Greta McLain's mural honoring George Floyd

Mural of Remembrance

Just days after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police in May, alumna and artist Greta McLain, with Cadex Herrera and Xena Goldman, created a mural at the intersection where he died. In the weeks following his death, the mural went viral online as Black Lives Matter protests erupted worldwide.
Maria Manetti Shrem and Jan Shrem.

Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Establish Premier Artist-in-Residence Program at UC Davis

  • by Kristin Ede

The UC Davis College of Letters and Science's Department of Art and Art History is growing, thanks to a generous $750,000 gift from Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem to formally establish The California Studio: Manetti Shrem Artist Residencies. The exciting new program will bring preeminent visiting art scholars and innovative artists to campus from around the world over the next three years.

Big Ideas at UC Davis

Big Ideas for Tomorrow’s Challenges

Innovative projects aim to transform the future

UC Davis’ Big Ideas are forward-thinking, interdisciplinary programs and projects that build upon the strengths of the university to make a better world. The College of Letters and Science is lead and partner on several initiatives that will help shape the rest of this century and beyond. Here we share the visions of College faculty champions and researchers engaged in five of the Big Ideas.

Tree with mirror, student art project

Student's Art Reflects Climate Change Concerns

Walking around campus, you see sunlight unexpectedly reflect off an oak tree. A ginkgo tree appears to have a viewing port that lets you see straight through it. Your face appears in the bark of a magnolia.

Art and psychology student Maxine Aiello, “overwhelmed and scared” by climate change, created “If Trees Could Talk” for the art class “Miniature and the Gigantic,” taught by Professor Robin Hill.

Gorman Collections Lab simulated

Gorman Museum Move

  • by Donna Justice
Volunteer leadership is helping to ensure the longevity of the venerable C.N. Gorman Museum and its smooth transition to a new home on campus. Longtime arts champions Bill and Nancy Roe recently pledged $250,000 toward its expansion.
Design major at UC Davis explains a project.

Designing It Forward

  • by Donna Justice
Ronald Whitney-Whyte (B.S., design, ’75) has made a planned gift of $1 million to the College to support undergraduates majoring in design. Whitney-Whyte’s gift will establish two endowed funds, one to provide students with supplies and the other to support scholarships for junior and senior design majors.
Irene Ezran, alumna of UC Davis College of Letters and Science

Scholarship Helped Alumna Take First Steps to Dream Career

  • by Donna Justice
Irene Ezran (B.A., international relations and Spanish, ’18) has had a lifelong fascination with international politics. With her sights set on a career as a foreign service officer, and with financial support from the Richard and Carolyn Palmer Scholarship, Ezran took her first summer internship at the United Nations. 
Global Tea Initiative UC Davis College of Letters and Science

College’s Global Tea Initiative Brews International Support

Just three years old, the UC Davis Global Tea Initiative for the Study of Tea Culture and Science (GTI) is already gaining recognition as a major player in the world of tea.

Tapping the growing enthusiasm of researchers, tea culture devotees, growers, and industry leaders, GTI is taking the next step toward making UC Davis as much a powerhouse in tea research as it is in wine, beer, and coffee studies.

A newly formed GTI Tea Advisory Committee brings together industry leaders committed to developing the initiative.

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