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....

‘Energize Colleges’ Sustainability Internships Available

UC Merced’s sustainability office is seeking undergraduate students who are thinking about careers in energy to fill this fall’s Energize Colleges internships. UC Merced is one of...

Photographer’s Exhibit Depicts Students’ Decade-Long Journeys

Through a series of black-and-white photographic portraits taken 10 years apart, photographer Roger J. Wyan’s “Transitions” exhibit explores the journeys of some of UC Merced’...

About 300 undergraduate and graduate students participated in the 2017 Leadership Conference.

Conference Boosts Students’ Leadership Skills, Confidence

UC Merced students had the chance to gain knowledge and leadership skills for their personal and academic careers at the 2017 Leadership Conference, hosted by the campus’s Margo F. Souza...

Fall Commencement will be held at 11 a.m. Dec. 16 in the Art Kamangar Center at the Merced Theatre downtown.

Fall Grads Get a Commencement Ceremony All Their Own

Beginning this year, UC Merced’s fall graduates will have an earlier occasion to celebrate their outstanding accomplishments. UC Merced is launching a new tradition with its first Fall...

Police Department Increases Outreach on Campus

Members of the UC Merced Police Department visited several campus locations last week to play a new question-and-answer game called “Your Campus, Your Police.” The idea stemmed from a...

Record-Breaking Class Pushes UC Merced Enrollment Near 8,000

The University of California, Merced, received the largest incoming class of students in its 13-year history this semester, as total enrollment neared 8,000 for the first time. The fastest-growing...

Andrew De Los Santos works in the recycling and composting center to help UC Merced attain Triple Net Zero.

New Initiative Helps Students Explore Green Careers

When Chigoziri Ibechem attended her first planning commission meeting in downtown Merced last November, she had no idea where it might lead. After the meeting, the psychology major from Los Angeles...

Student Success Internship Proposals Due Sept. 25

The Division of Student Affairs and the Office of Undergraduate Education are excited to announce the Student Success Internship (SSI) program, which provides opportunities for undergraduate students...

Annual 5K Run Raises $6,000 for Scholarships

The third annual UC Merced Journey 5K Fund Run drew a record 475 participants Saturday and raised more than $6,000, exceeding the event’s stated goal. Proceeds and donations from this...