Employees spent the morning reconnecting with colleagues before gathering inside the gymnasium for the event.
Business professor Toni Visola said the annual tradition is important.
"It's a reconnection time, and it's a time for us to see what we're all going to do next year," Visola said.
Faculty and staff filled the gym as President Chris Vitelli kicked off the event and outlined the college's priorities for the coming year.
"We have some of the best employees in the state, and they serve our students so well," Vitelli said. "So we're celebrating them, how they live out our core values, and reminding them the importance of making students our focus on everything we do."
Vitelli said the college has spent significant time investing in employee engagement, morale and well-being, believing that strong support systems for faculty and staff ultimately benefit students.
"We believe that when you invest in your employees and their happiness, their well-being, their engagement, that they give everything, all of who they are to serving our students, no matter what their role is," he said.
Visola, who has worked at Merced College for 25 years, said she has experienced that supportive culture firsthand.
"It's family, it's home," Bisola said. "I've been able to grow here in my subject area over the years. I got my doctorate degree while I was here. It's a place where the sense of community is really strong."
Several major developments are also expected to come online during the academic year.
Portions of the new 22,000-square-foot AgTEC Innovation Center are scheduled to be completed, providing space for food processing, sanitation and food safety training, classrooms and a retail market.
College leaders say the facility will strengthen workforce development opportunities tied to the region's agricultural industry.
Students will also benefit from the opening of Promise Housing this spring.
The project will provide dedicated housing for Merced College students within UC Merced's student housing community, helping address housing needs for local students.
A more unconventional addition is also expected on campus this year: a robotic coffee delivery service designed to provide a new way to grab beverages while on campus.
Looking ahead, Vitelli said the college's focus remains centered on students.
"So this year, we're going to focus on living out our core values," Vitelli said. "Whether that be through innovation and being the most innovative community college in the country, or trust and communication, or collaboration, or critical thinking, we're making sure that we live those values out, and that's a big part of what this year will entail," he added.
More than 12,000 students are enrolled for the upcoming school year. Faculty and staff will be on campus to welcome students back and kick off the new academic year which begins Monday.
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