Ben Montpetit, a yeast geneticist and biochemist, is the new chair of the Department of Viticulture and Enology at University of California, Davis.

Montpetit joined UC Davis in 2016 and became department vice chair in 2021.

In his new role, he plans to enhance student offerings, continue to advance diversity efforts and foster investment in students, faculty, staff and department operations.

A new award fund has been created to help students interested in the wine industry pursue their degree in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis.

The Theopolis Vineyards Diversity Fund will provide one scholarship of up to $10,000 each year to students interested in viticulture and enology and related research or managing a vineyard, with a preference for students who are underrepresented or understand barriers to entering the industry.

Connections that UC Davis scholars built across campus and continents have led to a $298,000 National Science Foundation award to engage with Inuit fermenters in Greenland and support them in identifying the challenges and opportunities for creating a resurgence in Inuit fermented foods. Their research is part of “Navigating the New Arctic,” one of NSF's 10 Big Ideas.

The Olive Center at UC Davis is teaming up with the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation and the tribe’s Séka Hills line of agriculture products to create a blend of Olio Nuovo, the freshest type of extra virgin olive oil available.

The Olio Nuovo was produced from the first harvest of the season and bottled right after the olives were milled to make it readily available to the public.  

Helene R. Dillard, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, is the 2021 administrator recipient of the Walter A. Robinson Community Champion Award. She was honored recently in an online ceremony hosted by the African Continuum at UC Davis, along with four other awardees.

Last year, the horrible death of George Floyd prompted a national discussion about race in a way that has been eye-opening, soul-searching and incredibly important. While we’ve seen an increase in violence toward people of color, we also acknowledge that more and more people are recognizing a deep need for change in how we engage with, support and lift each other.

By Mary Martin-Mabry

Alex Volzer knows what it feels like to be an outsider.

He was born and raised in the small, rural town of Lima, New York — population 2,278 — where being different in any way didn’t go unnoticed. Growing up, his mother used a wheelchair, his best friend had epilepsy, and he was gender non-conforming.

Chancellor Gary S. May issued the following statement today (April 20):

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”  — Martin Luther King Jr.

Today, we learned that a jury found Derek Chauvin guilty of murder in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

I can’t believe that I am once again struggling to comprehend the senseless killing of black men and women. Coupling that with the rise in hate crimes against the Asian Pacific Islander community, I wonder, when our communities will become safer for people of color? To quote Chancellor May, it’s exhausting.  

From encouraging increased diversity to an innovative leadership program that employs interdisciplinary training in soil and plant health, two professors are spearheading projects that advance graduate and postgraduate training in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis.

Charlie Brummer, professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, will lead a program that seeks to recruit two doctoral and two master’s students in plant breeding from underrepresented groups.