History

Since 1993, the UCDEA Video Records Project has been creating an oral history of the UC Davis campus by recording interviews of emeriti/ae as well as others who have made significant contributions to the development of the university. These interviews take the form of a recorded conversation between the interviewee and one of his/her friends and/or colleagues. More than 470 interviews have been recorded to date (Spring 2018). All new emeriti/ae are encouraged to arrange for an interview.

Interview videos are shown regularly on the Davis Community TV (DCTV) cable channel and may be streamed from their website.

DVDs of the Video Records Committee interviews through 2017 are on file in Special Collections, Shields Library. The Special Collections Reference Desk is on the Main Floor of the Library. Please consult the Reference Desk to check out a tape for viewing.

Reference Desk Hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Monday through Friday
Reference Desk Phone: (530) 752-1621

Beginning in 2017, the committee has worked to post the interviews on the AggieVideo website. Use the "Search" feature in the upper right corner to find a recent video by the last name. The List of Video Records Interviews is updated quarterly.

In Memoriam

May 2022

We are saddened to note the recent passing of emeriti who played essential roles in the development, growth, and evolution of their academic departments. Each engaged in activities in keeping with descriptions noted in "A Virtual Eleventh Campus". All remained active for a decade or more beyond their retirements with an impact that highlights the most positive attributes of the UC Davis campus.

Jo Ann Stabb 

Jo Ann Stabb died on February 13. She was 80. She played a seminal role in establishing a Design Department at UC Davis that is now ranked in the top 5% of academic design departments in the U.S. Jo Ann Stabb went to Occidental College and UCLA to study art and design. She graduated from UCLA with an M.S. degree in 1967. She came to Davis in 1968 and retired in 2002. She was recruited to UC Davis by Orville Thompson, who played a leadership role in strengthening departments and programs such as Design and UC Davis' ethnic and related studies programs. Professor Thompson often noted that Jo Ann Stabb was among the best, if not the best, of the recruiting decisions made during the process. Indeed, her career at Davis validated his statement. Jo Ann Stabb was a designer, author, and lecturer focusing on the field of fashion and wearable art. Her creative work has been exhibited throughout the U.S., Europe, South Korea, and Australia. In addition, her works on contemporary wearables are published in design journals and magazines with high visibility. 

Moreover, she has lectured for professional associations, including the World Crafts Council, the Costume Society of America, the International Textile and Apparel and the Surface Design Associations,  Association, and numerous museums and arts organizations. Recently she served as the executive producer of the video series "Wearable Art from California," distributed through the University of California and internationally through the United States Information Agency. Following her retirement, Jo Ann continued to create, guest lecture, curate exhibitions, write, and consult in the field. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Costume Society of America and the Textile Arts Council for the de Young Museum.

As a tribute to Jo Ann Stabb’s career at UC Davis, her talents and perspectives are noted in an interview with her colleague and friend, Helge B. Olsen, Lecturer (SOE), Design Department.

Jo Ann Stabb Video Project

 

Isao Fujimoto

Isao Fujimoto, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer Emeritus and a community organizer, died on February 25, 2022. He was 88. Dr. Fujimoto joined the UC Davis Faculty in 1967 as a founding member of the Community Development Program (now a part of Human Ecology). He also played the principal role in founding the Asian American Studies Department (now in its fifth decade). He retired in 1994, but in what is best described as "in name only." For example, as one of many lifelong goals, he completed a Ph.D. from Cornell University in 2010 at 76. In the two and a half decades following his UC Davis retirement, he continually taught and participated in the community development graduate program. In addition, he spent summers in Kyoto, Japan, in the U.C. Study Abroad program.

Moreover, he held leadership positions in the Rural Development Leadership Network and the Central Valley Partnership for Citizenship programs. He was noted for his integrity even though his focus on farmworker compensation and working conditions put him at odds with the agricultural industry. He encouraged direct engagement and laid the groundwork for the current organic and sustainable movement in agriculture. He also played principal roles for landmarks like the Davis Food Co-Op and the Farmer's Market in Davis. In 2016, his long history of work in social justice and civil rights earned him the University of California system's Constantine Panunzio Distinguished Emeriti Award.

As a tribute to Dr. Fujimoyo's career, his accomplishments are noted in an interview with his colleague and friend, Jim Grieshop, Emeritus Specialist in Cooperative Extension, Community and Regional Development.

