UCR celebrates groundbreaking for innovation park

UC Riverside has begun construction of the SoCal OASIS Park™, a research and innovation hub near campus that represents a major step in promoting economic growth in Inland Southern California. Community and campus leaders celebrated the project at a groundbreaking ceremony Monday, June 23, at the 3.44-acre site on University Avenue near campus. The...

By Imran Ghori |

UCR ranked highly in world rankings

UC Riverside has been named one of the world’s top universities in the 2026 edition of the QS World University Rankings released June 19. The campus placed No. 66 in the United States in the 20th edition of the rankings, published by higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds and posted at TopUniversities.com. Among the nation’s public...

By Imran Ghori |

New pre-law advisor helps guide students

UC Riverside students seeking careers in law can now get expert guidance to prepare for their academic path to law school and beyond. A new campus program offers students information, advising, and support on topics such as planning for law school, what field of law they might want to pursue, and even if the legal profession is right for them. The...

By Imran Ghori |

From orchard to campus: How UCR ice cream is made

Walking through rows of citrus groves on a sunny April morning, about a dozen UC Riverside Dining Services employees picked fruit off trees and loaded it in crates into the bed of a truck. A little more than a month later at the Scoops Ice Cream shop at the HUB, Brian Alcantara, retail restaurant manager for HUB operations, ladled ice cream freshly...

By Imran Ghori |

Employees recognized with Outstanding Staff Awards

Eleven staff members were honored by UCR Staff Assembly as part of its annual Outstanding Staff Awards. The awards were presented at a Wednesday, May 28 ceremony at the Barn Stable. The awards recognize staff members for excellence in their work, commitment to the university’s mission, and making UCR a better place for all. Staff and faculty...

By Annie Cao |

Former UCR Extension building demolished

The final pieces of the old UC Riverside Extension building came down last week as construction crews completed its demolition. The 3.44-acre site will be developed into the SoCal OASIS™ Park, construction of which will start this summer. The park will serve as a hub for research and economic development with laboratories, startup space, and...

By Imran Ghori |

Chancellor-designate visits campus

UC Riverside Chancellor-designate S. Jack Hu met with university and student leaders during a brief visit and tour of campus on Thursday, May 29 and Friday, May 30. The quick stop came a day after University of California President Michael V. Drake announced Hu’s selection as UCR’s next chancellor on Wednesday, May 28. A senior vice president for...

By UCR News |

Senior Sendoff kicks off commencement activities

Graduating Highlanders began preparing for commencement by joining the Senior Sendoff celebration at UC Riverside’s Rivera Lawn on Wednesday, May 21. About 2,500 seniors signed up for the event, where they picked up their tickets for the June commencement ceremonies at Toyota Arena in Ontario. The event included a deejay playing music, a photo...

By UCR News |

Mobile mental health team helps students where they’re at

For UC Riverside students experiencing a mental health crisis, help now comes to them thanks to a new mobile crisis and intervention team on campus. The Student Well-being, Intervention and Follow-up Team, or SWIFT, made up of three behavioral and mental health professionals, is often the first to respond to calls where a student is in crisis. A...

By Imran Ghori |

UCR launches climate plan process

UC Riverside has begun preparing a climate action plan that will put into place practices and policies towards University of California system-wide sustainability goals. The document, set to be completed by the end of the year, is the first of its kind under a new UC policy. UC updated its sustainability practices policy last year requiring each...

By Imran Ghori |

Campus explores solutions to improve rooftop maintenance

On a chilly Sunday morning, a group of UC Riverside Facilities Services employees gathered to watch a leaf blower fly over the campus. The leaf blower was attached to a large drone that took off from a nearby lawn and hovered over the Pierce Hall roof as part of a test in late April to see if the department can use drones to clean drains and...

By Imran Ghori |

Chancellor celebrated with a party and a new street name

As UC Riverside Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox winds down his tenure, his name is now a lasting part of the campus landscape. A bright blue street sign unveiled against a brighter blue sky made it official: Campus Drive is now Kim Wilcox Drive. The street renaming was part of a day of tributes Thursday, May 8 celebrating Wilcox’s legacy. He will retire...

RTA resumes some campus bus service

Riverside Transit Agency, or RTA, has restored bus service to some, but not all, of the routes that serve UC Riverside. Starting Friday, May 2, routes 1 westbound, 16, and 204 resumed normal service. Routes 1 eastbound, 51, and 56 will continue to detour until road work near campus is completed. Canyon Crest Drive between University Avenue and...

By UCR News |

Students apply AI in the classroom

A UC Riverside professor showing students how to use Artificial Intelligence, or AI, in new ways to enhance their academic work is garnering media attention. Rich Yueh, an assistant professor of teaching in information systems, demonstrated how the campus is applying Google’s NotebookLM in innovative ways in a recent interview with Los Angeles...

By UCR News |

Chancellor Wilcox send-off includes festivities and a new street name

UC Riverside will pay tribute to Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox and give the campus a chance to wish him well at a farewell celebration on May 8. Faculty and staff are invited to join the 3 p.m. send-off on the lawn outside Tomás Rivera Library, which will include music, food, and prizes. Wilcox announced in September that he will be retiring at the end...

By Imran Ghori |

New instructional building passes construction milestone

Progress on UC Riverside’s new instructional building project reached a major milestone this month with the full frame now standing. The construction team poured the final concrete placement at the top of the four-story Undergraduate Teaching and Learning Facility on April 17, representing the completion of the first major phase of work. “All the...

By Imran Ghori |

Best-selling author returns to UCR

Bestselling author Ryan Holiday spoke on April 17 at the University Theater in conversation with UCR Chancellor Kim Wilcox. Holiday attended UCR more than 15 years ago, studying political science and creative writing as a University Honors student before leaving for an opportunity to apprentice under the author Robert Greene. Hosted by University...

By John Warren |

NPR host shares stories of radical empathy

At a time when many Americans may be overwhelmed by the constant deluge of news, broadcaster Ari Shapiro described how “radical empathy” can inspire people to remain engaged and hopeful. The host of NPR’s “All Things Considered,” Shapiro delivered the 56th Annual Hays Press-Enterprise Lecture to a full house at UC Riverside’s University Theatre on...

By Imran Ghori |

Bank mural spotlights UCR

Muralist Juan Navarro has spent his career taking inspiration from the many facets of Riverside’s community. His latest work adds UC Riverside to that list, showcasing iconic images of the campus. Navarro created the mural in January for the Altura Credit Union branch on University Avenue, on a wall next to the teller windows. The bank, which has...

By Imran Ghori |

Business, education, and engineering grad programs ranked high

UC Riverside’s business, education, and engineering programs placed high in U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 rankings of graduate programs in the U.S. The School of Business climbed 17 positions for its part-time Master of Business Administration, or MBA, program to rank No. 56 in the nation. The Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering, or...

By UCR News |