UC Davis' Staff Assembly recently handed out giant checks for up to $1,500 to the first three recipients of scholarships for children of staff members.

"We are very excited to start this program," Staff Assembly Chair Lin King told an audience of about 75 people who gathered Oct. 24 in MU II at the Memorial Union for the assembly's fall meeting.

Staff Assembly has long given out scholarships to staff, but never to family dependents. The idea of a UC-sponsored fee waiver or tuition reimbursement program for staff dependents has been floating around for years, and King said he continues to advocate for the proposal at the campus and systemwide levels.

But, tired of waiting, UC Davis' Staff Assembly decided to forge ahead on its own, to do what it could to help students attend the university where their parents work.

"We are trying to make a difference and show the significant value of this program for staff," King said.

For now, eligibility is limited to students who attend UC Davis. In the future, King said, depending on fundraising efforts, the program may be opened to UC Davis staff dependents who attend other UC campuses.

The first year's scholarship competition drew 30 applications, and a committee conducted a blind evaluation — meaning the committee members did not know the applicants' names or the parents' names or where they worked on campus. The review took into account the students' scholarship, leadership, financial need and community service, as well as their parents' campus service.

"We want the recipients and their parents to be committed to UC Davis, to make these scholarships special for UC Davis," King said earlier this year when announcing the new scholarships.

The committee ranked the applicants and decided to divide $3,000 among the top three, with the top ranked candidate getting $1,500 and the other two receiving $750 awards.

The recipients:

• Robert Vyvlecka, freshman, a Woodland High School graduate, engineering major, $1,500. He is the son of Bob and Teresa Vyvlecka of Woodland. Teresa, office manager for Advising Services, is a 25-year employee of UC Davis. "My husband and I are very thankful to the Staff Assembly committee for giving our son this generous award," she said by e-mail. "We are also proud and grateful to have our son receive one of the first staff dependent scholarships."
• Kyle Buchoff, freshman, a Davis High School graduate, undeclared major, $750. He is the son of Laurie Greene and Jeff Buchoff, both of Davis. Greene has worked on campus for five years, all but one in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, where she is executive assistant to the chair. "I am so proud of Kyle and extremely grateful for the Staff Assembly scholarship," Greene said.
• Melanie Ivie, senior, a Woodland High School graduate, psychology major, $750. She is the daughter of Lynn and Jeanette Ivie of Woodland. Lynn Ivie is a 29-year employee of the university. He is a physical plant mechanic for Student Housing, working mainly in the Regan residence halls. "We are all very excited about receiving this scholarship," Lynn Ivie said by e-mail.

King thanked people at the fall meeting for wearing their Staff Assembly lapel pins, noting that the assembly uses pin sale proceeds to help support the new scholarship program. The pins cost $5 apiece; checks should be made payable to the UC regents and sent via campus mail to Staff Assembly or delivered to the assembly's office in the Human Resources Administration Building (Orchard Road just west of La Rue Road).

Further support for the scholarship program comes from fundraising associated with Staff Assembly's annual Thank Goodness for Staff celebration. This money formerly went to the staff scholarship fund, which began in 1981 with $7,500 in donations that came in as memorials to Margene Orzalli, a longtime employee. Today, interest revenue alone from this fund provides the money for staff scholarships, King said.

Last year Staff Assembly awarded nine staff scholarships worth a total of $5,000. Claudia Chaidez, UC Davis Extension, received $1,000, and the others received $500 each: Katie Bell, Center for Comparative Medicine; Connie Ann Daugherty, Agricultural and Natural Resources, Central Coast and South Region; Gwendolyne Gonzales, California Animal Food Health and Safety; Celina Rodriguez, Chicana/o Studies; Jeremy Spencer, Law Library; Carrie Stafford, Offices of the Chancellor and Provost; Robin Tapia, College of Letters and Science; and Estefany Villasenor, Animal Science.

NEXT ROUND Staff Assembly is now gearing up for its next round of scholarships. Alyssa Varela, Staff Assembly coordinator, gave this timetable: • Staff scholarships—Applications available Jan. 7, due by Feb. 4. • Staff dependent scholarships—Applications available Jan. 21, due by Feb. 18. Varela said the applications will be available online, staff.ucdavis.edu. Applications will be due by 5 p.m. on the deadline day, to the Staff Assembly office in the Human Resources Administration Building (Orchard Road just west of La Rue Road). For more information, contact Varela, (530) 752-0988 or aavarela@ucdavis.edu.