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....

Campus Receives Record Number of Applications for 10th Academic Year

As the 10th campus in the UC system approaches the start of its 10th academic year, the University of California, Merced, has received a record number of applications for undergraduate admission this...

Little Brown Dog Gets a Home for the Holidays

The saga of LBD – the scrappy, stray canine who roamed the UC Merced campus for two months while eluding the many Good Samaritans concerned for his wellbeing — came to a happy conclusion Wednesday...

Grant Helps Strengthen Transfer Student Experience

University life can be hard, and for transfer students, it often proves even more daunting. Studies have shown they typically have low rates of campus engagement and retention, and take longer to...

Campus Gives Back in Pints

The newest UC campus prides itself on its commitment to community service and helping others. Students, staff members and faculty members spend countless hours working in homeless shelters and food...

Regents’ Scholarships Assure College Dream for Exceptional Students

But those financial worries disappeared once Gamboa learned she’d been awarded a UC Merced Regents’ Scholarship. The scholarship bridges any gap between financial aid and parental contributions —...

UC Merced Tells Madera Students: College is Attainable

For Melissa Ugaldes and many San Joaquin Valley high school students like her, a University of California education might not be an obvious option. That’s why leaders from UC Merced visited Madera...

Record Spike in Applications Nets Enrollment Increase

A fall census shows enrollment at the University of California, Merced, has reached 6,195 students — a 7 percent increase over last year — as the campus continues to grow in both numbers and ...

UC Merced Sees 26 Percent Increase in Private Funding

The University of California, Merced, recorded $5.04 million in private gift and grant support from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013 — an increase of 26 percent over the last fiscal year’s total of $3....

UC Goes Social to Raise Scholarship Funds

The University of California today (Sept. 18) began Promise for Education, a six-week crowd-funding campaign to engage students, faculty, alumni, celebrities, businesses, politicians and supporters...