Provost Virginia Hinshaw was honored last week for her work in promoting the careers of women in science and higher education, receiving statewide recognition as Outstanding Educator from the California National Organization for Women Foundation.

"This award celebrates distinguished women who share our goal of helping women and girls thrive through education," said Megan Seely, California NOW Foundation executive director. "We are committed to ensuring the resources for women's exploration and we are committed to ending discrimination and harassment that hinders women's discovery. Our honorees share this commitment in their professions and their daily lives."

Hinshaw has been provost and executive vice chancellor at UC Davis for four years, serving as the campus's chief academic and financial officer and overseeing the UC Davis Health System. She spent years conducting research as a virologist and is one of the nation's leading experts in influenza, particularly flu strains that transfer from birds to people. Her lifelong career at universities, hospitals and institutes has been marked by a dedication to mentoring and role modeling.

"The next generation needs to see that there is an important role for both women and men in higher education and science — we need everyone," Hinshaw said. "Many of us are the 'firsts' in our positions and our serving in these positions sends a message of real possibilities to the next generation — we don't intend to be the last."

In accepting the award, Hinshaw said she was raised "to believe the playing field was level. I learned that wasn't true for women in science, and I struggled with that inequity. But I kept trying to knock the letter 't' off of the word 'can't'...I loved being a lab rat, I loved research work, but I went into administration to increase the opportunities for future generations."

Present for the Oct. 12 awards luncheon was Hinshaw's father, Louis Snyder, who dabbed tears as he listened to his daughter speak, as well as her husband Bill, Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef and his wife Rosalie, and numerous campus faculty and staff. Also in attendance were a dozen members of Hinshaw's class in the American Leadership Forum, a program that connects regional leaders around common goals.

"Virginia is such a learner, such a sharer, with a passion for mentoring," said Beverly Scott, general manager of the Sacramento Regional Transit District and a Leadership Forum colleague who introduced Hinshaw at the event. "The mark of a true leader is not what you leave behind, but who you leave behind. And she is inspiring and empowering many people with her curiosity, her energy and her motivating ability."

Grammy-winning Native American flutist Mary Youngblood, another Leadership Forum member, performed a tribute to Hinshaw at the event. Other honorees at the annual California NOW Foundation event were Delaine Eastin, former California Superintendent of Schools and a UC Davis alum; Carol B. Muller, founder and CEO of the non-profit MentorNet; Rosa Perez, chancellor of the San Jose/Evergreen Community College District; and Angelica Stacy, chemistry professor and associate vice provost for faculty equity at UC Berkeley.