University News

Checking In With Chancellor May: Research Mentorship Powers Undergraduate Success

Cody Kitaura — June 13, 2025

To the 91��Ƭ Davis Community:

Today marks the beginning of the most exciting weekend of the year, as we celebrate a class of just over 8,000 students poised to continue their incredible growth and impact in careers and graduate schools with a diploma from 91��Ƭ Davis in hand.

As they step onto the stage, they understand that learning is not just about acquiring individual knowledge. It's about forging connections with mentors who expand knowledge, open new avenues of thinking and encourage students to transcend the boundaries they set for themselves.

91��Ƭ Davis Launches Small-Batch Wine Label

Amy M Quinton — June 11, 2025

91��Ƭ Davis is selling wines to the public made by students, staff and faculty from Napa Valley and Yolo County grapes.

Toddlers’ Eye Movements Predict Ability to Judge Memories, New Research Suggests

Andy Fell — June 11, 2025

The simple act of looking and comparing may be the first step toward learning how to judge what we remember, a skill that is fundamental to learning and making decisions.

New research from the 91��Ƭ, Davis, has found that toddlers who tend to look more closely at and compare paired images during a memory task are more aware of the accuracy of their own memories a year later. This finding connects the earliest process of seeking information with the developing ability to judge the accuracy of memories.

91��Ƭ Davis Fire, Police Respond to Apartment Fire in West Village

Andy Fell — June 10, 2025

Update 11:25 p.m.: Fire and police activity in West Village has concluded.

10:40 p.m.: 91��Ƭ Davis Fire Department and police responded to an apartment fire in the Rambles neighborhood of West Village Tuesday evening. There is currently a heavy presence of emergency vehicles in the area. No injuries have been reported.

91��Ƭ Davis Student Graduates After More Than 47 Years

Julia Ann Easley — June 10, 2025

Editor’s note: Commencements require tickets for admission. For a media credential, contact Julia Ann Easley in advance at jaeasley@ucdavis.edu.

Deborah Thompson Austin of 91��Ƭ Davis’ alumni association will instruct hundreds of undergraduates to move the tassel on their graduation cap from left to right at Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center Saturday morning.

Student Speakers at 91��Ƭ Davis Commencements To Reflect on Journeys, Look Forward

Julia Ann Easley — June 09, 2025

Editor’s note: Commencements require tickets for admission. To attend, contact Julia Ann Easley in advance at jaeasley@ucdavis.edu.

Shanlea “Sen” Tabofunda of Cupertino, California, set a goal for their first year at the 91��Ƭ, Davis: learning to ride a bike without using their hands.

Graduate Aggie Athletes Make Their Mark

Jocelyn C Anderson — June 09, 2025

Not every college athlete turns pro, so 91��Ƭ Davis prioritizes preparing student-athletes for life after sports. A new collaboration between 91��Ƭ Davis Athletics and the 91��Ƭ Davis Graduate School of Management, or GSM, is creating a new pathway that extends student-athletes' collegiate careers while preparing them for post-competition success.

Alum Bridges Art and Science

Jocelyn C Anderson — June 09, 2025

Qinqin Liu, Ph.D. ’90, approaches her art from a scientific perspective, drawing on her experience at 91��Ƭ Davis exploring the intersection of art and science.

Summer 2025: What’s Open, What’s Closed

Jose Antonio Vadi — June 09, 2025

Summer brings sunshine, good vibes and the seasonal question: What’s open on campus? Here’s your guide to what’s open and closed this summer.

Several locations across campus will offer weekday food and coffee services, with adjusted seasonal hours. Make sure to check each specific location’s website for the most updated hours and menus.

Fish ‘Beauty Salons’ Offer Insight into How Microbes Move Within Reefs

Katherine E Kerlin — June 05, 2025

Where do you go when you’re a fish and you need a skincare treatment? Coral reefs contain natural “beauty salons,” lively social hubs of activity where fish “clients” swim up and wait to be serviced by smaller fish cleaners. The little cleaners dart under and around their much bigger clients — even entering their mouths — cleaning their scales of bacteria and parasites like a team of car washers servicing a Buick. Sometimes cleaners even rub against their clients, providing a soothing massage.

