CA&ES presents Awards of Distinction.

By Dateline staff

Charles E. Hess has been inducted into the Horticulture Hall of Fame — one of only 39 people to be accorded this honor by the American Society for Horticultural Science since it established the hall in 1990. Others in the hall include Gregor Mendel, Liberty Hyde Bailey and Luther Burbank.

Hess is dean emeritus of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and professor emeritus in the Department of Environmental Horticulture. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Society for Horticultural Science, and a former president of the society.

He began his storied career at Rutgers University before joining UC Davis as the CA&ES dean, serving from 1975 to 1989. He left UC Davis upon receiving a  presidential appointment as assistant secretary for science and education in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, serving from 1989 to 1991, during which time he launched the National Research Initiative, the USDA’s competitive grants program.

He has two other presidential appointments, both to the National Science Board, the governing board of the National Science Foundation.

Upon his return to campus in 1991, Hess served as the director of International Programs until “retiring” in 1994.

Since then he served as a special assistant to the chancellor and provost to facilitate the move of the USDA’s Western Human Nutrition Center from San Francisco to UC Davis; chair of the campus committee that led to the establishment of the position of vice provost for University Outreach and International Programs; chair of the Department of Nutrition; and interim vice chancellor of the Office of Research.

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Professor Randy Dahlgren has more than doubled his friendship with China.

In March, he received the Yandang Friendship Award from the city of Wenzhou, recognizing his help since 2008 in cleaning up the delta waters of the Wenzhou region in southeastern China.

On Oct. 11, he received the Westlake Friendship Award, recognizing the same work — only this time the award came from the Zhejiang provincial government. The Westlake award is given to foreign experts who have made great contributions to the province.

Dahlgren holds the Russell L. Rustici Endowed Chair in Rangeland Watershed Sciences, and serves as chair of the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources. He received the 2012 UC Davis Prize for Undergraduate Teaching and Scholarly Achievement.

He travels twice a year to Wenzhou, where he carries out his water quality research as a visiting professor at Wenzhou Medical College.

Dahlgren’s research is focused on the main stem of the Wen-Rui Tang River, which runs for 20.4 kilometers (12 miles) in the urban area and flows through a network of urban waterways with a total length of 1,178 kilometers (731 miles).

Urban and agricultural pollutants have turned the waterways into dead zones, due to persistent hypoxia (low dissolved oxygen).

“The water that passes through the city is too polluted to drink or even swim in,” Dahlgren told Dateline UC Davis upon the announcement that he would receive the Yandang Friendship Award, given to foreign experts who help with Wenzhou’s reform, development and construction.

“Our primary focus is to reduce pollution to improve aesthetics, human health from water contact, and aquatic ecosystem restoration (allowing fish to live in the waters again).”

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Kurt Rohde, professor of music composition and theory, has received a general commission from the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition at Brigham Young University, to write a piece for cellist Michelle Kesler of the BYU faculty.

The endowment considered 135 applications for eight general comissions and one LDS commission, the latter generally for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Rohde, co-director of UC Davis’ Empyrean Ensemble, plays with the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble and the New Century Chamber Orchestra, and formerly served as artistic director of the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble.

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Cheryl Cobbs, senior director of development in the School of Veterinary Medicine, is “outstanding” in her job, as declared by the California Capital Chapter, Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Cobbs is due to receive the 2013 Outstanding Fundraising Professional award during the California Capital Chapter’s National Philanthropy Day luncheon scheduled for Nov. 12 at the Sacramento Convention Center.

“This is a most deserving recognition for a skilled and dedicated colleague,” said Tom Venturino, assistant dean of advancement. “This award demonstrates to the greater Sacramento area — and to the campus — the level of commitment and expertise we have in our development program at the school.”

Cobbs has more than 20 years of experience in fundraising and is recognized for her ability to easily develop rapport and trust with donors. She joined the School of Veterinary Medicine in 2010 and today manages a portfolio of 200-plus major gift donors.

She is effective in matching their interests and capabilities with particular funding needs at the school. On the other side of the equation, she has formed strong, productive relationships with faculty, developing strategies for soliciting significant major gifts from both individuals and foundations.

A recent example of Cobb’s efforts resulted in a $500,000 gift for the school’s coordinated clinical trials and veterinary regenerative medicine programs.

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Dean Michael Lairmore of the School of Veterinary Medicine has been named alumnus of the year by the college where he earned his doctorate in veterinary medicine.

He was back at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine last month for Alumni Reunion Weekend, during which the college presented him with the alumni award.

He received his D.V.M. in 1981, then completed a Ph.D. in experimental pathology at Colorado State University and a postdoctoral fellowship in molecular retrovirology at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.

Lairmore was appointed dean two years ago this month. He came here from Ohio State University, where he was a professor and associate dean for research and graduate studies in the College of Veterinary Medicine.

He is recognized internationally as an authority in comparative oncology and retrovirology. He was elected in 2010 to the National Academies of Science Institute of Medicine, one of the highest honors in the field of health and medicine.

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Dateline UC Davis welcomes news of faculty and staff awards, for publication in Laurels. Send information to dateline@ucdavis.edu.

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