If you wish to donate in Isao's memory, contributions may be made to the UC Davis Isao Fujimoto Education and Student Support Fund: https://give.ucdavis.edu/CLAS/ASIFGFT

Isao Fujimoto Video Project

 

Leon Garoyan

Leon Garoyan, Ph.D. Specialist in Cooperative Extension, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, died on March 26. He was 96. Dr. Garoyan grew up in Fowler, CA, near Fresno. He attended Fresno State and then Cal Poly, graduating with a B.S. degree in horticulture in 1944. His first job was as a farm advisor in Oregon. Soon, it became apparent to him that additional skills in economics were needed. Consequently, he furthered his training in economics at the University of Wisconsin, earning a Ph.D. in economics in 1960. At the start of his career, he served in the Kennedy Administration as a staff economist in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He then returned to Oregon and continued working in extension. He moved to Davis in 1970 with an appointment as an extensionist in Agricultural and Resource Sciences. At Davis, he wrote and advised extensively in several areas of marketing, particularly about the role of cooperatives and independent individual farming-related and commodity activities. He was also very active in The Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics. He retired in 1983.

Moreover, he worked and consulted with many farming-related cooperatives in the U.S., Chile, several Eastern European countries, and the Republic of Armenia. His Eastern European activities also involved service as a consultant for the CIA on the food production and marketing systems in Eastern Europe and Russia before Perestroika. Finally, at Davis, his work culminated in serving as the founding director of the Statewide Center for Cooperatives, located at UC Davis. This activity was initiated following his retirement from Agricultural and Environmental Economics. He served as director for five years.

As a tribute to Dr. Garoyan's career, his accomplishments are described in an interview with his colleague and friend, Richard Howitt, Professor Emeritus, Agricultural and Resource Economics.

Leon Garoyan Video Project 

 

Peter Hays

Professor Emeritus Peter Hays died in March 2022 at the age of 84. Professor Hays came to UC Davis in 1966 and retired in 2004 as Professor of English and Comparative Literature. He was highly recognized as a scholar of twentieth-century American literature. He served on the F. Scott Fitzgerald Society board and as an editor for the News and Notes section for The Fitzgerald Newsletter. He also served on the Boards of the Edith Wharton Society and the Ernest Hemingway Foundation. His career is punctuated with numerous awards and recognitions (e.g., in his early career, a Danforth Foundation Fellowship and a Fulbright lecturership in Mainz, West Germany). As an emeritus, he held several Edward A. Dickson Emeritus Professorships from 2011-to-2018. Many of his publications focused on Ernest Hemingway. Recent publications include The Old Man and the Sea, with Bickford Sylvester and Larry Grimes (Kent State University Press, 2018, Fifty years of Hemingway Criticism (Scarecrow, 2013), and The Critical Reception of Hemingway's - The Sun Also Rises, (Camden House, 2011). Peter also directed a freshman seminar each fall quarter on Ernest Hemingway's short stories throughout his retirement.

In addition, Professor Emeritus Hays was an essential and visible campus leader. He served as a past chair of the English Department. For the UC Davis Emeriti Associations, Professor Hays served as a past secretary. He was a founding member of the Davis Faculty Association (DFA), which belongs to the Council of UC Faculty Associations (CUCFA). CUCFA is the largest independent organization representing the University of California faculty. For an oral history of the DFA, visit their website. Ed Constantini and Peter Hays provide the video record. 

Many of his perspectives are noted in his interview with his friend, Professor emeritus Daniel Hershberger, Health Sciences Professor of Clinical Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine.

Peter Hays Video Project

 

Frederic A. Troy

Professor Emeritus. Frederic A. Troy II passed in March 2022. Professor Troy came to UC Davis in 1968, joining the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine. He retired in 2009. Professor Troy maintained a record of impeccable service. He was a past chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine (1991-1995). Professor Troy was also a co-founding faculty member for the UC Davis School of Medicine’s NIH Comprehensive Cancer Center in Sacramento. In addition, he was a co-founding member of the UC San Diego Glycobiology Research & Training Center and CEO of SialoGen Therapeutics, Inc. in Davis. He served as a past president of the Society for Glycobiology and the American Medical and Graduate Schools Depts. of Biochemistry. Moreover, following his retirement, he served as a Professor (Adj) in the Department of Molecular Medicine at the Xiamen University School of Medicine, Xiamen City, China. 

Professor Troy received an E.A. Dickson Distinguished Emeriti Professorship in 2017 for research focusing on complex carbohydrate biochemistry in areas related to sialobiology and other novel forms of glycosylation. Sialoglycans are carbohydrate-based polymers that perform essential biological, biophysical, and immunological functions. For this work, he was a recipient of numerous research awards. Likewise, Frederic (Rick) was an excellent teacher. He was nominated for the Kaiser Excellence in Teaching Basic Medical Sciences and the Dean’s Excellence in Mentoring Awards.

