UC Merced Connect: UC Water part of White House summit

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy hosted a water summit Tuesday featuring 200 organizations that are committed to conservation and adaptation, including the UC Water Security and Sustainability Research Initiative, headquartered at UC Merced.

The summit was designed to raise awareness of water issues and potential solutions in the United States, and to catalyze ideas and actions to help build a sustainable and secure water future through innovative science and technology.

UC Water is a multicampus effort to address water information, institutions and infrastructure research. The initiative includes researchers (professors, staff and students) from six UC campuses: Merced, Berkeley, Davis, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara and San Diego.

Information provided by UC Water was included in the fact report for summit participants. The summit took place on UN World Water Day.

UC Water is committing to develop, by 2018, an integrated water-accounting system. The system will include a new basis for managing groundwater by using a novel combination of conventional groundwater-level data and modeling tools that will be disseminated to hundreds of water managers by 2017, including those in 127 California state-defined groundwater basins.

“The formation of effective, fair groundwater agencies to implement California’s 2014 forward-looking groundwater act may be the most important thing we do this year to provide a secure and sustainable water future for generations to come,” said UC Merced professor Roger Bales, co-director of UC Water.

Campus celebrates philanthropic leaders

Campus supporters, administrative and academic leadership, faculty members, students and alumni gathered for UC Merced’s Celebration of Philanthropic Leaders event, held March 19 to recognize the campus’s annual giving and leadership donors.

“From student scholarships and fellowships to research and athletics support, every part of the UC Merced community benefits from the generosity of our esteemed supporters,” Chancellor Dorothy Leland said.

Leland thanked campus supporters in attendance and highlighted the generosity of six benefactors for their lifetime of giving to UC Merced.

Longtime campus supporters Bob and Marie Gallo were honored on behalf of E. & J. Gallo Winery with the Laureate distinction, signifying the highest level of philanthropy. Their contributions to UC Merced, which include funding for the planned Ernest and Julio Gallo School of Management, scholarships and service learning projects, have already had a lasting effect on the campus.

UC Regent Emeritus and UC Merced Foundation Trustee Fred Ruiz and his wife, Mitzie, have supported the campus by establishing the Ruiz Family Chair in Entrepreneurship and serving as the lead donor to the UC Merced Foundation Board of Trustees Chair. In addition, they have established the Rose R. Ruiz Endowed Scholarship and Fellowship Fund and the Fred and Mitzie Ruiz Endowed Fellowship Fund to support students in their academic pursuits while at UC Merced.

Dr. Madhu Kris and Dr. Vijaya Tangella were honored for their commitment to students. They named the Kris-Tangella Lecture Hall and founded the Kris-Tangella Academic Excellence Endowed Scholarship Fund, which may be awarded to students with an interest in pursuing a career in the health care industry.

This story was originally published March 22, 2016 at 3:22 PM with the headline "UC Merced Connect: UC Water part of White House summit."