The University of California, Davis, and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, or CA&ES, are celebrating the close of a successful multi-year fundraising campaign Expect Greater: From UC Davis, for the World, which brought in $2.25 billion to support students, research, innovation and other academic efforts. 

Throughout the campaign, more than $415 million in private support was invested in CA&ES, from a total of 9,328 alumni, friends, foundations and industry partners. Across the board this support will have a generational mark in bolstering CA&ES’s mission to solve some of the biggest challenges facing California and the world relating to the environment, agriculture and human and social sciences. 

“Expect Greater has proven that when we come together, our community can achieve extraordinary things,” said Shaun B. Keister, vice chancellor for Development and Alumni Relations. "Its success demonstrates the profound trust our donors place in us to educate, innovate and lead. We are immensely grateful for their support and partnership."

Supporting research, learning and more

The campaign began in July 2016 and donors around the globe gave more than $2.25 billion through approximately 448,000 gifts and pledges by the close of the campaign in June 2024.

More than 19,000 of those gifts supported CA&ES, generating $232 million for research, $75 million for departmental priorities and $41 million for student support and instruction. Additionally, just over $80 million in new endowed funds were established, which will continue to support students, faculty and programs for decades to come. 

Each dollar donated from private sources allows the college to expand its reach and educational excellence, from our ability to conduct research that translates into real-word solutions to our inclusion of hands-on experiential learning opportunities in our curriculum, said Helene Dillard, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

"Private support has an extensive impact on our mission,” Dillard said. “This remarkable $415 million investment enriches our college at every level—from our dedicated students and esteemed faculty to our invaluable staff and the cutting-edge research and teaching programs we champion.”

The future of agriculture

The biggest gift of the campaign and in CA&ES history came from The Wonderful Company owners and philanthropists Lynda and Stewart Resnick, who contributed $50 million to establish a world-class agricultural innovation center and fund competitive research grants for projects focused on agricultural sustainability.   

In May, UC Davis hosted a groundbreaking for the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Center for Agricultural Innovation, which will grow the campus’s capacity in areas such as sensing, robotics, byproduct utilization, water efficiency and crop resiliency, as well as agricultural applied AI and big data. Additionally, the facility will be home to the CA&ES Student Success Hub with academic support and study space. 

Thousands of donors

More than 93% of donations to the Expect Greater campaign were for $1,000 or less, with a median gift amount of $25. Alumni, staff, faculty, industry players, community members and others contributed, supporting the mission of UC Davis.  

“We are deeply grateful to all who have given so generously throughout this campaign,” said Chancellor Gary S. May. “On behalf of our students, faculty and the entire UC Davis community, thank you for believing in our mission and strengthening our impact at home and around the world.”  

Broad support

The donations supported a myriad of endeavors, including:

• The CA&ES Annual Fund, which is unrestricted and allows the dean to make critical investments in top priorities including student development and outreach, scholarships, new faculty support and experiential learning. Linda and Bill Sullivan made one such donation of $1 million “to ensure that every student has the ability to live up to their potential.”
   
• Programs centered on first-generation and underserved incoming and transfer students such as Aggie Jumpstart, which launched in 2019 and provides academic advising, participation in Career Discovery Groups, service opportunities, leadership events and other opportunities. 
   
• The Department of Viticulture and Enology received a $4 million endowment from an anonymous donor that will help fund projects to develop innovative new tools and technologies. 
   
• The James and Rita Seiber Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry Fellowship, which was established with a gift of $500,000, supports top international graduate students in food science and technology or agricultural and environmental chemistry. 
   
• A $100,000 as a seed gift to establish the Stuart & Lisa Woolf Fund for Agave Research to investigate the sustainability of the emerging crop agave.
   
• Multi-campus multidisciplinary research on reducing emissions from cattle by using the genetic editing tool CRISPR to funded by TED’s Audacious Project.
   

Expect Greater campaign celebration

CA&ES is hosting an evening celebration toasting the campaign’s success on Oct. 17. Register to attend by Oct. 11.

The UC Davis campus will celebrate the Expect Greater campaign on Oct. 18 with a family-friendly event featuring carnival games, interactive displays and awe-inspiring discoveries highlighting the power of philanthropy. 

The Grand Exposition will be from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Hutchinson Field and The Greatest Show will run from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at University Credit Union Center. RSVP here.