Hello Aggies!

She is sweet, sassy, nearly 300 pounds and very into sheep.

Meet the llama who moved into the Department of Animal Science’s sheep barn in July to help guard the flock of 150 from predators.

“She wants to be their friend but they aren’t too sure yet,” Matt Hayes, sheep facilities manager, said. “She’s the new kid trying to make friends on the playground.”

Kenneth W. Tate, a University of California, Davis, professor and UC Cooperative Extension specialist, died unexpectedly on June 5, 2025, while traveling in Oregon. He was 58.

Five UC Davis faculty members, including Jorge Mazza Rodrigues from CA&ES, were selected to address the university’s undergraduate commencements at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento Friday through Sunday (June 13-15).

Since the university’s inception in 1908, faculty and students at UC Davis have pushed the boundaries of knowledge to deliver discoveries that not only enrich lives but also drive economic growth, prosperity and security in California and throughout our nation.

The faculty members selected to speak to thousands of graduating students and guests at the five undergraduate commencements at Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center in June exemplify the best in teaching.

Together, they are contributing to excellence in the field and have won awards for teaching from their academic departments, their colleges, the Academic Senate, UC Davis as a whole and beyond.

The speakers, listed in the chronological order of the ceremonies, are:

Spring is bursting all around us and that same energy can be found across campus in classrooms, labs, auditoriums and other spaces as we all approach the home stretch of the spring quarter.

Spring is in full swing in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and we have already had a full month of activities and engagement with spring break, Picnic Day, the Agave Symposium and several Coffee & Conversations hosted by our development team and departments. All these events give alumni and friends of the college the opportunity to engage with faculty, staff and students and learn more about our research, education and outreach.

Four researchers with the UC Davis Department of Nutrition are being recognized for their contributions to advancing nutrition science and health.

For more than a decade, the Feed the Future Innovation Labs at UC Davis have strengthened America’s leadership in agricultural innovation and reduced global hunger and malnutrition by empowering people in low-income regions worldwide. In response to recent funding decisions made at the federal level, UC Davis will suspend operations of its final two Feed the Future Innovation Labs by the end of April 2025. The campus is exploring all methods for restoring federal funding for these labs and continuing this important work.