In our latest magazine issue, now available digitally, read stories of inspiration and discovery happening all over the university. Meet scholars whose educational dreams are being fulfilled and interdisciplinary experts that are unlocking solutions for a sustainable planet.
View the featured stories below or download the full issue as a PDF.
Preparing Change Makers
Avenues pave the way
Navigating the complex system of higher education is challenging for most students, but it can be even harder for students transferring from community college, who often come from households with limited means or are the first in their family to attend college. That's where the donor-supported UC Davis Avenues programs come in.
Backed for the future
Every day at UC Davis, students benefit from the generosity of donors via scholarships and awards that allow them to pursue their goals. Meet just four of the thousands whom donors help thrive.
Reimagining Medicine
Veterinary ER expansion brings expert care
Generous donors have helped support new developments throughout the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Center, including the ER/ICU expansion, which is part of a campaign to transform the current teaching hospital into the foremost veterinary facility in the world.
Giving their voice back
Imagine someone with paralysis having their first conversation with a loved one in years. Or imagine them making a simple request—I need my glasses—and the words appearing as text on a screen while spoken out loud by a computer.
This life-changing technology is quickly becoming a reality at the UC Davis Neuroprosthetics Lab thanks to a transformative gift that has accelerated research there.
Sustaining Healthier Communities
Protecting ocean health in a warming world
At the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory (BML), ocean water streams in through crisscrossing pipes, sea creatures crawl in bubbling tanks, panoramic windows show views of the ocean—and students, faculty and staff are making crucial discoveries for ocean and coastal health.
Resnick fund sparks ag innovation
Thanks to a generous gift from Lynda and Stewart Resnick, co-owners of The Wonderful Company, researchers across the university are investigating new ways to use agricultural waste to benefit the climate and sustain the growing world population.
Innovation in a nutshell
The 2023 Resnick grants are funding 7 additional teams of experts who are exploring novel uses for agricultural byproducts.
Sparking Innovation and Creativity
The edge of energy
Faculty across UC Davis are making breakthroughs in renewable energy that have the potential to power our lives while protecting the planet.
Donor support is essential to giving UC Davis experts the resources and freedom to explore high-risk, high-reward endeavors, such as wind turbines with compostable blades and more efficient solar cells.
TED Audacious Project funds $70 million
UC Davis scientists are teaming up with UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco researchers on a $70 million donor-funded initiative that aims in part to cut climate change-causing emissions from cattle by using the genome-editing tool CRISPR on microbes in cows’ guts.
The power of an endowed chair
Hiring the world’s top faculty. Training tomorrow’s leaders. Conducting groundbreaking research. All of these are made possible at UC Davis thanks to the power and prestige that endowed chairs and professorships bring to the university.
Also inside
A full-belly food truck
The AggieEats food truck debuted on campus in spring 2023 with a concept believed to be the first of its kind in the nation: a place where students can eat for free.
Voices for good
The “why” and “how” of giving are different for everyone. UC Davis donors share what makes their support personal.
Women & Philanthropy Impact Award
Colleen E. Bronner, associate professor of teaching and vice chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, won the 2023 Women & Philanthropy Impact Award.
UC Davis Teaching Prize
The 2023 UC Davis Prize for Undergraduate Teaching and Scholarly Achievement was awarded to John Eadie, distinguished professor with the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology.
Charles J. Soderquist Award
Bruce ’71, M.S. ’73, and Marie West are the recipients of the 2023 Charles J. Soderquist Award, given by the UC Davis Foundation.
UC Davis Medal
International arts patron and philanthropist Maria Manetti Shrem was presented with the 2023 UC Davis Medal, the university’s highest honor, at a commencement ceremony on June 18.
A grand opening year
UC Davis cut the ribbon on many new buildings made possible by donor support this year, transforming the campus landscape and bringing state-of-the-art spaces to Aggies and the public.
Grassroots giving
Fundraising campaigns like Crowdfund UC Davis, Give Day, Aggies Helping Aggies and Employee Giving Month emphasize the power of engaging donors and the tremendous impact smaller gifts collectively make.
Distinguished professor endows fund
Jay Lund, distinguished professor of civil and environmental engineering, and his wife, Jean Lund, have given $800,000 to endow graduate student fellowships at the Center for Watershed Sciences (CWS).
PetSmart Charities gives $6 million
PetSmart Charities has committed $6 million to name an endowed chair at the School of Veterinary Medicine, the largest gift to date by the nation’s top funder of animal welfare.
Alumna gives $8 million to biological sciences
Life sciences industry expert Deborah Neff ’76 has given $8 million to the College of Biological Sciences, the largest donation by an individual in the college’s history.
Readers fund veterinary care
The winners of the 2022 magazine readership survey contest, Andrew Hadra and Isabelle Alessandra, have directed their $10,000 prize money from the UC Davis Foundation to the compassionate care fund at the UC Veterinary Medical Center, San Diego.