For her second career, Vicky Benzing ’80 went in a completely different direction. Benzing worked as a vice president at semiconductor manufacturing company Novellus Systems before going part-time and then retiring in 2012. When she decided to retire, she became an aerosport pilot.
After a four-decade career as a caricature artist, Karen Calden Fulk (B.A., art, ’65) is creating caricature-type paintings and sculptures, including a recent ceramic work honoring UC Davis art professor emeritus Wayne Thiebaud.
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."
Three College of Letters and Science alumni and two supporters will receive UC Davis Alumni Awards. They are among eight alumni and friends being honored by the Cal Aggie Alumni Association (CAAA) for their contributions in many fields and to the university. The awards will be formally presented at the Alumni Awards Gala on Feb. 7, 2020.
In 1985 Carol Burrill held her baby girl, Kate Burrill, in her arms as she posed for a graduation photo next to the ARC Pavilion. She had just earned her master’s degree in linguistics. Twenty-two years later, Kate stood in the same spot for a photo the day she graduated in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in the same field.
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.
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.
2019 Maurice Prize for Fiction:
Peter Shahrokh (English, M.A. ’75; Ph.D. ’83; MBA ’99)
I started my winning novel, A Wind Will Come, 30 years ago. The premise was that a professional engineer had chosen to become a chef, and he was then lured by the promise of owning his own restaurant by an ex-girlfriend if he found her lost lover. The lover was a psychopath, and that made things a little interesting. After I’d done the first two chapters, I couldn’t figure out where I was going with it. Ten years later I picked it up again and finished the last three chapters.
Tavarus Blackmon (M.F.A., art, ’18) has been making art his entire life. First comics as a kid, then experimental music, tattoos, video and film, short stories, poetry, painting, and now art that brings it all together. His work gives viewers a noisy, candy-colored, loop-the-loop ride that journeys to darker places, and tackles issues of poverty, labor, and violence.