He is interviewed by his friend and colleague, Emeritus Professor Joe Tupin, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences 

Frederic A. Troy Video Project

 

Ronald Franklin Soohoo 

Professor emeritus Dr. Ronald Franklin Soohoo died in March 2022 at 94. Born in Canton, China, Dr. Soohoo came to the United States shortly after World War II. He received a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and physics at Stanford. Before coming to Davis, he worked at Stanford, PG&E, and as a professor at the California Institute of Technology. He started his career at UC Davis in 1964 as the College was beginning to organize into departments. He was selected for the newly created Department of Electrical Engineering. Accordingly, Dr. Soohoo became the first Asian-American to chair a department within the University of California system. Later, he served as the associate dean for research for UC Davis’ College of Engineering. Soohoo’s research interests were in areas essential to understanding digital magnetic recording, computer devices, and microwave electronics. He worked on digital recording technology, determining how to increase recording intensity and clarity. Throughout his life, Dr. Soohoo was honored with many distinguished awards, including a Life Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the National Academy of Sciences, a NATO Fellowship to the National Research Labs in France, a National Science Foundation Research Fellow at IBM, an Outstanding Educator of America, and named a Top Innovator by Science Digest Magazine. With research interests in digital magnetic recording, computer devices, and microwave electronics. Dr. Soohoo initiated the current Electrical and Computer Engineering specialization in microwave electronics. Soohoo wrote a memoir, Chinese Roots and My American Dream, which includes a description of his contributions to UC Davis’ ECE community.

He is interviewed by his friend and colleague, Herman J. Fink, emeritus professor of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering.

Ronald Franklin Soohoo Video Project

 

These videos leave a lasting legacy. Please consider what a video record may mean to you, your family, and your associates.  If you have not interviewed for the UC Davis Emeriti Association's Video Records project, please contact Alan Jackman.

 

Recent Interviews

MRC Greenwood, Ph.D. - Mary Rita Cooke Greenwood is a distinguished professor emerita in Nutrition (CAES) and Internal Medicine. She first joined the UC Davis campus as Dean of Graduate Studies in 1989. While at UC Davis, her career took on additional and unique leadership roles and assignments. In 1993, Dr. Greenwood was appointed as the Associate Director for Science in the Executive Office of the US President. In 1998, she served as President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. During this period, she also was appointed as a member of the Institute of Medicine (National Academies of Sciences). She chaired the Policy and Global Affairs division of the NRC at the National Academies of Sciences. Following her return from Washington, DC, professor emerita Greenwood's next assignment was as provost and senior vice president for the Office of Academic Affairs in the UC Office of the President. This service was followed by an appointment as Chancellor of UC Santa Cruz, where she served from 1996 to 2004. In her tenure at UC Santa Cruz, she oversaw the hiring of 250 new faculty members along with a significant expansion in its academic programs, including the nation's first NASA University Affiliated Research Center. In 2009, Dr. Greenwood retired from the UC system to assume yet another role. She was appointed as President of the University of Hawaii system, wherein she served for five years. From the UC Davis Emeriti Association's perspective, we are pleased that following her retirement, she returned to Davis and currently serves as President-elect for the Association. She is interviewed by her emeriti association colleague and friend, John Vohs, senior lecturer emeritus of communication. https://video.ucdavis.edu/media/494%20M.R.C.Greenwood/0_frlv6p7f

Nicole Woolsey Biggart, Ph.D. — Professor emerita Biggart joined the Graduate School of Management in 1981. She served as the school’s dean from 2003 to 2009 and during this period held the Jerome J. and Elsie Suran Chair in Technology Management. In June 2010, she assumed the Chevron Chair in Energy Efficiency, which directs the UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center. In addition to campus administrative roles, Dr. Biggart has served in leadership roles for the Academy of Management, the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics, and the American Sociological Association. She has also served on the editorial boards of several professional journals, the Comstock’s Business magazine, and has been active in Sacramento business organizations, such as the Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance. Emerita professor Biggart is an expert in organizational theory and management of innovation. She has received numerous awards for her research. For example, she is recognized as an AAAS Fellow, a recipient of the faculty pioneer award for sustainability in management education from the Aspen Institute, and the Sacramento Business Journal has honored her with their Women Who Mean Business Award. Dr. Biggart is interviewed by her friend and colleague Robert H. Smiley, Professor and Dean Emeritus, Graduate School of Management. https://video.ucdavis.edu/media/481+Biggart/0_znxg08h6

