This column offers a sampling of honors recently awarded to UC Davis' faculty, staff and units:

Louis Warren, the W. Turrentine Jackson Professor of Western U.S. History at UC Davis, has been awarded the 2007 Beveridge Prize from the American Historical Association for his 2005 book, Buffalo Bill's America: William Cody and the Wild West Show. The association gives the prize to promote and honor outstanding books on the history of the United States, Latin America, or Canada, from 1492 to the present.

UC Davis Native American studies professor Steven Crum was recently a guest lecturer at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., where he presented topics on Native American history to members of the education staff. The lecture series is the beginning of ongoing training to bring Native American scholars to meet with the Smithsonian staff.

Spanish lecturer Francisco Alarcón's book, Poems to Dream Together-Poemas para soñar juntos, has been named an honor book in the Books for Younger Children category. In 19 poems in Spanish and English, Alarcón inspires his readers to dream alone and to work together as families and communities. On Oct. 20, he accepted the honor at the 53rd Jane Addams Children's Book Awards at the United Nations in New York City. The work was illustrated by Paula Barragán and published by Lee & Low Books.

Emily Goldman, political science professor and director of the UC Davis Washington Program, went on leave Oct. 1 to work for the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs. She has been asked to help transform the Department of Defense's Regional Security Studies Centers to more effectively address the challenges of the post-9/11 world. While Goldman is on leave, Larry Berman, political science professor and former director of the systemwide UC Washington Program, will serve as interim director of the UC Davis Washington Program. He will be shuttling back and forth between Davis and Washington, and then teaching on campus during the winter term.

Jon Gire, a coordinator for the R4 Recycling Program, was recently awarded a full scholarship to the National Recycling Coalition's 25th annual conference. He is one of five students in the nation to win this prestigious scholarship. Gire is a UC Davis alum with a degree in nature and culture. He has worked for the R4 unit for almost three years.

Mark Francis, professor of landscape architecture and environmental design at UC Davis, has been elected a fellow of the Institute for Urban Design in New York City. The fellowship recognizes his contributions to urban design and regional planning.

Two University Relations units together recently won international recognition by bringing home the Council for Advancement and Support of Education's Circle of Excellence Gold Award. The team members include Andrea Dickens, Dana Daubert, John Finazzo, Kathy Henderson, Vivian Lam, Noreen Sotelo and Mike Tomlinson. CASE recognized the collaborative team — the Development Research unit and the Advancement Services unit — for creating an innovative and effective prospect identification program that supported UC Davis fundraising efforts.