This column offers a sampling of honors recently awarded to UC Davis faculty, staff and units:

Richard Pan, associate professor of pediatrics at UC Davis Children’s Hospital, has been chosen to receive the Lydia Smiley Award from the California School Nurses Organization.

The award is given to an individual, other than a school nurse, who has supported school nurses and school nursing and who has made contributions to improving the health of children. Pan received the award Thursday at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Sacramento, during the organization’s annual conference.

Pan developed a protocol for the Sacramento City Unified School District to facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. He also established a partnership between the UC Davis pediatric residency program with school nurses at six elementary schools in the Sacramento City Unified School District to teach students a good nutrition curriculum.

Deanne Meyer, Cooperative Extension specialist in livestock waste management, has been named the Western DairyBusiness 2009 Outstanding Dairy Industry Educator/Researcher. Meyer was honored at the World Ag Expo, the world’s largest annual agricultural exposition, held recently in Tulare, Calif.

State and federal environmental regulations have changed how livestock operators do business, and Meyer serves as a resource to help them conform to new standards. Meyer helps dairy operators integrate soil, air, water, plant and animal resources, while maintaining economic and environmental soundness.

Professor Stephen Wheeler, Department of Environmental Design, was awarded the 2009 William R. and June Dale Prize for Excellence in Urban and Regional Planning. This annual award is given by California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, to one planning scholar and one practitioner. The Dale Prize recognizes planning excellence, creates dialogue between scholars and practitioners, and enriches the education of planning students.

Honorees receive awards of $5,000 each and participate in two days of symposia, class presentations, and dialogue with students. This year, the February event focused on “The Future of California’s Communities and Regions in an Era of Resource Constraints and Climate Change.” In addition to Wheeler, Cal Poly honored Gail Goldberg, planning director for the City of Los Angeles and former planning director for the City of San Diego, as practitioner.

Wheeler joined the Landscape Architecture Program faculty in January 2007 and teaches courses related to community and regional planning, urban design, and sustainable development. His research interests include the theory and practice of sustainable development, the evolution of built landscapes, metropolitan regional planning, and planning strategies to address climate change.

Patricia Li, a second-year student in the UC Davis School of Medicine, will receive $4,000 as the recipient of the Julita A. Fong, M.D. Scholarship. The scholarship is intended for “a woman medical student, during any year of her studies at the UC Davis School of Medicine, who is a member of the American Medical Woman’s Association and who is in need of financial assistance.”

In 2008, Li and other medical students interested in women’s leadership in medicine and women’s health established the AMWA-UC Davis Chapter as a student interest group. In her role with the chapter, Li organized a lecture series featuring speakers from the Women in Medicine faculty.