Summer 2026 Content

Misdiagnosis Led This UC Davis Researcher to Study Ovarian Cancer

Jocelyn C Anderson — June 08, 2026 - 11:02am

Elizabeth Neumann wears a blue coat, gloves and safety glasses as she stands next to Bruce, a matrix-assisted desorption/ionization mass spectrometer, or MALDI-MS.

A Guide to Personal Branding

Jocelyn C Anderson — June 08, 2026 - 10:50am

Vanessa Errecarte ’04, M.B.A. ’14, said she was inspired by her students at UC Davis to write her book, Valuable and Visible: Redefining Personal Branding by Leading with Impact Over Image (Wiley, 2026).

A lecturer at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, Errecarte teaches personal branding and uses the lessons from her courses to write the book. Several students act as case studies, showcasing their success starting a podcast and marketing their photography, among others.

From Eras Tour to Classroom: Teaching Taylor Swift as Literature

Jocelyn C Anderson — June 08, 2026 - 10:45am

UC Davis students are examining the folklore and mythology of Taylor Swift lyrics, and all in the name of modern literature.

“Folklore and Fairytales: the Literary Words of Taylor Swift” is a one-unit first-year seminar that treats Swift’s songwriting as a serious object of literary study, incorporating readings, discussions, creative analysis, and, of course, listening sessions. The course is open to all undergraduates, with preference given to first-years, and is offered through the Office of Undergraduate Education.

UC Davis Alum Wins Milken Educator Award for Excellence in Teaching

Jocelyn C Anderson — May 26, 2026 - 2:08pm

Harry Shontz ’12, a high school social studies teacher, is a stickler for dress-down Fridays. His colleagues at the The Leffell School in Hartsdale, New York, know this about him, and so does the school principal.

When he grudgingly agreed to wear a button-down shirt and tie to work on a Friday in April, he never imagined that a cheering crowd of students, colleagues, honored guests and reporters would be there and that he would be called to the stage for a special announcement.

Training Naturalists Behind Prison Walls

Jocelyn C Anderson — May 18, 2026 - 9:15am

A kestrel swoops to grab a smaller bird on the wing and eats it, right in front of a group of men in the garden at California Health Care Facility, or CHCF, a prison in Stockton, where the garden has become both a thriving ecosystem and a science classroom for people incarcerated there. As the feathers fly, UC Davis researcher Laci Gerhart pulls out a bird guide and shows the incarcerated men how to identify the bird by its size and coloration, noting that kestrels are North America’s smallest raptor and one of the few that are sexually dimorphic.

Meet 4 Students from UC Davis’ Newest Major

Jocelyn C Anderson — May 18, 2026 - 9:10am

UC Davis launched an undergraduate business major in the 2025-26 academic year.

Out of more than 8,500 applicants, only 150 students enrolled in UC Davis’ inaugural business major cohort. The program is watching that carefully selected class begin to make its mark.

Farming with Animal Welfare in Mind

Russell L Thebaud — May 18, 2026 - 9:09am

A gate swings wide at the auction ring at the Yolo County Fairgrounds. A group of goats and sheep hesitate, then shuffle through. They move as a group; their bodies pressed against each other. Beneath it all is their ruminant instinct of wanting to return from where they came. Rancher Nathan Medlar, with NM Ranch in Auburn, has arranged these gates to accommodate that instinct.

Rooted in Community: Davis Farmers Market Turns 50

Jocelyn C Anderson — May 18, 2026 - 9:08am

Fifty years ago, a group of UC Davis alumni and students envisioned a new way to buy local, healthy food and founded the Davis Farmers Market. They helped change state regulations around direct selling by farmers and made the Davis market a model for markets throughout the state.

Ph.D. Alum Named 2026 Stockholm Water Prize Recipient

Jocelyn C Anderson — May 18, 2026 - 9:07am

Kaveh Madani, Ph.D. ’09, noted the irony of the day he found out he had won the 2026 Stockholm Water Prize, the world’s highest water research honor.

“It was a big surprise,” he told UC Davis Magazine. “And then I said, ‘How ironic, because eight years ago at this time, I was under arrest.’”

Based in Toronto, Madani is now director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health and research professor at City ��ý of New York CREST Institute.

A Sanctuary for Rescued Animals

Jocelyn C Anderson — May 18, 2026 - 9:07am

The moment Rebecca Calisi-Rodriquez loosens her grip on Randy’s lead, the miniature horse drops his nose toward the nearest patch of grass and pulls her sideways with confidence. She laughs and lets him continue his landscaping, unbothered that her walk around the Skyheart Sanctuary property is taking longer than normal.