IN THIS COLUMN
- Michal Kurlaender, School of Education
- Tonya Fancher, School of Medicine
- Veronica Zendejas, Undergraduate Admissons
- Carrie L. Byington, 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Health
- Colin Dixon, Student Farm
- Ellen Granberg 鈥84, George Washington University
Gov. Gavin Newsom recently appointed Michal Kurlaender, professor of education policy, to the , comprising governors and other representatives from the states, three U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. 鈥Through our programs and services,鈥 the commission declares on its website, 鈥減olicymakers gain the insight and experience needed to create effective education policy.鈥
A member of the National Academy of Education, Kurlaender studies how education policies and programs can impact students' educational pathways and outcomes, focusing in particular on what types of policies can reduce socioeconomic and racial/ethnic inequalities in educational opportunities.
Kurlaender joined the School of Education in 2004 after having been a teaching fellow and researcher in the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, and researcher for the Civil Rights Project at Harvard. She holds two Harvard degrees: Master of Education in administration, planning and social policy, and doctorate in education policy.
She is the co-faculty director of Policy Analysis for California Education, or PACE, and the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis-based California Education Lab; and lead researcher at Wheelhouse: The Center for Community College Leadership and Research, also based at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis.
Her appointment to the commission does not require Senate confirmation. She receives no compensation as a commissioner.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra recently appointed Tonya Fancher of the School of Medicine to the part of the Health Resources and Care Administration at HHS. She is a professor of general internal medicine, associate dean for workforce innovation and education quality improvement, and director of the Center for a Diverse Health Care Workforce.
Veronica Zendejas, director of evaluation and policy for Undergraduate Admissions at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis, will become the director of Undergraduate Admissions at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Riverside effective March 1. There, she will be responsible for all aspects of first-year and transfer recruitment and admission.
At 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis, Zendejas has overseen application review including the holistic review of first-year applicants, transfer evaluation and selection, athletics and special talent admission, and appeals.
鈥淰eronica鈥檚 contributions to the Davis campus are hard to fathom for most,鈥 said Robert Penman, executive director of Undergraduate Admissions at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis. 鈥淥ver nearly 10 years at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis, Veronica has been instrumental in redefining how we conduct the business of the Undergraduate Admissions office.鈥
Last year alone, Penman said, Zendejas shepherded the work to review and deliver decisions to more than 110,000 applicants, and to finalize the admission for more than 9,000 newly enrolled students. Penman said Zendejas has been deeply involved in all aspects of Undergraduate Admissions work, from outreach to recruitment and yield, communications, systems, operations and more.
Zendejas鈥 last official day at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis will be Feb. 28. Amelia Gray, associate director for admissions and recruitment, will serve as interim director of evaluation and policy until the director role is filled.
鈥 Julia Ann Easley, senior public information representative, News and Media Relations
Carrie L. Byington will step down as the leader of 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Health, effective June 30, President Michael V. Drake shared in a letter to the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 community before winter break. Byington holds the title of executive vice president of the division that comprises 新澳门六合彩内幕信息鈥檚 six academic health centers, 20 health professional schools, the Global Health Institute and systemwide services that improve the health of patients and the university鈥檚 students, faculty and employees.
鈥淗er transition will allow her to better balance work with family and personal commitments,鈥 said Drake, adding that he will launch a national search in January for her successor.
Byington, a physician, joined 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Health on Oct. 31, 2019, two months before COVID-19 emerged in China and subsequently spread to the United States. With training in pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases, she brought invaluable expertise to 新澳门六合彩内幕信息鈥檚 pandemic response, Drake said.
鈥淪he established the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Health COVID-19 Coordinating Committee which brought together hundreds of faculty researchers, clinicians and administrators to tackle challenges from testing and monitoring modeling and return-to-campus protocols, to vaccine distribution management, hospital crisis standards of care and long-COVID treatment,鈥 Drake said. 鈥淭his was an amazing body of work. It made a real, tangible difference for us and the people of California and beyond.鈥
The president also noted:
- The key role Byington played in 新澳门六合彩内幕信息鈥檚 provision of shelter and care for unaccompanied minors at the border.
