

“I think him seeing me graduate will be inspirational for him.”

Valencia saw in UC Merced what Sánchez Muñoz and Estolano mentioned.

“I chose UC Merced because of the community that’s formed here,” she said. “It’s a really small school, so it’s easy to find a community here and feel part of something.

“Especially for college because you’re getting away from your family; but, you find a new family here.”

Preciado, who earned a degree in mechanical engineering, said he chose UC Merced because no other place accepted him.

The Central East High graduate said Merced was close enough, especially because his mother would make regular food deliveries.

“They used to bring me food almost every weekend because they knew that I wouldn’t like the food here,” said Preciado, 22. “I was not going to be homesick.”

Those deliveries included ribs, pasta, beans and rice. “The good stuff, basically,” he said.

A bright future for UC Merced

Sánchez Muñoz and Estolano painted a bright future for the news of the UC system’s 10 campuses.

“I couldn’t be more excited, proud and enthused about the future of the university after these three ceremonies, and so many students graduating with magnificent degrees,” said Sánchez Muñoz. “We had thousands of family members here to support their graduates.”

Sánchez Muñoz expects the university enrollment to exceed 10,000 by the fall of 2023, and have that climb to 15,000 by the end of the decade.

“We will break ground on the new medical education building and we’ll enroll our first cohort, our first 12 students that will begin the bachelor of science program into medical school here in the fall of ’23,” he said.

Sánchez Muñoz stressed that the majority of students come from the San Joaquín Valley and “they thrive at UC Merced.”

“We’re building affordable, excellent, accessible world class education for anyone from any background speaking any language in their casa,” he said.

Estolano said UC Merced “will transform the Valley in a good way.”

“UC Merced represents the very best of the University of California and the promise for the people of California that any smart kid can go to an outstanding university for almost no money,” said Estolano.

“The graduates will be able to stay and reinvest in their community. They are the future leaders and engineers and scientists who are going to figure this out.”

The university, she said, “is a game changer for the Valley and California.”

Estolano stressed that education is a game changer.

Her family, she said, “went from farmworkers to lawyers to doctors.”

“Education is the very feedstock of democracy, progress and caring in California,” said Estolano, whose Mexican American mother went to college, earned a degree and taught Spanish. “Having a degree from the University of California has never been more valuable.”

Estolano, who has pushed for expansion of UC universities in the state, said the families of Sunday’s graduates will benefit.

“We need to be able to (expand) because California has terribles rates of poverty; terrible outcomes and disparities around health and around environmental injustices,” she said. “If we’re going to fix that, we need to educate more people at UC.

“The people of California should expect nothing less than a much greater expansion than we’ve had in the last several years. It’s going to be expensive. You can’t do this on the cheap.”

This story was originally published May 16, 2022 at 4:26 PM with the headline "UC Merced chancellor, ex UC regent bullish on graduates’ impact on state."