UC Davis‘ centennial is being honored with more than just the commemorative sweatshirts sold in the bookstore. The campus is now recognized and honored by the U.S. House of Representatives.
House Resolution 448, unanimously passed by the House, was introduced by Representative Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), to congratulate the university on 100 years of excellence. The bill thanks UC Davis for its contributions to local communities, the State of California and the nation.
“I am consistently impressed with the work being done by researchers at UC Davis and by the students I meet on campus,” Thompson said in a press release.
Thompson, a Cal State Chico alumnus, represents the First District of California, which includes Yolo, Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Lake, Humboldt and Del Norte counties.
The resolution honors UC Davis for touching “everything that matters to us as human beings, from our health to the economy, to what we eat and drink, to how we experience life,” according to the resolution.
Thompson has helped UC Davis by obtaining funding for agricultural and transportation research and continues to help the university gain access to policymakers in the federal government.
“Rep. Thompson has been receptive to listening to UC Davis‘ concerns and bringing those concerns into the national legislature,” said ASUCD President Joe Chatham.
As an advocate of alternative energy and climate change policies, Thompson has been active in promoting research related to these fields. He attended and spoke at the UNITRANS celebration of its 50 millionth rider in October 2008.
“The faculty and staff are working on groundbreaking research in transportation, agriculture and the sciences, which are going to be vital for economic recovery,” Thompson said. “Davis is a leader in helping to create a sustainable future.“
The university’s commitment to protecting the environment, and its ranking among the top five American universities for number of international students, were also celebrated by the Res. 448.
At the groundbreaking for the Robert Mondavi Institute for Food and Wine, Thompson presented Margrit Mondavi with a congressional resolution honoring the late Robert Mondavi. Thompson has also been in contact with the UCD chapter of STAND, and has met with leaders of the group to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.
Authorized by Governor George Pardee in 1905, UC Davis was originally a university farm school for the University of California, Berkeley, and became a full University of California campus in 1959. UC Davis has grown from 40 degree-seeking students from UC Berkeley in 1909, to 24,209 undergraduate students in 2008.
UCD has more professional schools than any other UC campus, and is ranked the 12th best public college by U.S. News and World Report. The campus received $586 million in research awards in 2007-2008, and is ranked fifth in the nation for real-world applicability of its research, according to the UC Davis News Service.
“I think it’s great that UC Davis is being recognized by the U.S. House of Representatives,” Chatham said. “It’s a big step for us to have national recognition, it’s a great way for UC Davis to get our name out there, and to let the country know that we are a high level university.“
GABRIELLE GROW can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
