Much has changed on the UC Davis campus since the first group of faculty members arrived a century ago to teach future farmers in courses such as animal husbandry, dairy manufacturing and horticulture.

But the university’s mission to provide excellence in teaching, research and public service remains the same. By hiring leading faculty members in their respective fields, UC Davis is able to achieve that goal, said Bruce White, interim vice provost for academic personnel.

Dateline welcomes 109 new Academic Senate and Cooperative Extension hires in an insert this issue. Academic Senate hires include faculty in the professorial series (tenure-track positions), the clinical professor series, and the professor-in-residence series.

“We’re attracting some of the best, bright minds that are available and winning out over other top-notch universities in getting them here,” White said.

He credits the university’s strong academic environment with a focus on multidisciplinary research in being able to recruit individuals who make an impact in their research and teaching. New faculty members offer expertise in a wide swath of fields — conservation biology, political psychology, finance, animal health and food safety, and applying green energy to transportation, to name a few.

“Ten or 20 years ago, research questions in many fields could be addressed by a single individual,” White said. “But today, the problems are much more complex and need expertise coming from starkly contrasting researchers. Davis does a great job of reaching across departments and disciplines to tackle issues in different areas and prospective faculty members are certainly attracted to that.”

The campus continues to be a leader among national universities with its Work Life Balance program for maternity/adoption leaves and modified duties (and acknowledged again this year by an Alfred P. Sloan Award).

“Davis has set the standard for the rest of the UC system in this area and leads the country in these issues,” White said.

The Partners for Opportunities Program, which offers assistance for a partner or spouse of a recruit who is looking for employment either on campus as faculty or staff or in the greater Sacramento region, continues to play a key role in bringing in outstanding candidates.

White noted that UC Davis continues to successfully recruit highly sought after underrepresented research faculty with outstanding academic records. This year, approximately 38 percent of new hires are women and 26 percent are faculty of color.

“The new faculty members I’ve had the pleasure of meeting so far felt they had scored big in coming to UC Davis,” White said. “We feel the same.”

Trina Wood is a freelance writer.

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