In this Laurels column, the Association of American Universities board gets a new vice chair; advancement, communication and marketing projects get honored; and faculty members are honored for work in glass science and technology, and in student advising. Read on for more information.
Dateline UC Davis welcomes news of faculty and staff awards, for publication in Laurels. Send information to dateline@ucdavis.edu.
AAU vice chair
Chancellor Gary S. May has been named vice chair of the Association of American Universities’ board of directors, the group said last week. Johns Hopkins University President Ronald Daniels will serve as chair of the board.
The board of directors leads the Association of American Universities, or AAU, by proposing policy positions to members for consideration, adopting policy positions, determining which universities will become members and more.
AAU advocates for federal policies that help universities earn funding for education, research, financial aid and more. It has 71 member universities.
— Dateline Staff
CASE Best of District VII Awards
UC Davis development, communication and marketing staffers won 17 awards from the regional arm of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, or CASE, that includes universities in Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands and Utah.
- An Extreme Tree Hunt in the Sierra Nevada, in the category Communications (Podcasts, Occasional)
- Launching the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Complex Campaign, in the category Communications (Storytelling)
- CNS Fast-Pitch Competition and Director’s Circle Lunch, in the category Fundraising (Donor Relations & Stewardship Initiatives)
- Building an Internal Marketplace to Preserve Institutional Talent, in the category Leadership (Talent Management Initiatives)
- From Labs to Lives Campaign, in the category Marketing (Marketing Initiatives, More Than 25 Staff)
- Expanding our audience through SEO, in the category Marketing (Marketing Initiatives, More Than 25 Staff)
- Limitless: Launching the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Complex Campaign, in the category Marketing (Microsites, Fundraising)
- Limitless Campaign Launch: UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine, in the category Special Events (In-Person, Single-Day)
- Aggies Uncorked 5 Year Anniversary Celebration, in the category Special Events (In-Person, Single-Day)
- Aggies Uncorked Presents the “Art and Science of Blending Wine,” in the category Special Events (In-Person, Single-Day)
- 9th Annual Leadership Giving Society Gala: Light the Dream, in the category Special Events (In-Person, Single-Day)
- Get Ready with Me: Master’s Regalia, in the category Videos (Student Audience, Short)
- Veterinary Medical Complex Expansion, in the category Videos (Fundraising and Stewardship, Short)
- Grocery Shopping Without UC Davis Research, in the category Videos (News & Research)
- How Generations of Pig Farming Lead to Sustainable Solutions, in the category Videos (Promotional, Long)
- Pig Farmer Makes a Name for Himself by Pioneering Sustainability, in the category Writing (Profile, 1,000+ Words)
- Native Turtles Return to Yosemite After Removal of Invasive Bullfrogs, in the category Writing (Research, Medicine and Science)
UC Davis earned 10 prizes in CASE’s Circle of Excellence Awards, which includes universities from around the world, in August. That count was more than any other public university.
— Dateline Staff
Jacob P. Waletzky Award
David E. Olson, the director of the UC Davis Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics, was recently awarded the Society for Neuroscience Jacob P. Waletzky Award. The award is given to a young scientist whose research has led to significant conceptual and empirical contributions to the understanding of drug addiction.
The Society for Neuroscience honored Olson for his discovery of psychoplastogens, a class of compounds capable of regrowing cortical neurons after a single dose. Olson was the first to demonstrate that psychedelic compounds like LSD, psilocin and ibogaine are effective psychoplastogens. These compounds have demonstrated preclinical and early clinical signs of efficacy for multiple substance use disorders (including opioid and alcohol use disorders) and have the potential to treat co-occurring conditions, such as depression and schizophrenia.
— Greg Watry
George W. Morey Award
Sabyasachi Sen, the Blacutt-Underwood Professor and chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, has received the 2026 George W. Morey Award from the American Ceramic Society, or ACerS.
Presented by the organization’s Glass & Optical Materials Division, the award recognizes outstanding, original contributions to glass science and technology and honors excellence in published experimental or theoretical research by an individual.
His research interests include the development and application of state-of-the-art spectroscopic and rheological techniques to study atomic structure and dynamical phenomena in glasses, glass-forming liquids and ceramics.
— College of Engineering Communications
Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award
NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising has recognized Ali Moghimi, associate professor of teaching in biological and agricultural engineering, with a 2026 Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award. The award honors outstanding individuals and programs whose contributions have advanced academic advising and supported student success in higher education.
The annual NACADA Awards Program celebrates excellence across the profession, honoring advisors, faculty, administrators, and higher education leaders whose work strengthens academic advising and its impact on students and institutions worldwide.
Recipients were selected through a competitive nomination and review process led by members and volunteer leaders from throughout the NACADA community.
— College of Engineering Communications
President of American College of Veterinary Surgeons
Weill School of Veterinary Medicine Professor Denis Marcellin-Little was recently named president of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, or ACVS. Marcellin-Little was elected president-elect in 2025 and assumed the role of president at the 2026 ACVS Surgery Summit.
In his role, Dr. Marcellin-Little will represent ACVS at several national/international meetings, including the ACVS Surgery Summit and the annual meeting of the European College of Veterinary Surgeons. Following his year as President, Dr. Marcellin-Little assumes the role of Chair of the Board of Regents for a year.
— Rob Warren
Media Resources
Cody Kitaura is the editor of Dateline UC Davis and can be reached by email or at 530-752-1932.