嘿嘿视频

FALL CONVOCATION: Chancellor says 'vision' will carry us through

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Photo: Chancellor Linda Katehi outside the Mondavi Center, after the Fall Convocation 2010
Katehi

Ushering in the academic year
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T.J Ushing/嘿嘿视频 photos; produced by Dave Jones and Susanne Rockwell

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TOP ROW: Li, left, and Alexander; and BOTTOM ROW: Munoz, left, and Ouzts.

嘿嘿视频 this week celebrated its newly stated and the people who are making it happen.

鈥淲e are changing the world,鈥 Chancellor Linda Katehi said at the annual Fall Convocation, held Sept. 22, the day before the start of instruction. 鈥淓ach and every one of us: more than 32,000 students, more than 2,500 faculty and more than 21,000 staff.鈥

The chancellor singled out representatives of each of those groups for recognition during the convocation, which carried the theme: "UC Davis: A Vision of Excellence." The event, Katehi鈥檚 second convocation since taking up the chancellor鈥檚 post in August 2009, drew an audience of about 1,200 to Jackson Hall at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.

Michael Ziccardi, an associate professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine, gave one of the keynote addresses. He had returned only the night before from the Gulf Coast, where, since April 29, he has led the federal effort to rescue and rehabilitate sea turtles and marine mammals caught in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Over the past four months, Ziccardi said, he had been asked repeatedly why federal officials and the BP oil company called on 嘿嘿视频 to lead this 鈥渕onumental effort.鈥

鈥淢y answer is: 嘿嘿视频 got the call that day because we have a tradition, an innate culture, of collaboration, professionalism and continued striving for excellence.鈥

鈥淚t is that culture that has built the Oiled Wildlife Care Network into the pre-eminent oiled wildlife program in the world 鈥 and why, when the oiled gulf animals needed saving, they called us.鈥

The world does not come to 嘿嘿视频鈥 door just for veterinary expertise, Ziccardi said. 鈥淓very day, all of us gathered here today get those calls.鈥

嘿嘿视频 answers, he said, with realistic and achievable solutions. For farmers and ranchers, for climate change, for health care, for malnourished children in Africa.

Katehi said Ziccardi succeeded in his gulf mission because he had vision 鈥 vision that carried him through the crisis.

New standards, new heights

The chancellor then turned to another crisis, the world鈥檚 financial downturn and, in particular, its effect on UC 鈥 on students who are struggling as never before to pay for their education, and on staff who have been buffeted by layoffs and furloughs, and yet remain fully committed to 嘿嘿视频.

Vision, Katehi said, will carry us to the growth and success 鈥渢hat absolutely will arise from this crisis.鈥

鈥淚 know that vision is what propels me forward today, when the naysayers claim that this economic downturn will slow us down, maybe even stop us 鈥 that 嘿嘿视频 couldn鈥檛 possibly maintain its quality and reputation, much less set new standards and reach new heights.鈥

Yet, she said, over the last year, 鈥淲e did exactly that.鈥

Katehi reeled off a list of accomplishments, including a No. 9 ranking by U.S. News and World Report in its annual listing of the nation鈥檚 top public research universities, and a top-10 ranking in research funds (nearly $679 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30).

鈥淥ur mission to teach, to awaken and inspire and guide is now stronger than ever,鈥 Katehi said.

Faculty and student achievement

A top-notch faculty is at the heart of 嘿嘿视频鈥 success. Katehi cited two of them, physics professor Tony Tyson, who is leading the development of the world鈥檚 most powerful survey telescope, and English professor Yiyun Li, a noted young author.

Thanks to Tyson and his team, Katehi said, 鈥淲e will have a new view of the universe and finally answer such age-old mysteries such as, 鈥楬ow did the Milky Way form?鈥欌

Li, seated near the front of the hall, stood at the chancellor鈥檚 request. The New Yorker magazine recently named Li as one of the nation鈥檚 best and most promising fiction writers under the age of age 40.

Li鈥檚 newest book is Gold Boy, Emerald Girl, a collection of stories described by a reviewer for National Public Radio as 鈥渕asterful.鈥

The chancellor also introduced 鈥渙ne of our outstanding students鈥: Tina Randolph Alexander, mother of 11 (seven of them adopted), who came to 嘿嘿视频 to study adoption issues and social welfare. She earned her undergraduate degree this summer, and now begins a doctoral program in history, also at 嘿嘿视频.

Inspiration and sustainability

Louanne Horsfield, who graduated from 嘿嘿视频 in 1969, has attended convocation for the last three years (since returning here as a retiree) and said she has drawn inspiration from each one.

鈥淎s a Davis alum, it鈥檚 heartwarming to know that your school makes a difference,鈥 Horsfield said outside the Mondavi Center. 鈥淲e have a sense that we were part of something much bigger.鈥

Johannes Grobbel, an exchange student from Aachen, Germany, said he was pleasantly surprised to hear the chancellor talk about 嘿嘿视频鈥 commitment to sustainability.

鈥淏ecause in Europe, we think Americans waste everything,鈥 said Grobbel, who is studying mechanical engineering. During his time here, he said, he hopes to take advantage of 嘿嘿视频鈥 strengths in sustainability.

Katehi noted the university鈥檚 vision to be 鈥渁n economic engine that drives a clean-energy future.鈥 In May, 嘿嘿视频 took a big step forward on this front by hosting a roundtable dubbed E3, for Economic Prosperity, Energy and the Environment.

鈥淲e brought everyone together,鈥 Katehi said. 鈥淭he public sector. The private sector. Researchers. Investors and corporations.鈥

And Gov. Schwarzenegger, too, who 鈥渨as so impressed with our energy and environmental credentials that he decided to move his annual Global Climate Summit to 嘿嘿视频 this November.鈥

鈥淗ere at 嘿嘿视频,鈥 Katehi said, 鈥渨e are global citizens, working together to better the environmental, health, education, the human condition and so much more.鈥

鈥楾he vision to get the job done鈥

Many of us do this kind of work on our own time. They include Henoch Munoz, a publications specialist in Repro Graphics, who for years has been traveling to Peru to help people in need.

After an earthquake last year left thousands of Peruvians homeless, Munoz organized fundraiser after fundraiser, then went to Peru and used the money to build homes.

鈥淭he devastation was overwhelming,鈥 Katehi said. 鈥淏ut he had the vision and got the job done.鈥

Munoz stood to be recognized, as did Bob Ouzts, a project manager in Design and Construction Management (formerly Architects and Engineers), who, in his free time, repairs homes for disabled people, elderly people, single parents and widows 鈥 whoever needs a hand.

Katehi noted that Ouzts founded a nonprofit organization that has spread throughout California and to eight other states.

Heartbreak and hope

The chancellor recalled the challenges of the last year, mostly financial, and identified several incidents of hate and intolerance as particularly heartbreaking.

鈥淐learly, this campus is not beyond discrimination. Society at large may never be. But we can never stop working to change that,鈥 said Katehi, noting how the university had responded and what is still in the works, in particular a yearlong 鈥淩eclaiming Civility鈥 project that will focus on what people say and what people do not say.

And, Katehi said, 嘿嘿视频 will persevere amid financial uncertainty, in part by pushing creative and innovative ideas from the lab bench and classroom whiteboard to the marketplace. She noted: 鈥淲e are ready to begin serious talks about creating an innovation park to transfer our research into commercial technologies.

鈥淲e will be positioned to make the right investments to transform our vision into reality, and to take advantage of opportunities as the economy improves.鈥


 

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Dave Jones, Dateline, 530-752-6556, dljones@ucdavis.edu

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