Celebrating Our Diversity Champions

The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion recently honored a number of students, faculty and staff for helping to bring the Principles of Community to life and make the university a more inclusive place.

The recipients of the Diversity and Principles of Community Awards, Disability Awareness Awards, Calvin Handy Leadership Award and Chancellor's Achievement Awards for Diversity and Community were honored in two separate events last month.

Renetta Tull, vice chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, congratulated the winners and offered appreciation for their work.

“People across UC Davis — Davis, Sacramento, our labs, clinics and sites across California — work hard to implement and maintain strong diversity practices,” Tull said. “I’m happy that we are able to recognize several of our colleagues, in appreciation for their energy and commitment to the work.”

Mikael Villalobos, associate vice chancellor for the Office of Campus and Community Relations, said the awards were an opportunity to honor members of the university community who work together to bring UC Davis closer to its goals of greater diversity and inclusion.

“This year’s awardees follow the tradition of past champions whose commitment to our principles are exemplified in their ongoing commitment to ensuring that DEI are central and in support of our institution’s overall mission,” he said.

Hendry Ton, associate vice chancellor for Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, said the awards highlight just how important a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment is at UC Davis.

“These awards represent UC Davis’ unwavering dedication to fostering a campus environment where diversity, equity, and inclusion are not just valued, but also recognized as an integral part of our mission,” Ton said. “We celebrate this year’s recipients who truly embody the Principles of Community and create positive change within the UC Davis Community and beyond.”

Soaring to New Heights

The awardees honored at Soaring to New Heights on April 9 were:

Calvin E. Handy Leadership Award
Nate Trauernicht, fire chief

This crime prevention and public safety award recognizes individuals based on community-oriented engagement, as well as activities that are collaborative, cooperative and proactive.

Individual Awardees
Kelli O'Day, assessment program manager, UC Davis Sustainability 
Matthew St. Amant, community engagement and financial analyst, Office for Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

This award, along with the two that follow, honors individuals for making strides in the effort to make the university a welcoming employer that provides opportunities for people of all backgrounds. The Deanna Fagle Award honors longtime service (of five or more years) to that end, while the Team Award honors a department, unit or team that works together to achieve the goal.

Deanna Falge Award
Ken Barnes, assistant director for retention initiatives, Internship and Career Center

Team Award
Center for Chicanx and Latinx Academic Student Success

Disability Awareness Award
Operating Room Management Team, UC Davis Health

This award honors managers and supervisors who have demonstrated exemplary commitment and significant contributions and efforts in recruiting, hiring and retaining staff and faculty by providing effective reasonable accommodations.

Eleanor Fontes-Fulton Award
Jann Murray-Garcia, clinical professor, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing

This award honors an employee who is retiring this calendar year and has made significant contributions over the course of an entire career toward the university’s diversity goals as they relate to hiring, recruitment, retention, training and/or supervision.

Chancellor’s Achievement Awards for Diversity and Community
 

The Chancellor's Achievement Awards for Diversity and Community, presented on April 23, went to:

Undergraduate Award
Andrea Lopez Arguello, physics major

This student was honored for her engagement with underrepresented populations and after-school instruction at a local high school.  

Graduate Award
Alyson Kim, Ph.D. candidate in civil and environmental engineering.

She has worked with the Office of Public Scholarship and Engagement to introduce a service-learning civil and environmental engineering course, which emphasized environmental sustainability and environmental justice concepts.

Staff Award
Janice Enriquez, clinical professor, developmental behavioral pediatrics division, UC Davis Health

She is also a clinical child psychologist and chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee at the MIND Institute; she is honored for her commitment toward health equity, especially as it relates to neurodivergent children and families, development of clinical training and pathway programs, and partnerships with community members and organizations.

Academic Federation
Rana Jaleel, associate professor of gender, sexuality and women’s studies

Her work examines the politics of evidence: how concepts like reproductive labor, sex/gender, race, property and sexuality are sustained or transformed through the recognition, narration and redress of harm.

Academic Senate
Andrea Cann Chandrasekher, professor of law

Her work focuses on empirical arbitration and criminal justice public policy.

Honorary Service Award
Mariel Vázquez

She is a mathematical/computational biologist who was one of the inaugural faculty scholars for the Center for the Advancement of Multicultural Perspectives on Science, or CAMPOS, and has served as its faculty director since 2019.

Special Recognition
UC Davis Health Patient Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Data at Hospital Admissions Team