Presenting their top academic honors for 2025, the Academic Senate and Federation recognize and showcase faculty not just for their expertise, but also for their impact across campus, mentorship roles, excellence in teaching and overall public service.
The full list of winners, with profiles submitted by awards committees from the senate and federation, follow:
Distinguished Service Award
Kelly Behre, Continuing Lecturer, School of Law
Director Kelly Behre teaches seminars and supervises students providing legal assistance to victims of gender-based violence at the Domestic & Sexual Violence Law Clinic. She is involved in UC committees supporting student victims and collaborates with non-profits through outreach and training, and has been an active member of multiple state- and nation-wide commissions on sexual violence. Over the years, Behre and her students have provided invaluable support, knowledge, and leadership to students navigating what has become a very legalized Title IX process. She has spent hundreds of hours providing pro bono legal assistance to and consultation in service of UC victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking. The procedural justice the law clinic helps to create has been life-changing for many. This is all due to Director Behre’s passion, expertise, and phenomenal leadership.
Excellence in Research Award
Negar Omidvari, Assistant Project Scientist, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering
Dr. Omidvari’s exceptional contributions to biomedical research, particularly in the area of total-body positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, have demonstrated remarkable scientific leadership and innovation. Her groundbreaking work mapping the distribution of T-cells throughout the human body for the first time, using dynamic PET imaging, has revolutionized the understanding of immune responses, including in COVID-19 patients. Dr. Omidvari was the first to utilize a CD8-targeted radiotracer in this capacity, a major achievement in imaging infectious disease. This highly acclaimed pioneering research, published in Science Advances, continues to generate significant attention within the scientific community. Dr. Omidvari has demonstrated extraordinary leadership in coordinating multidisciplinary teams, securing funding, and advancing novel imaging technologies. Her success in bridging complex biomedical concepts with cutting-edge imaging techniques sets her apart as a leader in her field.
Excellence in Teaching Awards
Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching or Mentoring
Cyrus Bateni, Health Sciences Clinical Professor, Department of Radiology, School of Medicine
Dr. Cyrus Bateni’s colleagues write that his “impact on students goes beyond formal coursework. Despite his busy clinical workload, he regularly meets with students interested in radiology, providing insights into the field and guidance on navigating their career paths. It is rare that a day goes by in which he is not in contact with a medical student, resident, or fellow, from providing advice to educational sessions to direct oversight.” Several students credit him in their decision to pursue radiology as their career specialty. Dr. Bateni is a “teacher and mentor par excellence” and deserving of this recognition.
Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching
Brenda Rinard, Continuing Lecturer, University Writing Center
Dr. Brenda Rinard is recognized for 14 years of excellent teaching and pedagogical contributions. The impressive breadth of courses that Dr. Rinard teaches exemplifies her extensive knowledge in the field of writing studies and education. Her approach to teaching is centered on the idea that writing is rhetorical, writing is a process, and writing is socially constructed using genres. As colleagues and students both describe, Dr. Rinard effortlessly conveys her wealth of knowledge about effective writing practices and pedagogies in a way that is perfectly tailored to her audience. One student writes, “Her ability to foster an environment that stimulates thought and growth [along with the] inclusive atmosphere she cultivated helped me step outside my comfort zone, connect with others, and find joy in the learning process again.”
Wendy Terry, Senior Continuing Lecturer, Department of Religious Studies, College of Letters and Science
Dr. Wendy Terry is recognized for her exemplary teaching across an unusual range of classes—over 35 distinct courses since 2019. Course evaluations overwhelmingly confirm that Dr. Terry creates an academically rigorous classroom environment that students also describe as inspiring and deeply enjoyable. A colleague notes, “When I ask [students] if she’s tough, they fall all over themselves talking about how tough she is and how they learned about interpretation and argument.” Students commend Dr. Terry’s lucid lectures and how she encourages them to arrive at conclusions independently. They also celebrate Dr. Terry for nourishing “a sense of community” that extends past the boundaries of the classroom.
2025 Academic Senate Distinguished Public Service Award
The University of California has a long tradition of service to the state and the people of California. Faculty members use their expertise in teaching, research, and professional competence to make contributions to local, statewide, national, or international public arenas. The Academic Senate Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award honors exceptional faculty who continue the tradition and demonstrate the commitment of UC Davis to public service.
Distinguished Professor Emeritus John P. McGahan, Department of Radiology, School of Medicine
Distinguished Professor Emeritus John P. McGahan, in the Department of Radiology, made tremendous contributions to scholarly public service throughout his extraordinary career as a physician, innovator, and educator at UC Davis. For over four decades his many contributions to radiology led to repeated national recognition from his radiology peers. His innovations include his use of radiofrequency ablation to treat liver, kidney and other tumors. Some of his many public service contributions include work to create and lead the accreditation of ultrasound practices for the United States and Canada, which helped to assure the highest level of image quality and safety, and hence healthier lives for patients.
