Brenda Ortiz

Commuter Student Finds Belonging at UC Merced

March 31, 2026

Most weekdays, civil engineering major Jacqueline Garcia travels 45 minutes each way from her hometown of Hughson to attend classes at UC Merced. “The perk is being able to pursue my undergraduate degree while still having a tie to home. It's been great having the campus here in the...

Students Help Campus Earn Latest LEED Certification

UC Merced’s Classroom and Office Building (COB) has achieved a silver rating from the LEED Building Operations and Maintenance (O+M) sustainability program, the campus’s first certification to come...

Students Recognized at Leadership Awards Event

Student leaders, advisors, campus organizations and athletes were recognized at the annual the Margo F. Souza Student Leadership Center 2017 Leadership Awards celebration on April 23. A campuswide...

Campus to Showcase Sustainability Initiatives During Earth Week

Earth Week is UC Merced’s chance to highlight some of the ways the campus community is committed to being good stewards of the environment. From working to divert all waste from the landfill to...

Campus Mainstay Chou Her Named Chief of Police

The University of California, Merced, announced today (April 12) the appointment of Chou Her to chief of police, effective immediately. Her, the first person of Hmong descent to lead a UC public...

Cheer Team Takes Second Place at National Competition

UC Merced’s Cheer Team traveled to Anaheim last month to compete alongside 11 other teams in the 2017 USA Collegiate Championships, placing second in the Four-Year Large Coed division. ...

Hannah Brown Named Second Women's Soccer Coach

With nine seniors graduating, the UC Merced’s women’s soccer will take to the field with many new faces in the fall, including Hannah Brown at the helm. Brown was recently named the team’s second...

Campus Members Take a Stand Against Sexual Violence

April marks Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) on campus and across the nation. A series of events hosted by UC Merced’s Campus Advocacy, Resources and Education (CARE) Office. give campus...

Event Celebrates Generosity of Donors

Campus friends and supporters were recognized for their charitable spirit at UC Merced’s third annual Celebration of Philanthropic Leaders event, held on campus March 25. During a reception on the...

New Classroom Building Earns Campus’ 17th LEED Certification

Ten years after receiving its first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), UC Merced has earned platinum certification for...