Over the last two years the Fellowships and Undergraduate Research Symposium has not been held as envisioned due to lack of Fellows proposed by the previous Director of Academic Affairs and selected by the Senate Academic Affairs Committee. As a result, undergraduate research at UC Merced has fallen to an all-time low over the last couple of years. Undergraduate research is unique to UC Merced and is an important component of our academic culture and launching point into graduate schools for our student researchers.