The Distinguished Teaching Awards Committee recommends six individuals for the 2025 Distinguished Teaching Awards in respective categories.
Distinguished Teaching Awards - Undergraduate Teaching
Associate Professor Michael Mienaltowski, Department of Animal Science, College of Agricultural and Environmental Science
Professor Michael Mienaltowski exemplifies excellence in undergraduate education through his passion, dedication, and innovative teaching methods. His ability to connect complex scientific concepts to real-world applications in courses like ANS 15 and ABI 102 has inspired countless students, fostering engagement and enthusiasm even in large lecture halls. Known for his creative use of tools like Kahoot and interactive teaching approaches, he creates an inclusive and stimulating learning environment. Beyond the classroom, his mentorship in undergraduate research empowers students to lead projects, publish their work, and achieve both academic and personal success.
Associate Professor of Teaching Susan Gentry, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering
Professor Susan Gentry has demonstrated unparalleled dedication to fostering student success and innovation in education. She skillfully integrates innovative pedagogy, such as programming modules and interactive simulations, into her courses. She pioneered the use of Learning Assistants, where trained undergraduate students work as part of the teaching team and earn course credit for providing feedback to students in EMS 180. Her tireless efforts during the pandemic ensured continuity in hands-on learning, and her mentorship has inspired students to achieve excellence in academics and research. Professor Gentry’s exceptional contributions elevate the standards of education at UC Davis and beyond.
Distinguished Professor Lisa Oakes, Department of Psychology, College of Letters and Science
Professor Lisa Oakes is a beloved and effective professor renowned among both students and faculty for her ability to spark curiosity and critical thinking in her students. She is deeply dedicated to her students’ success, fostering their growth by creating interactive learning environments where students feel valued and comfortable asking and answering questions. Beyond the classroom she makes time to check in with her students on a personal level, offering support wherever needed. Professor Oakes is overall an extraordinary instructor and mentor to undergraduates, making her highly deserving of this award.
Associate Professor Meaghan O’Keefe, Department of Religious Studies, College of Letters and Science
Professor Meaghan O’Keefe is an innovative and visionary leader. In 2023, she co-led the launch of the Medical Humanities Minor, equipping students to navigate medicine, bioethics, and healthcare globally. Two Religious Studies courses, RST 152 and RST 153, are among its core offerings. A scholar of contemporary North American Catholicism, she won the Mellon Foundation’s “New Directions” Fellowship in 2019, gaining expertise in law, policy, and religion. Her groundbreaking work has shaped UC Davis’ curriculum and inspired enthusiasm for the Medical Humanities, fostering student engagement and interdisciplinary learning.
Distinguished Teaching Awards - Graduate and Professional Teaching
Associate Professor Claudia Sánchez-Gutiérrez, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, College of Letters and Science
Professor Claudia Sánchez-Gutiérrez is an applied linguist specializing in the acquisition of Spanish as a second language. Her teaching is distinguished by exceptional organization and clarity. In her applied linguistics and methodology courses, each class is carefully structured to maximize learning and student engagement. Nominators emphasize that she is an excellent academic mentor and advisor, supporting students beyond the classroom. Her graduates have secured academic positions at prestigious universities, including tenure-track positions and roles in industry and government. This is due to her dedication to comprehensive preparation by organizing mock interviews, reviewing proposals and presentations, and helping to develop
materials for the job market.
Professor Colleen Sweeney, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine
Professor Colleen Sweeney worked tirelessly to revise and update the basic science course annually, making it one of the most positively received courses by medical students over such a long duration (20+ years) at such a high level. Professor Sweeney has been a trailblazer in bridging the divide between basic and clinical sciences, making the teaching of basic sciences more clinically relevant to future physicians. Professor Sweeney is a visionary educator whose innovative approaches to teaching, commitment to equity, and collaborative leadership have profoundly enriched our medical school and field of medical education.
2025 Academic Senate Faculty Distinguished Research Award
Distinguished Professor Andreas Bäumler in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology.
Professor Bäumler’s research on the gut microbiome has led to seminal discoveries regarding the mechanism that dictate community structure and ecological factors that affect inflammatory diseases. His work has reshaped the field, shifting the focus from targeting the pathogenic microbes to instead targeting the aberrant host responses that are driving the alteration in the gut microbiome. His work has been consistently supported by substantial funding, and his papers have been published in the best scientific journals. His contributions to the field are widely recognized nationally and internationally, as exemplified by his induction into the National Academy of Sciences and his receipt of the Robert Koch Award, the premier basic research prize of Germany.