Directory Apply Give

Employee Spotlight: Jody Murray

They say you do not get a second chance at love, but that is not always the case. Well, at least not for Jody Murray. Well, at least not for his career.

Jody brought a depth and breadth of experience to UC Merced when he joined the team after a 37-year career in newspapers. After earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oregon, his newspaper experience began at a tiny paper in Ashland, Ore., as the one-person sports staff. His experience expanded and diversified throughout the decades through various positions and employers. One of his favorite positions was a content curator on a four-person website team for fresnobee.com, which further added to his repertoire of skills.

Jody joined UC Merced in August 2019 as a communications specialist, primarily in support of the Division of Finance and Administration. In this role, he supported internal communications for DFA, the launch of initiatives, changes and moves within the organization, development of newsletters and employee spotlights. He also worked intricately with the Internal Communications team to curate Monday Memo and with Public Relations to write exceptional profiles on former Provost Gregg Camfield, CDO Delia Saenz, and CCC Daniel Okoli.

His passion for writing and telling stories is what drew him to UC Merced, which he describes as ‘The Little University That Can and Will.’ Jody enjoys the challenge of taking chunks of facts and molding them into a beautiful, clean, understandable piece of work people can connect with. He believes in the stories of UC Merced and the people behind the stories. Having the opportunity to work on the profiles further ignited his passion for telling the stories of the people and mission of the university.

So, when a Public Information Officer position recently opened up, it was a natural opportunity for growth and further connection with campus. At the time of this publication, Jody has served as a PIO for Public Relations for a little under a month and has published multiple stories already, contributing to highlighting the campus that will.

When not writing to promote campus, Jody is walking with (or being walked by) his best friend, Finnegan – a young and rambunctious yellow lab. They enjoy strolls to the local coffee shop, Jody enjoying his Storify “mixtape” and Finn enjoying the smells and sounds around him. When not being owned by Finn, Jody spends time with his wife Sara, exploring local restaurants and enjoying time with their blended family of three sons and their two grandsons. If he has a moment of free time, you can find him on his Kindle with a non-fiction book.

If you have ever spent time with Jody, you know he has fascinating stories and can paint a story like no other. He is outgoing, bright and engaging. Being in a new role, though, can be daunting. When asked what he feels his biggest challenges are, he stated working in an inward-facing, staff-focused role for the last five years and now moving into a PIO role is challenging. Additionally, Jody wears a cochlear implant on one side and a hearing aid on the other and incorporates techniques and strategies to hear when he needs to hear, but there can be breakdowns. Jody is committed to excellence and overcomes his challenges to ensure he is capturing the essence of every story and retelling it in a way every audience can consume.

In closing, Jody said his favorite part of working in External Relations is the “amazing bunch of supportive, creative and smart people – yes, that even includes you, Jim Chiavelli.” He added that although he had a wonderful 37-year love affair in newspapers, he is optimistic his second chance at love in public relations will be his forever true love.