A pictorial history of UC Davis was released Jan. 14. The work, compiled by Dennis Dingemans and Ann Foley Scheuring, is entitled University of California, Davis and is the latest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s Campus History Series.
“The UC Davis book is a perfect representation of our Campus History series,” said Suzanne Lynch, Arcadia Publishing sales and marketing specialist. “The book celebrates the history of generations of students, professors and events through vintage images and descriptive captions. With their extensive knowledge of the university’s history, [Dingemans] and [Foley] were the perfect authors for the book.”
The book features 230 photographs obtained from 19 sources.
The UC Davis University Library Special Collections published 142 images, making it the primary source for the pictorial history.
According to Dingemans, the idea for University of California, Davis came from an Arcadia book about Woodland. He said the success of the book reflected an interest in Arcadia products applied to the local history scene.
“I was interested in working on the pictorial history of UC Davis because when I wrote Abundant Harvest, the [UC Davis] narrative history (2001), I was unable to include as many pictures as I would have liked. While the narrative is detailed and comprehensive, it takes more sustained concentration to read. A pictorial history is more immediately accessible and can trigger memories more quickly,” Scheuring said.
The book is available for purchase online, at Davis and UC Davis bookstores or through Arcadia Publishing.
“I hope the book will appeal to campus people who wouldn’t read a longer book and help them appreciate just what a rich and diversified place UC Davis is,” Scheuring said.
University of California, Davis is expected to have greater sales during Spring Quarter due to graduations and weekend festivals that attract alumni and visitors to UC Davis.
“The book is dedicated to the university’s librarians — past and present,” Dingemans said.
John Skarstad, a university archivist, assisted in compiling images for University of California, Davis.
“The book provides a handy visual reference to the historical campus and shows many of the events and traditions that have shaped the [UC Davis] experience,” he said in an email interview. “You will be tempted to race through this short book. Don’t. These are images to savor.”
LILIANA NAVA OCHOA can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
