1974 - Jack de Golia

Jack de Golia (BA, dramatic art, ’74) has been working in his "post-career career" as a voice actor since 2009. An audio novel he narrated, Noble Chaos, received a 2020 Best Team Award from Audio Book Reviewers. The book, set at the University of Kansas in 1969–70, brought back vibrant memories for him of his freshman year at UC Davis. He has narrated more than 140 audiobooks, all available at Audible.com.

1997 - Scott Lay

Scott Lay (B.A., political science, ’97; J.D. ’00), author of California politics newsletter The Nooner and former leader of the nonprofit Community College League of California, died in his Sacramento home in early September 2021. He was 48.

Read an In Memoriam article about him. 

1977 - Cynthia Friend

Cynthia Friend (B.S., chemistry, ’77), a professor of chemistry and materials science at Harvard University, was recently named incoming president of the Kavli Foundation. The foundation supports the advancement and public understanding of science, establishing research institutes at universities and awarding $1 million Kavli Prizes in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience.

1994 – Tom Turrentine

Tom Turrentine (M.A. ’91, Ph.D. ’94, anthropology), the founding director of the UC Davis Plug-in Hybrid & Electric Vehicle Research Center and a longtime researcher in the Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS), died unexpectedly on June 2.

1967 - Deborah Nichols Poulos

Deborah Nichols Poulos (B.A., English, ’67; Cred., ’68), a retired elementary school teacher, wrote The Conscious Teacher (Page Publishing, 2019). Part memoir and part how-to, the book tells her story of not being able to read until she was in junior high school and offers effective classroom strategies for educators and parents. She taught for many years in the Davis Joint Unified School District. 

1981 - Bradford Kane

Political analyst Bradford Kane (B.A., international relations, ’81) wrote "Pitchfork Populism: Ten Political Forces That Shaped an Election and Continue to Change America" (Prometheus Books, October 2019). Since the book’s release, he has been interviewed on C-SPAN programs. Kane is the founding director of the Bipartisan Bridge, an initiative to advance cooperation across political parties.

1972 - Ken White

Ken White (B.A., history and English '72, Cred. '73) has written a new book, "Brighter Day." Set in Davis in 1969, the fictional memoir is a sequel to his first novel, "Getaway Day."

2018 - Jodi Connelly

Jodi Connelly (M.F.A., art, '18)  has been awarded the first ever Ali Youssefi artist residency award. The award includes studio space and a solo exhibition (December 2019 - February 2020) at the Verge Center for the Arts in Sacramento and a monthly stipend.  Connelly’s work investigates the complexities of the human relationship to nature and the environment.

1990 - Chris Ransick

Chris Ransick (M.A., English/creative writing, ’90), author of six books of poetry and fiction and Denver’s Poet Laureate from 2006 to 2010, died in early November. He last book, mummer prisoner scavenger thief, was published this year not long after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Ransick, 57, taught English and writing at Arapahoe Community College near Denver for 25 years and for 15 years taught at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop.