Donors to the University of California, Davis, gave robust support to the university last year, exceeding its annual fundraising goal by more than $27 million. Data announced today (Aug. 8) show the university raised $253 million in FY22-23 in 56,071 gifts and pledges from 31,078 donors.
For Brian Horsfield, recognition was never a factor when he and his wife, Louanne, created the Once an Aggie Engineer, Always an Aggie Engineer Alumni Engagement Fund at UC Davis. Sitting in downtown Davis in April, Brian says it’s about showing what’s possible when someone makes the decision to give back.
Chancellor Gary S. May presented the 2023 UC Davis Medal, the university’s highest honor, to international arts patron and philanthropist Maria Manetti Shrem at a UC Davis commencement ceremony on Saturday, June 18.
Mark Presky (’73, B.S. Biological Sciences; ’74 M.A. Microbiology) didn’t plan to give to the university. As an undergraduate, he fell into a unique category: his parents made enough to send him to college, but too much for him to be eligible for financial aid or scholarships. And, with two other children at UC campuses, his family was strapped. As a result, Presky found himself having to watch every penny.
“I remember one finals week,” said Presky, “when I subsisted on a bag of jellybeans and a package of beef jerky. Probably not the best diet,” he says with a laugh.
PetSmart Charities® will name an endowed chair at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine for $6 million. The landmark partnership marks the largest gift to date made by the top funder of animal welfare in the U.S. to bolster the commitment to improving access to veterinary care.
Xiaoli Dong is putting biological soil crust on the climate change research map, a project for which she received UC Davis’ single Early Career Faculty Award for Creativity and Innovation for 2023.
The university gives one or two of the $40,000 awards annually, funded by an endowment set up by anonymous donors.
As the winners of this year’s In Greater Focus magazine survey contest, Hadra and Isabelle Alessandra are designating the $10,000 prize money to compassionate care—funds that help offset costs for families to treat their sick or injured animals—at the UC Veterinary Medical Center, San Diego.
Bruce ’71, M.S. ’73 and Marie West, longtime donors, supporters and friends of UC Davis, have been awarded the 2023 UC Davis Charles J. Soderquist Award.
The UC Davis Foundation bestows the award in recognition of exceptional volunteer leadership and philanthropic support resulting in significant and lasting impacts on UC Davis, as exemplified by the award’s namesake, who went by Charlie, a UC Davis alumnus and entrepreneur.
UC Davis students now have expanded access to advanced engineering equipment, in a space all their own, largely because of a woman who looked beyond the career paths her parents laid out for her.
