These last few weeks have brought about a lifetime of change for many of us. We are living through an unprecedented time, and I want to thank each of you for your extraordinary efforts and incredible resilience.  

Spring is in full bloom in Davis, and the early blossoming trees and flowers remind us of the importance of plants and the role they play in our lives. We depend on plants for the food we eat, the air we breathe, and the natural areas we enjoy. Plants are so important to our wellbeing that the United Nations designated 2020 the International Year of Plant Health.

One of the things I enjoy about the start of a new year is the sense of renewal and regeneration that surrounds us here at UC Davis. This year, that includes a new campus-wide marketing and rebranding effort to bring greater public attention to our accomplishments and to our vision for the future.

As 2019 comes to a close, we wanted to take a moment to look back on the year captured in images. The efforts of our faculty, students, staff, alumni and friends really do make a difference in keeping the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the forefront of the issues facing our rapidly changing world.

November is one of my favorite months. The softer light of day, colorful displays of fall foliage and the sound of migrating waterfowl overhead always make me pause and reflect on the many reasons to feel grateful.

I am occasionally asked, “Just what is human ecology?” For an answer, I turned to our new Associate Dean for Human and Social Sciences, Patsy Eubanks Owens. She is a landscape architect who joined the UC Davis faculty nearly 30 years ago with her passion for getting communities engaged in the design process. 

Welcome to the start of a new school year. As students and faculty return to campus, we are preparing for a busy year of academics and transition. Fall is a season of change, and one big change we’ll see this year is in how we do business. After many years of planning, preparation and training, we are in the midst of transitioning to UC Path, a system-wide solution to modernize how we deliver payroll, benefits and personnel services.

This weekend, we celebrate 1,673 undergraduate students who will participate in one of two College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CA&ES) commencement ceremonies on Sunday, June 16. Commencement marks the next phase of an incredibly bright future for all of our graduates.

The College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is well known for its work in agriculture and the environment, but it also contributes important knowledge for improving the health and well-being of children, youth and families. Our researchers put into practice the idea that investment early in life prevents problems and social issues later. Human sciences are very much a part of our land-grant mission to serve the public.

Friends and colleagues of Dean Emeritus Charley Hess have been flooded with fond memories since he passed away due to congestive heart failure on April 13. We mourn his loss and celebrate his boundless energy, incredible work ethic and passion for agriculture, innovation and life.