She also took charge of helping to develop UC Merced’s academic program and recruiting and hiring key administrators and faculty members.
The difficulties combined to cause a 12-month delay in the opening of the campus, but that finally happened in September 2005 with 875 students, and had Tomlinson-Keasey as chancellor.
[4] There, she was appointed dean of the College of Letters and Sciences in 1994 and was named vice provost for academic planning and personnel in 1995.
[2][3] She announced her resignation from the chancellor's office in March 2006 saying, at the time, that she wanted to return to teaching and writing.
[2] Tomlinson-Keasey died on October 10, 2009, aged 66, at her home in Decatur, Georgia from complications of breast cancer.