A first-generation college graduate, immigrant and UC Davis alumna stood before a crowd of about 800 students and family members at the University Credit Union Center on May 16, offering a powerful reminder that higher education is not reserved for a select few.
By the time Aidín Castillo Mazantini, executive director of the UC Immigrant Legal Services Center, finished sharing her story as keynote speaker of the Avanza Rising Scholars Conference, the audience was on its feet.
The IDEA presents the 2026 AAFSA Aggie Acknowledgements, a space to share the outstanding accomplishments of our faculty and staff. Through Aggie Acknowledgements, the African American Faculty and Staff Association (AAFSA) at the UC Davis and UC Davis Health campuses invites the community to recognize and celebrate one another.
When Julia Lee volunteered with the Fostering the Future program as a UC Davis undergraduate student, she saw it as an opportunity to give back.
Years earlier when she was in high school, Lee attended a summer educational program that introduced her to health care careers and allowed her to shadow professionals in a hospital setting. The experience helped transform a general interest in medicine into a clear career goal.
In June 2026, two brothers, Matt and Andrew Mokski, completed their four-year academic journeys at UC Davis. Andrew graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering, while his older brother Matt graduated from the Redwood SEED Scholars Program, California’s first four-year, fully-inclusive university living and learning college program for students with intellectual disabilities.
Faculty, staff, and graduate student instructors are invited to apply for the new UC Dialogue Fellows Program from the University of California National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement. The fellowship provides $5,000 to support teaching practices that help students develop dialogue skills and engage across differences.
Inclusive Excellence shares the following letter written jointly by the Muslim Faculty and Staff Association (MFSA) employee resource groups on the Davis campus and UC Davis Health. In moments of profound grief, our Principles of Community remind us to “strive to build and maintain a culture based on mutual respect and caring.”
What words of encouragement, welcome or kindness helped shape your Aggie experience?
The Words of Affirmation campaign invites graduating students to share messages with the incoming class of UC Davis students. Whether it’s advice you wish you’d heard, encouragement that helped you through a difficult moment or words that made you feel like you belonged, your message can help welcome the next generation of Aggies.
Selected submissions may be featured in welcome events, digital displays and university communications throughout the fall.
The UC Davis Center for Reducing Health Disparities recently launched the Cultura for Resilience website, a new online hub highlighting resources, trainings, and project history connected to the California Reducing Disparities Project (CRDP). Since 2016, the center has served as a Technical Assistance Provider for seven Latino community-based organizations implementing Community Defined Evidence Practices (CDEPs) aimed at reducing mental health disparities in Latino communities across California.
The Jewish Culture, Heritage, and Identity Faculty and Staff Association (JCHAIFSA) is one of UC Davis’ newest Employee Resource Groups. Chai means 'Life' in Hebrew, and it is widely understood as a symbol that expresses the importance and value of life itself within the Jewish tradition. The group's name, JCHAI, reflects this deep Jewish value.
