On behalf of Dean Helene Dillard, who is taking much deserved time away from campus, happy new year to all our students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners who tirelessly work to make the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences a unique place of excellence for learning, research and community engagement.

We start this year with the promise of a fortified snowpack and welcome rain that we hope recharges groundwater and brings some relief to the prolonged drought. The new year also brings positivity and progress to campus.

It’s rare to leave a lecture, field survey or casual conversation with John Eadie without a smile or a chuckle. The University of California, Davis professor is known for his sense of humor, enthusiasm and vast knowledge about ecology and wildlife conservation. It’s what students and colleagues admire most about him.

At the end of the year, I like to reflect on all our college has accomplished and give thanks for the dedication and hard work of our faculty, students, staff, alumni and friends who keep the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences a place of excellence. Please scroll down to enjoy our year in review video and photographs of some of the college’s highlights from this past year. I wish you and yours a joyous holiday season and a wonderful year ahead.

UC Davis student Sophia Simon, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in ecology, has received a Quad Fellowship. She is part of the Fellowship’s first cohort of 100 exceptional science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduate students. 

The College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis is pleased to welcome Colin Dixon, who has more than 20 years of education and sustainable agriculture experience, as the the new director of the Student Farm.

Dixon, whose first job in Davis was at the Student Farm, worked as the co-design lead at Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) Science Learning in Oakland where his efforts focused on making science education more equitable.

The fall temperatures are finally dropping and the campus is busy! The bike paths are packed with students heading to and from classes, the Arboretum is teeming with wildlife and people taking time to relax in the beautiful weather, and everyone is settling into the new school year.

Leigh Ann Simmons, professor and chair of the Department of Human Ecology, has won the inaugural Women & Philanthropy Impact Award at the University of California, Davis, in recognition of her work in mentorship and leadership, and efforts on behalf of women’s health.

The University of California, Davis, today announced that philanthropists Lynda and Stewart Resnick, co-owners of The Wonderful Company, have pledged the largest gift ever to the university by individual donors. The $50 million pledge will support the school’s longstanding commitment to address today’s most pressing challenges in agriculture and environmental sustainability. 

A male platypus has a paddle-shaped tail, flat bill, sleek furry body and half-inch spurs connected to a venom-secreting gland on each hind leg. They are among the few venomous mammals.

That’s one of the many animal facts visitors may learn when they visit the UC Davis Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology (MWFB), which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

Welcome to the start of the fall 2022 school year! Here in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, we are excited to usher in a new class of freshmen and transfer students. Last week, Student Housing and several volunteers moved in 6,500 new and returning students into the resident halls. While COVID-19 continues to move through our communities, we’ve learned to adapt, grow and accept this shift in our world, and it is heartening to see our campus humming with activity and our students and colleagues settling into comfortable routines.