In late 2024, at least 10 faculty members and employees submitted complaints alleging gender and racial discrimination by a Merced College dean. All of the allegations were ultimately dismissed, but the dean still decided to move to a different department – before he later announced he will be stepping back into a faculty role. An investigation by Rachel Livinal found that the situation was still shaking up the wider campus community. Rachel Livinal, who reported this for both KVPR and the Merced FOCUS, discusses her investigation.
A Valley native, Elizabeth earned her bachelor's degree in English Language Literatures from the University of California, Santa Cruz and her master's degree in journalism from New York University. She has covered a range of beats. Her agriculture reporting for the Turlock Journal earned her a first place award from the California Newspaper Publishers Association.
Rachel Livinal reports on higher education for KVPR through a partnership with the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative.
Jonathan Linden is a podcast producer at KVPR. Born and raised in Riverside, he's a Southern California native. Jonathan's passion for public radio began at a young age when his brother would play NPR while driving him home from middle school. He earned his B.A. in journalism from Biola University in 2019.