- Her leadership and vision in 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Health鈥檚 ongoing work, including expansion of 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Programs in Medical Education, or 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 PRIME, and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; and development of systemwide data capabilities through the Center for Data Driven Insights.
- Progress under her watch in health access and equity, cancer care and student health.
Drake said he has asked Byington to serve as a special advisor to him after she steps down as executive vice president of 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Health.
Colin Dixon, who has more than 20 years of experience in education and sustainable agriculture, is the new director of the Student Farm, as of December.
鈥淐olin stood out in the hiring process due to his deep focus on experiential learning and his student-centered vision and practice,鈥 said Ryan Galt, director of the Agricultural Sustainability Institute, which oversees the farm. 鈥淚鈥檓 confident he will continue and expand the excellent learning opportunities that exist at the Student Farm.鈥
Dixon worked at the Student Farm once before, in 2009-10, as a volunteer and part-time employee before turning his attention to his studies for a Ph.D. in the School of Education and working there as a graduate student researcher. He had come to 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis with his future wife, Susan Ellsworth, when she began a master鈥檚 program in Community and Regional Development, working on food systems and sustainable agriculture. She now works as the Capitol Corridor director for 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Cooperative Extension.
As a GSR, Dixon worked on a number of initiatives, including the Beta Lab (youth agency and equitable engineering education) and University-Community Links, or 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Links. He also played a role in the early stages of a project that become the Center for Community and Citizen Science.
His experience also includes starting an organic olive oil business, Flatlands Oil & Mill, between Davis and Winters, and working for two nonprofit educational organizations, The Concord Consortium and BSCS Science Learning.
鈥渉e 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Student Farm is doing two things absolutely critical to our future: preparing people to participate in food systems that will sustain a changing world, and creating community. 鈥 Colin Dixon
鈥淲e are thrilled Colin is returning to 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis and the Student Farm,鈥 said Helene Dillard, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. 鈥淗is wide range of experience and dedication to inclusive, hands-on learning will be of great benefit to the Student Farm, its employees and interns.鈥
Dixon voiced excitement about rejoining a community that is addressing society鈥檚 greatest challenges. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there is any job more important than this one,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Student Farm is doing two things absolutely critical to our future: preparing people to participate in food systems that will sustain a changing world, and creating community.鈥
He has directed projects engaged with food, the environment and community from Northern California to Chicago to Uzbekistan, where he served with the Peace Corps as an education volunteer from 2003 to 2005. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in communications and English from Northwestern University.
Dixon succeeds Katharina Ullmann, who served as the farm鈥檚 director for five years. 鈥淚 am extremely grateful for Katharina鈥檚 leadership over the last five years,鈥 Galt said. 鈥淎mong many other successes, she has worked hard to make the Student Farm a more welcoming place for students and people from a variety of backgrounds.鈥
Twenty-five student employees and more than 200 interns work on the Student Farm annually. Their responsibilities include the tending of nine acres for certified organic mixed vegetables and two acres for sustainably grown flowers, as well as maintaining a breeding program and an ecological garden.
The farm donates 10,000 pounds of produce each year to students in need and hosts thousands of visitors, including K-5 field trips.
Ellen Granberg, a 1984 graduate of 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis and a former editor-in-chief of The California Aggie, has been named the y, effective July 1. She will be the first woman to lead the university.
Granberg is leaving the Rochester Institute of Technology, where she has been serving as the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs since 2018. Before that she was Clemson, where she rose from the faculty ranks to senior associate provost.
She received a Bachelor of Arts in history from 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis before turning to sociology for advanced degrees 鈥 master鈥檚 and Ph.D. 鈥 from Vanderbilt University. She is a nationally recognized scholar in the sociology of self, identity and mental health.
Dateline 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis welcomes news of appointments of various kinds for faculty and staff, for publication in Org Chart (formerly titled Transitions). Send information to dateline@ucdavis.edu.
Media Resources
Dateline Staff: Dave Jones, editor, 530-752-6556, dateline@ucdavis.edu; Cody Kitaura, News and Media Relations specialist, 530-752-1932, kitaura@ucdavis.edu.