Donors & Philanthropy

Championing Mentorship Through Marine Research: Claire Murphy Receives Top CBS Graduate Award

Claire Murphy, a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Population Biology Graduate Group, wants everyone to feel like they belong in research. Based at the Bodega Marine Laboratory (BML), Murphy studies how tiny seagrass crustaceans avoid being eaten by fish, crabs, and other predators. Since coming to UC Davis in 2020, she’s mentored 11 UC Davis undergraduates, including five independent summer research projects.

Wolf Dietrich-Heyer Among UC Davis Community Members Honored as Good Stewards

Wolf Dietrich-Heyer, a Distinguished Professor and chair in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics was among three members of the UC Davis community recognized for their remarkable efforts to steward donors and raise the culture of philanthropy across the university. 

The Office of Development and Alumni Relations and the UC Davis Foundation presented the 2024 Faculty and Staff Stewardship Awards during a ceremony on Oct. 19. The recipients are:

UC Davis’ Historic Expect Greater Campaign Raises $2.25 Billion

The University of California, Davis, is celebrating its most successful fundraising campaign — Expect Greater: From UC Davis, for the World — a multi-year effort that raised over $2.25 billion for student support, health research and care, sustainability, innovation and more.

Gifts to the campaign have empowered first-generation students to achieve their dreams, funded groundbreaking research across disciplines, and expanded resources that contribute to the university’s vibrant culture and academic excellence.

Donors Steve and Tammy Conston Support Neuroscience Research with Major Gift

The first time Steve and Tammy Conston set foot on the UC Davis campus, they felt right at home. That visit was a college tour with their youngest son Jacob (B.S.’15, M.S. ’19), and they all sensed that Davis was the right fit. “We just knew, and Jacob knew,” reminisces Tammy. “I know it sounds sappy, but there’s just something about the atmosphere at Davis. You feel like you’re home.”

CBS Senior Gains Cross-Cultural Experience Shadowing Doctors in Italy

College seniors don’t get assigned “what I did last summer” essays for homework, but if they did, Amrit Bains’s summer would have the whole class envious. Bains—a pre-med biological sciences major who is a member of the Phi Sigma Honor Society—traveled to Milan with a program called Doctors in Italy, which lets undergraduates shadow physicians abroad.

"Aggie Sweethearts" Give $1M to CBS 50 Years After Meeting on Campus

In their most significant gift to UC Davis, alumni donors Charles and Nancy Cooper have pledged $1 million to support undergraduate student research opportunities within the College of Biological Sciences, or CBS.

“The gift is really a ‘thank you’ to the place and the people who helped us along the way, both personally and professionally,” said Charles “Chuck” Cooper. “I came to UC Davis with dreams of being a doctor, and I left with my family and my career. I feel like I owe Davis a lot.”