Brenda Ortiz

Founding UC Merced Staffer Wraps Up 45 Years in Law Enforcement

August 28, 2025

A collage of photos depicting Tamela Adkins and other staff during the past 20 years.

On Aug. 12, 2005, less than one month before UC Merced opened its doors to undergraduate students, Tamela Adkins joined the campus’s Police Department as support services manager. Intially, her role included managing records and evidence, overseeing the police dispatch center and hiring....

Six graduate students landed spots at Idaho National Laboratory through the National GEM Consortium (From left: Jordan Galloway, Denise Owusu, Stephanie Jones, Diana Perales, Terrence Buck (program manager), Malik Hayes, Jorge Ramirez.) Photo courtesy of Idaho National Laboratory.

Graduate Student Spends Summer as GEM Fellow at Idaho National Lab

As a graduate student at UC Merced, Jordan Galloway looks for ways to push himself forward and lead by example. The third-year Chemistry and Chemical Biology student forged a new path...

Partner institutions will embark on a joint training program that incorporates UC and CSU teaching experience, mentorship, networking opportunities and career preparation for UC Ph.D. trainees.

NSF Grant Unites Four Hispanic-Serving Institutions to Help Diversify STEM Faculty

UC Merced is partnering with UC Santa Barbara and two California State University campuses — Fresno and Channel Islands — on a project to create a more diverse STEM faculty at colleges...

$10M Grant Will Help Increase Hispanics in Computing

UC Merced is part of a consortium of more than 40 institutions and organizations from the public and private sectors at the forefront of a national effort to increase the number of Hispanic students...

Jonathan Daniel, who is working on a doctorate degree in Physics, is part of the Cal-Bridge program funded by NSF.

$5 Million Cal-Bridge Grant Aims to Boost Physics, Astronomy Ph.D. Diversity

UC Merced is part of a concerted effort to dramatically increase diversity in physics and astronomy over the next five years. The campus is one of nine University of California campuses and 15...

The grant will help the campus offer workshops focused on such topics as teaching challenges and best practices for advancing research and will provide networking opportunities with supportive senior faculty and administrators.

Andrew W. Mellon Grant Helps Campus Expand Diversity in the Humanities Faculty

A new grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will help UC Merced further diversify its community of graduate students and faculty, beginning with the humanities and humanistic social sciences...

Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow Colleen Cheverko's research focuses on the interactions between growth disruptions due to experiences during childhood and subsequent mortality risk as adults.

Campus Awards Chancellor’s Postdoc Fellowships

Two of UC Merced’s newest postdoctoral researchers, Colleen Cheverko and Maria-Elena Young, received the Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship (CPFP) for 2018-2019. The fellowships,...

Jaapna Dhillon is UC Merced’s first postdoctoral researcher to receive a Pathway to Independence Award from the National Instit

Postdoc Earns Prestigious NIH Award to Study Health Disparities

Jaapna Dhillon had no idea that studying how almonds affect health would win her a huge advantage in securing a tenure-track position. But Dhillon just became UC Merced’s first postdoctoral...

Three summer programs offer high school students the opportunity to spend time on a college campus and learn subjects ranging from mathematics and technology.

Summer Programs Enhance Students’ Success in High School and Beyond

Araceli Hernandez could have been playing video games, swimming or sleeping in over summer break, but instead she was doing math. And she’s happy about it. Hernandez took part in one of...

Summer programs offer younger students the opportunity to spend time on the UC Merced campus and learn subjects ranging from leadership to science and technology.

Summer Outreach Programs Foster Learning, Community

Taking part in a summer program can help students develop new skills, get hands-on experience, meet other students with similar interests and get a taste of college life. It’s also a plus on...