UC Merced Earns National Certification for Dedication to Latino Students

UC Merced’s dedication to the success of Latino college students has been acknowledged with the celebrated Seal of Excelencia.

The campus is amongst 10 establishments within the nation to obtain the respected certification this yr. The seal was offered right now (Oct. 29) throughout a digital ceremony by Excelencia in Education, a nationwide group dedicated to the development of Latino scholar success in larger training.

Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz, a first-generation faculty scholar who turned a lifelong advocate for offering training and social mobility for college students from underrepresented backgrounds, attended right now’s digital ceremony from Washington, D.C.

“This recognition displays the college’s efforts to help within the recruitment and tutorial success of Latino college students — certainly, of all our college students. We thank Excelencia in Training for recognizing the range and inclusivity that exemplify UC Merced,” Muñoz mentioned.

The rigorous choice course of acknowledges universities that exhibit a sturdy enrollment, retention, monetary assist and illustration of Latino college students.

“We’re proud that by creating the Seal of Excelencia, we’ve got catalyzed a metamorphosis in larger training,” mentioned Sarita Brown, Excelencia’s co-founder and president. “It’s gratifying to see that even throughout a pandemic and nationwide reckoning for social justice, we doubled the variety of establishments who had been Seal-certified this yr.”

As one of many universities acknowledged as a Hispanic-Serving Establishment (HSI) by the U.S. Division of Training, greater than 53 p.c of UC Merced college students are Hispanic and 71 p.c of enrolled college students establish as first-generation college students (a scholar whose dad and mom didn’t full a four-year faculty diploma) — the very best share within the UC system.

This certification is the newest recognition UC Merced has acquired for its dedication to variety and inclusion efforts. Final month the campus acquired the 2021 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in larger training.

“Incomes the Seal of Excelencia certification is a significant achievement that demonstrates UC Merced’s sturdy dedication to Latinx scholar success past mere enrollment,” mentioned Cecil E. Howard, interim affiliate chancellor and chief variety officer at UC Merced. “Our transformative mindset continues to  place our college students to beat inequities in preparation for fulfillment right here and past into the worldwide society.”

Excelencia in Training created the Seal of Excelencia in Training in 2019. The standing lasts three years.