新澳门六合彩内幕信息

Richard and Evelyne Rominger to Receive 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Medals

Quick Summary

  • 2 families rooted in agriculture and 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis
  • Agriculture took Rich and Evelyne Rominger from Davis to D.C.
  • June 9 gala set for presentation of 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis' highest honor

Alumni Richard and Evelyne Rominger, who for decades have played prominent roles in the community and in statewide and national agriculture, have been selected to receive 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Medals, the highest honor the university presents to individuals.

Woman with white hair in flowered sweater stands next to main with gray hair in suit and tie
Evelyne and Richard Rominger (T.J. Ushing/新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis)

Acting Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter will present the medals to the Romingers during a June 9 gala dinner at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento.

鈥淩ich and Evelyne Rominger have given generously to 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis of their time, talents and resources,鈥 Hexter said. 鈥淭heir loyalty and passion for seeing students flourish and their alma mater grow and prosper is an inspiration for all of us in the Aggie family.鈥

The Romingers, who live in Winters, will speak June 10 during the 9 a.m. commencement ceremony of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

First presented in 2002, the has previously been awarded to 15 people, recognizing the very highest levels of distinction, personal achievement and contributions to the ideals of higher education on which 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis is founded. 

新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis a family affair for Romingers

Few families are as deeply rooted in 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis and California agriculture as Richard and Evelyne Rominger.

They proudly note that in 1909, both of their fathers attended the first Picnic Day, 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis鈥 trademark spring open house. Rich, as he is known to most people, tells that his dad, Albert Rominger, pedaled a bicycle several miles through the countryside to be part of the inaugural event.

Evelyne鈥檚 father, John O. Rowe, graduated from 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis in 1913, and her uncle, John Rogers, was the first 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis farm superintendent, who in 1906 unlocked the to the newly acquired 780-acre farm that would become the Davis campus.  She and her three brothers all attended 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis.

Fateful campus convergence

The Cal Aggie Marching Band 鈥 now often referred to as the 鈥淏and-uh!鈥 鈥 brought the Rowe and Rominger families together in 1947.  Evelyne was the majorette for the then all-male band, and Rich was a front-row trombone player.

鈥淗e was the shyest guy in the band; and I thought he was so handsome,鈥 said Evelyne.

Rich attended his freshman year at Sacramento Junior College because 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis was closed during World War II and then served 14 months in the Navy before the war ended. He played third base on the Aggie baseball team and became a member of Alpha Zeta, the national agricultural honor society. He graduated summa cum laude in 1949 from 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis, majoring in agronomy and earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree in plant sciences, and then returned to help run the family farm near Winters.

Evelyne, intent on obtaining a 鈥渂road general education,鈥 served as editor of the Cal Aggie newspaper during the 1949-50 school year. When Knowles Ryerson, dean of the College of Agriculture, returned to 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis after the war, he wanted the campus to be more involved internationally and sent Evelyne and other students to the World Affairs Council conference at Asilomar. She later became vice president of the student World Affairs Council and a member of Cal Club, established by 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 President Robert Gordon Sproul to include student leaders from all 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 campuses.

She transferred to 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Berkeley for her senior year so that in 1951 she could graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, history and journalism. At the time, 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis offered only a Bachelor of Science degree in that area.

Jerry Brown and Bill Clinton came calling

Rich and Evelyne married in 1951 and had three sons, Richard, Charlie and Bruce, and one daughter, Ruth. The boys all graduated from 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis; Ruth began at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis but graduated from 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 San Diego. The Romingers also have four granddaughters and three grandsons.

In 1977, recognizing Rich鈥檚 agricultural leadership at the regional and state level, Gov. Jerry Brown appointed him to head the California Department of Food and Agriculture. He served as the agency鈥檚 director until 1982.

In 1993, Rich was appointed by President Bill Clinton to become deputy secretary and chief operating officer of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In that post, among many other duties, he oversaw establishment of national standards for organic farming.

After an eight-year stint in Washington, D.C., he and Evelyne returned to Winters, where their sons and nephews were running the 6,000-acre family farm along with Rich鈥檚 brother, Don Rominger, who also had attended 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis.

Legacy of public service

Through the years, 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis has benefited from the Romingers鈥 commitment to public service and love for agriculture. Rich serves as an adviser for the chancellor鈥檚 office, the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and the Agricultural Sustainability Institute. He previously was also an adviser to the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Agricultural Issues Center at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis and the Yolo County Water Resources Board.

In 2004, the Cal Aggie Alumni Association appointed him to serve two years as its representative to the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Board of Regents, and he has been a member of the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Foundation Board.

He also serves on the University of California President鈥檚 Advisory Commission on Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the California Roundtable on Agriculture and the Environment, and is a liaison between 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 and the agricultural community.

Evelyne was appointed in 1962 by Gov. Edmund G. 鈥淧at鈥 Brown to serve on the Commission of the Californias and has been active in several area health associations. She has been a lifelong advocate for gender equality and social justice issues, serving as a founding board member of the Yolo County Mental Health Association and chair of the California Conference for Comprehensive Health Planning.

She was the first president of the Nelson Art Friends, a group supporting the first art gallery at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis, and she presided over the dedication of the first Arneson Egghead sculpture near the entrance of Shields Library.

She is a founding board member of the Lincoln Council, which supports the National Agricultural Library and has been an active volunteer with many area civic groups.

Giving and receiving honors

In 1978, Rich received the Cal Aggie Alumni Association鈥檚 Jerry W. Fielder Memorial Award in recognition of his service to 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis. In 1989, he and Evelyne jointly received the Award of Distinction from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and in 2003 they were honored as Picnic Day parade grand marshals. They also are members of the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Chancellor鈥檚 Club.

After their son Charlie died in 2006, the Romingers along with the family of the late animal science professor Eric Bradford established the Bradford/Rominger Agricultural Sustainability Leadership Award, given each year by the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Agricultural Sustainability Institute.

Picnic Day is still a priority

Picnic Day is a must-save date on the Romingers鈥 calendar, and they are frequently on campus for events at the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. They continue to be ardent advocates for 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis, officially and among their wide circle of friends and family.

鈥淥ver the years, quite a few people went to 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis because we told them to,鈥 Evelyne said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 still a great place to go, no matter what you study, with more majors, and graduate and professional programs, than any other 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 campus.鈥

Media Resources

Pat Bailey, News and Media Relations, 530-219-9640, pjbailey@ucdavis.edu

Primary Category

Secondary Categories

Food & Agriculture

Tags