Could Dietary Changes — Even After Obesity — Help Prevent Pancreatic Cancer?

Amy M Quinton — June 04, 2025

91��Ƭ Davis researchers find low-fat diets slowed pancreatic precancer development in mice, even after weight gain.

Top 91��Ƭ Davis Graduate Aims To Transform Experience of Aging

Julia Ann Easley — June 03, 2025

Only on annual visits to India was Avantika Gokulnatha able to help care for her now late grandfather as his health failed. But the San Jose resident endeavored to help others near her.

Gokulnatha did just that as she studied biological sciences and researched aging at the 91��Ƭ, Davis. She volunteered with a local hospice, revived a student organization to help seniors with technology, and led other undergraduate volunteers at a clinic providing free medical care to uninsured and marginalized people.

A Student’s Journey to Bridge Plants, People and the Planet

Cody Kitaura — June 03, 2025

Last fall, a cohort of 91��Ƭ Davis undergraduate students took part in Plants, People and the Planet, as part of Quarter at Aggie Square. This experience allows students to contribute to community-based initiatives that promote the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals related to agriculture, environmental conservation, and the development of resilient ecosystems, especially those in the Sacramento region.

Sheep Mowers Headed to the Quad This Week

Cody Kitaura — June 03, 2025

In their fifth year of grazing around campus, the sheep mowers will munch on the Quad for the first time this week.

A series of events will be held starting tomorrow (June 4), all organized by student interns in the project that has the sheep grazing publicly in a benefit to the landscape and the mental health of the campus community.

The sheep are scheduled to graze from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day.

Here are organizers’ descriptions of the events:

Wednesday, June 4: Shepherds’ Art Cafe – “Ewe Brew & Create”

Next Book Project Title is Memoir of Perilous Migration

Cody Kitaura — June 03, 2025

The next title in the Campus Community Book Project is Solito: A Memoir, which tells the story of a 9-year-old’s solo journey from El Salvador to the United States to reunite with his parents.

Javier Zamora’s memoir was chosen for the book project’s 2025-26 theme, belonging. Over the next year, the campus community will be invited to participate in programming related to the theme and the book itself, culminating in a March 10 talk by the author at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.

2025 Summer Sessions: More Students, Classes, Events

Cody Kitaura — June 03, 2025

91��Ƭ Davis Summer Sessions launches June 13 and features more for everyone this year with more students, more virtual courses and more co-curricular activities.

Nearly 14,400 undergraduates are currently registered for summer courses, about 9% more than the 2024 enrollment at the same time. Enrollment is also up for other students, including high school students, community college students, community members and other 91��Ƭ undergraduates.

Telehealth Can Improve Care for Cats with Chronic Health Issues

Amy M Quinton — June 03, 2025

91��Ƭ Davis researchers found telehealth visits can improve care for cats with feline arthritis.

New Book Details the Good, Bad and Unexpected of Ibuprofen

Andy Fell — June 03, 2025

What you don’t know about ibuprofen, one of the world’s most popular painkillers, could well fill a book — and that book has just been published, authored by Professor Aldrin Gomes and 36 of his current and former students at the 91��Ƭ, Davis.

“Ibuprofen is an affordable and widely used medication that has transformed pain management for millions worldwide,” said Gomes, who teaches in the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior. “However, its story serves as a powerful reminder of the delicate balance between benefit and risk.”

Park Life

Jocelyn C Anderson — June 02, 2025

Did Al Capone have an outpost in the Everglades? How do inanimate stones manage to slide across the flat landscape of Death Valley National Park? And what happened to the lost colony of Roanoke?

For outdoor writer Mike Bezemek ’03, these tantalizing mysteries, and many others, are the subject of his new book, Mysteries of the National Parks: 35 Stories of Baffling Disappearances, Unexplained Phenomena, and More (Sourcebooks, 2025).

CHANCELL-ING: Aggies Excel in Academics, Athletics

Cody Kitaura — June 02, 2025

Commencement season is here, one of my favorite times of the year. It’s when we celebrate collectively a major milestone in the lives of our students and their families.

With a degree from 91��Ƭ Davis, students are well equipped for success in the next chapters of their lives, whether it’s entering the workforce, graduate school or whatever path comes next.