www.CaliforniaFarmer.com
November 2008
®
Search for bee diversity
in Turkish stock see Page 22
State dairies still top
the nation’s see Page 38
Lighting retrofit gains
beat solar see Page 52
PHOTO BY KAREN HIGGINS/UC DAVIS
UC Davis at 100
Key Points
■ University Farm became UC
Davis 100 years ago.
■ California Farmer editor helped
select the UC Davis site.
■ Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef to
step down in June.
By LEN RICHARDSON
CENTURY ago, UC Davis
graduated its first 18
students. E.J. Wickson,
editor of California Farmer
(then called Pacific Rural Press)
and acting dean of agriculture,
in 1906 helped select the site for
University Farm, which became
UC Davis in 1908.
Wickson was editor longer
than any other — 50 years. He
also was committed to selecting
the right Davis site.
“Logging 2,034 miles, he
consulted with more than 200
people in six midwinter weeks
as he visited 69 sites scattered
up and down the state,” wrote
Ann F. Sheuring in “Abundant
Harvest.”
Wickson reflected: “There
was agitation of the need of
a real farm for the College of
Agriculture, upon which students could live a farmer’s life
and think a farmer’s thoughts.”
The Davis site, then called
Davisville, was selected.
A
Chancellor steps down
UC Davis’ centennial marks another milestone as Chancellor
Larry Vanderhoef has announced he will step down
in June after 15 years. He will
return to the faculty as a professor of plant biology.
“UC Davis touches and transforms everything. Whether
it’s health, the economy, what
we eat and drink, how we find
meaning through art, music and
literature, how we steward the
Earth and think environmentally — everything that matters,
CUTTING AHEAD: Giant scissors were used to cut the ribbon to the next century at the grand opening of the Robert Mondavi Institute
for Wine and Food Science at UC Davis on Oct. 10. Wielding the scissors are: (from left) Clare Hasler, executive director of the institute;
Robert Grey, University of California interim provost; Margrit Biever Mondavi, wife of the late Robert Mondavi; Neal Van Alfen, dean of UC
Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; and UC Davis Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef.
UC Davis touches and transforms,” Vanderhoef said at his
last convocation on Sept. 24.
Founding college
“As the founding college on the
UC Davis campus, we are proud
of our 100-year history,” said
Dean Neal Van Alfen during the
Ag College Celebration.
■ Read more on Page 12.
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