Re: Update: Fall Housing for Students
To: All Faculty and Staff
August 15, 2021
The following message was sent today to students who have faced housing challenges. Thank you for supporting students and the university as we work through this difficult issue.
Dear UC Merced students,
 
We are sorry for the ongoing housing difficulty many of our students face, caused primarily by the sudden unavailability of units in the local development Merced Station. Staff have been working around the clock to rapidly develop options due to this situation, which has been largely outside the control of the university.

Our goal now and always is to ensure that all of our students can focus on your education without extraneous anxiety.
 
After working with state officials and others, we are now permitted to open substantially more campus residency opportunities for undergraduate students. We believe we can accommodate on campus the great majority of students who have been affected by recent disruptions to their housing plans.
 
Martin Reed, the assistant vice chancellor for residence education and campus life, and his staff will begin contacting students Monday morning to offer campus residency, starting with those who had earlier applied to reside on campus. If you have questions, please contact [email protected] and we will respond as quickly as we can.
 
We continue to pursue other opportunities for temporary local housing for those students waiting for their rental spaces in the Merced area to become available.
 
We will share an update Monday afternoon with our community, and are committed to sharing with you all new information as soon as we are able.
 
Thank you again for your patience as we work together to manage this unanticipated dilemma and its distraction to your education and success this fall.