University News

The University of California, Davis, today (June 24) named the recipients of the 2021 Chancellor’s Innovation Awards. The awards recognize faculty, project teams and community partners for their work, dedication and success in improving the lives of others and addressing the needs of our global society through innovative solutions.

Helene R. Dillard, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, is the 2021 administrator recipient of the Walter A. Robinson Community Champion Award. She was honored recently in an online ceremony hosted by the African Continuum at UC Davis, along with four other awardees.

The International Society of Root Research recently presented its Lifetime Achievement Award to Wendy Kuhn Silk, professor emerita, Department of Land, Air and Water Resources.

An active faculty member for 37 years, she researched and taught on plant-environment interactions. In retirement she is continuing some scientific collaborations and composing and producing music for a songbook for the environmental science curriculum.  

Professor Emeritus James Seiber was recently honored with a lifetime achievement award from the UC Davis Department of Environmental Toxicology, thanking him for his many contributions in research, mentorship, philanthropy and continued support of the program.

“Professor Seiber has been a true pioneer in the field of environmental chemistry, particularly in identifying the role of chemical fate in altering the toxic actions of pesticides and other hazardous chemicals,” said Ron Tjeerdema, executive associate dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Last year, the horrible death of George Floyd prompted a national discussion about race in a way that has been eye-opening, soul-searching and incredibly important. While we’ve seen an increase in violence toward people of color, we also acknowledge that more and more people are recognizing a deep need for change in how we engage with, support and lift each other.

Dan Flynn, who founded the UC Davis Olive Center at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science in 2008 and has led the organization for 13 years, recently received the California Olive Oil Council’s highest honor, the Pioneer Award.

Flynn expressed appreciation for receiving the award and for the council’s support for the center, noting that the Olive Center has built a network between the university and industry. “Networks thrive even when members exit,” he said. “The Olive Center will remain strong when I leave.”

Two members of the college’s Distributed Shared Services Center (DiSSC) have received certifications from the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM)—human resources managers Andrea Aguilar and Leslie Jones.

DiSSC is a two-year-old department that delivers human resources, payroll and leave administration services throughout the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. It was created in 2019 after the campus converted to a new payroll and human resources system called UCPath. 

Spring is a traditional time of renewal, a reawakening of life. We see this through the new growth in our fields and greenhouses, the births happening in our barns and from the energy in our communities as people start to enjoy the outdoors. This year feels even more renewing as our society rebounds from the pandemic, and we are experiencing that here as our town and campus slowly come back to life.

Chancellor Gary S. May issued the following statement today (April 20):

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”  — Martin Luther King Jr.

Today, we learned that a jury found Derek Chauvin guilty of murder in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

UC Davis alumnus Bill Werner has been promoted to lead manager for the extensive network of greenhouses located across campus. He has worked with the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CA&ES) greenhouse team since 2017.