An advocate for education policy reform, a fragile X syndrome authority, a watershed management expert and an ambassador for food science advancement abroad were announced Monday as this year's recipients the Academic Senate's Distinguished Public Service Award.

Recipients are Patricia Gándara, Randi Hagerman, Jeff Mount and John Whitaker.

The Academic Senate bestows the public service awards annually to recognize significant contributions to the world, nation, state and community. Recipients will again be recognized May 9 at a campus luncheon to be held in their honor.

After Monday's announcement, Hager-man, who said her public service work has "taken me around the world," noted that "children from other counties are just the same as American children" when it comes to needing neurological treatment.

Whitaker also spoke about the role of international education and outreach, saying that students from other countries are just as eager to learn as American students.

Patricia Gándara

Gándara, a member of the education faculty since 1990, has served the public in ways that bridge scholarship, policy and practice. At their foundation has been her research on the impact of language and ethnicity on educational access and attainment and on reforms to improve educational opportunity.

"She is engaged deeply with educators, policymakers and other leaders in the community to effect significant and positive change in education," School of Education dean Harold Levine wrote in a letter of nomination.

The professor provides leadership in research centers focusing on educational policy and promoting a more equitable distribution of educational resources and opportunities in public schools and universities including Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), a consortium of UC Davis, UC Berkeley and Stanford University; the research working group of UC ACCORD; and the UC Linguistic Minority Research Institute and its Education Policy Center on campus. In 2003, she organized a national conference on the crisis of access to higher education that brought elected officials, other policymakers and academics together.

Gándara often speaks at conferences for academics and for educational practitioners and regularly testifies before legislative committees. Her research is cited in court cases, including the U.S. Supreme Court case dealing with affirmative action at the University of Michigan. And she was part of the academic team that prepared documents and testimony for Williams vs. California, the settlement of which assured that the state has responsibility for providing an adequate education for all students.

Randi Hagerman

Hagerman is a developmental and behavioral pediatrician who holds the Fragile X Endowed Chair at the medical center. She is also the medical director of the M.I.N.D. Institute, which stands for Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

An internationally recognized clinician and researcher in developmental and behavioral pediatricas, Hagerman's area of expertise is fragile X syndrome, which is the most common inherited cause of mental impairment. One in every 260 women in the general population is a carrier of the syndrome, and one in every 800 males in the general population is a carrier. One of the potential outcomes of the syndrome is mental retardation, although a greater number of the affected population has learning disabilites, ADHD or emotional problems. 30 percent of those with fragile X syndrome also have autism.

Hagerman has spent more than 20 years doing clinical work and research on fragile X. She was part of a select team invited in March to the first international conference in Dubai on autism and fragile X syndrome, where she spoke on the commonalities of fragile X syndrome and autism. She continues to be part of research collaborations with the Dubai Autism Center.

Hagerman has written several books on fragile X, co-founded the National Fragile X Foundation in Denver, in 1984, and currently is on the board and the scientific and clinical advisory committee of the National Fragile X Foundation. She is also serves on the advisory board of both the Northern and the Southern California fragile X associations.

Jeff Mount

Mount, a geology professor, is founding director of the UC Davis Watershed Sciences Center. His scientific opinion frequently is sought by the public and policy makers on critical matters of watershed management, river restoration and flood hazards.

Mount is highly regarded by agency and consulting scientists as well as fellow academics. This regard, coupled with his exceptional ability to communicate clearly and candidly on complex geomorphologic subjects, has created great demand for his participation on public advisory and regulatory boards.

He was a member of a National Research Council committee to evaluate endangered species issues in the politically explosive Klamath River Basin. That committee's report is having a major impact on water-management policies within and beyond the basin. He is a member of the first Independent Science Board for the California Bay-Delta Authority (previously known as CALFED), which helps the authority spend billions of public dollars in accordance with scientific knowledge, and of the National Environmental Advisory Board, which advises and oversees the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He is the only scientist on the State Reclamation Board, a body making decisions that affect all of California's rivers, including levee construction and repair.

Mount "has the courage to speak out and tell us what he really thinks is the right thing to do," wrote Betsy Marchand, president of the reclamation board, in supporting his nomination for the public service award. "Dr. Mount is the perfect example of what a modern university professor should be, an excellent scholar applying his talents to the broader needs of society," wrote Johnnie Moore, lead scientist for the Bay-Delta program.

John Whitaker

A professor emeritus of Food Science and Technology, Whitaker has for decades taken teaching and research training programs to international scholars in their own countries. A member of the UC Davis faculty since 1956, he began his international activities in 1968 when he was invited to teach as a visiting professor of chemistry at the prestigious National University of Mexico. Countless other teaching opportunities took him to Mexico, Brazil, Norway, Pakistan, India, England, China, South Korea, Japan, Thailand and Taiwan.

He also spearheaded efforts to establish and strengthen formal programs between UC Davis and international institutions. In 1980, he wrote the first official agreement of cooperation between UC Davis and foreign universities. He also was appointed to several leadership positions with the UC MEXUS program, which facilitates academic exchanges and collaboration between the University of California and Mexico.

Colleagues note that Whitaker never requested compensation for his international teaching or advisory services and when, on occasion, an honorarium was provided, he used those funds to support international scholars or donated the money to the top students in his course. He has served as the faculty advisor for the UC Davis Mexican Student Association since 1989 and for the Thai Student Association since 2002. Over the years, he and his family have frequently opened their Davis home to international students, helping the students become accustomed to using English in everyday life and to acclimate to educational activities on campus.

In summing up Whitaker's efforts, one colleague wrote: "He has helped strengthen science around the world and, in the process, he has brought great recognition and prestige to UC Davis."