David Campbell, Ph.D. — Emeritus specialist Campbell came to UC Davis in 1990, first appointed as a lecturer in Political Science. In 2000, he moved to Cooperative Extension with an appointment as a specialist and director of the California Communities Program in the Department of Human Ecology along with other critical roles associated with the success of the UC Davis Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. From 2014 to his retirement in 2019, he served as Associate Dean for Social and Human Sciences in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. In addition to his strong leadership, he has contributed to seminal research that focuses on the difficulty of developing public policy in complicated community settings. Dr. Campbell is interviewed by his friend and colleague Dennis Pendleton, Dean Emeritus of University Extension. https://video.ucdavis.edu/media/0_x76zesu4

Mike Chandler — Fire Chief emeritus, was hired in 1968 as a student firefighter. He advanced through the ranks to become Fire Chief in 1996 and served for eight years until his retirement in 2004. He then served as Chief of the Yocha Dehe Fire Department from 2004 to 2012. Among his many activities are service as president of the Woodland Rotary Club and chair of the Woodland Memorial Hospital Board of Directors. He also served as Yolo County's operational area fire and rescue coordinator. Chief emeritus Chandler currently is the president of the UC Davis Retiree's Association. Many of his accomplishments and perspectives are highlighted in the interview with his friend and colleague, UC Davis Police Chief emeritus Calvin Handy.https://video.ucdavis.edu/media/t/0_wxe6go7q

Rebecca Davis — Emerita Librarian Davis joined the UC Davis Library system in 1986 as the Coordinator of Online Search Services at the Carlson Health Sciences Library. During her tenure as a health sciences librarian, she served as head of reference services at the Carlson Health Sciences Library and as coordinator of outreach services for the Health Sciences Libraries. During the latter part of her career at UC Davis, she served as assistant head of the Health Sciences Libraries and operational head of the Blaisdell Medical Library in Sacramento. She retired in 2014. Emerita Librarian Davis came to UC Davis with an extensive background, which is summarized in a recent interview with the Northern California and Nevada Medical Library Group, a chapter of the Medical Library Association. For her record, she is interviewed by her former supervisor, colleague, and friend, Jo Anne Boorkman, Emerita Librarian. https://video.ucdavis.edu/media/492+Rebecca+Davis/0_px45kp06/25824152

Karl Levitt, Ph.D. — Professor emeritus Levitt was appointed to the Department of Computer Science in 1986. He retired in 2018. Professor emeritus Levitt conducts research and teaches in areas relevant to computer security, automated verification, and related software engineering. He has an international reputation in these areas. For example, while at UC Davis, he spent four years at the National Science Foundation as director for the NSF's computer security program and has advised other U.S. Government agencies on technical and policy issues related to cybersecurity. Dr. Levitt is also the co-principal investigator on the NSF project, "Evaluation Methods in Internet Security Technology," which supports work at UC Davis, as well as UC Berkley, Purdue, and Pennsylvania State Universities in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In 2014, Dr. Levitt received the 2014 Jean-Claude LaPrie Award in Dependable Computing from the International Federation for Information Processing Working Group. The award recognizes outstanding work that has significantly influenced the theory and/or practice of dependable computing. He is interviewed by his long-standing colleague and friend, Matt Bishop, professor of Computer Science. https://video.ucdavis.edu/media/0_sisakdly

Centennial DVD Project

As part of the commemoration of UC Davis’ centennial in 2010, Professor Emeritus Verne Mendel compiled many of the Video Records Project interviews — organized by college, school, or department — to create 23 DVDs. He was awarded the Edward A. Dickson Emeriti Professorship Award in 2008 for this project. Centennial DVDs may be viewed in the Special Collections section of Shields Library.

List of Centennial DVDs

About the Committee

The primary objective of the Video Records Committee is to record for posterity, interviews of emeriti/ae and distinguished retired members of the UC Davis campus. Additional information, including the current Charge and committee members, can be found on the Standing Committees > Video Records Committee page.

Volunteer Opportunities

The Video History Project is comprised solely of volunteers. Opportunities abound and training can be provided.

• Schedulers: Schedule interviews, working with the Interviewee, Interviewer, and Videographers.
• Videographers/Editors: Learn to record in a professional-style studio and edit videos with Adobe NLE editing software (will train!!).
• Administrative: recruit candidates for interview, review, and comment on draft video interviews.

If interested, please contact the UCDEA Video Records Committee via the UC Davis Retiree Center.