Cherryl H. Bell
(B.S., '75, Dietetics; M.S., '78, Nutrition)
Corporate Nutritionist
Safeway Stores, Inc.
Oakland, California
Cherryl Bell created a nationally recognized nutrition program that annually distributed 6.5 million nutrition pamphlets, 4 million nutrition magazines and 25 million low-fat recipe cards to consumers in her role as corporate nutritionist for Safeway, Inc. She targets consumers with nutrition messages based on solid scientific research presented in terms the general public can understand and incorporate into their daily lives. Bell advises students about careers in nutrition, provides interns hands-on experience in the field and serves on the CA&ES Dean's Advisory Council.
William Irwin Burchell
(B.S., '60, Plant Sciences)
President
Burchell Nursery Inc.
Oakdale, California
William Burchell served as past president of the California Association of Nurserymen, member of the Foundation Plant Materials Service Industry Advisory Committee and member of the California Fruit Tree, Nut Tree and Grapevine Improvement Advisory Board. A strong proponent of biotechnology and its application to California's tree, fruit and nut industries, he personally hosts student groups -- elementary through college -- at Burchell Nursery, explaining day-to-day operations and inspiring future agriculturalists. Strong support from the nursery has advanced this technology in apples and pears.
AnnMaria de Grassi
Young Alumna Category
(B.S., '83, Agricultural Sciences and Management; M.S., '87, Animal Science)
Director, National Affairs Division
California Farm Bureau Federation
Sacramento, California
Ria de Grassi, a national authority on animal welfare issues and articulate advocate of California agriculture, served as an officer of Capitol Agri-Women, on the governor's Task Force on Africanized Honey Bees, as secretary of the California Milk Pricing and Pooling subcommittee and as chair of the California rBST committee. She chaired the Department of Animal Science fundraising committee and, as a member of the International Agricultural Exchange Association, supervises trainees working on California farms and recruits UC Davis students to participate in the overseas agricultural internship program.
Lester S. Heringer
(B.S., '40, Agronomy)
Heringer Farms
Maryville, California
Les Heringer was president of the California Tomato Growers Association, president of the Council of California Growers and a founding member of California Agricultural Education, parent organization of California Agricultural Leadership Programs. He has been active in the Davis Chancellor's Club and the School of Medicine's Board of Visitors; he served as chair of the UC Davis Foundation. In the early 1960s, his family farming operation played a key role in field testing mechanically harvestable tomato varieties and the college-developed tomato harvester.
Max K. (Kip) Herzog
(B.S., '60, Animal Science)
Sleepy Hollow Certified Milk Co.
Petaluma, California
Kip Herzog was elected national president of the Holstein-Friesian Association of America, the first Californian elected to that post. He received numerous honors from his peers for leadership within the dairy industry: the California Holstein Association Young Breeder Award in 1970, the Senior Breeder of the Year award in 1985 and the Distinguished Dairy Cattle Breeder Award from the National Dairy Shrine Club in 1979. Herzog served on the Cal Aggie Alumni Association board of directors and has presented seminars to Department of Animal Science faculty and students.
James H. Meyer
Chancellor Emeritus
UC Davis
Davis, California
James Meyer arrived at Davis as an assistant professor in the Department of Animal Husbandry in 1951. He was named department chair in 1960, appointed dean of the college in 1963 and named chancellor in 1969. New construction on campus during his tenure included the Food and Agriculture Building, now named Meyer Hall. As chancellor emeritus, Meyer assists the Department of Animal Science in matters of relating curriculum development, student demographics, industry relations, facility development and fundraising. He is a member of the University of Idaho Hall of Fame.
Debra Nichols
(B.S., '75, Design)
Principal
Debra Nichols Design
San Francisco
Debra Nichols designs projects in the specialized field of signage systems for numerous clients worldwide, including: Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, Southeast Bank headquarters in Miami, Wells Fargo Center and IBM Regional headquarters in Los Angeles, Walt Disney headquarters in the Hague, U.S. Embassy Complex in Moscow, and the Asian Development Bank in Manila. Her work has been featured in numerous magazines and in The Wall Street Journal. Prior to establishing her own firm, she worked with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Nichols has worked with UC Davis on a campuswide signage project.
Graydon Nichols
(B.S., '58, Agronomy)
Owner and President
Nichols Bros.
Hanford, California
Owner
Victoria Island Farms
Holt, California
Graydon Nichols is a producer/packer/shipper of asparagus, sweet corn, almonds and pistachios, and is a producer of cotton, alfalfa, grains, oilseed and sugar beets. He has served as a delegate to the National Cotton Council since 1990, represented California's cotton industry on state and national levels and was a member of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Russian Cotton Study Team. He served on the UC Davis Foundation Board of Trustees for 12 years. Nichols has been a strong advocate for the college in the UC president's office and in the boardrooms and fields of California and throughout the world.
Harry O. Walker
(B.S., '47; M.S., '50, Agricultural Education)
Lecturer Emeritus
Department of Land, Air and Water Resources
Davis, California
Harry Walker served as mayor of Woodland, chair of the Agricultural Science Advisory Board for the California Energy Commission and an expert witness before legislators in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento. He joined the CA&ES faculty in 1955. His "Classroom in the Sky" introduced thousands of people to western geography, natural resource issues and urban development. Walker's outreach with schools, businesses and governments at all levels focused attention on college resources and expertise, and his leadership i