In this Laurels column, Dateline UC Davis is presenting news about awards to the university’s dining program, a program with the Arboretum and Public Garden and an award that honors diversity in engineering. 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.

National Association of College & University Food Services awards

Student Housing and Dining has won four awards from the National Association of College & University Food Services, or NACUFS, an organization that supports and promotes excellence in collegiate dining through educational programming and professional networking.

This year, UC Davis won the following awards:

• Grand Prize and gold Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards, in the category Employee Development Program of the Year — Latitude’s nine-week intensive Culinary Training Program teaches food service workers the basic culinary fundamentals they need to successfully apply, interview and be promoted to a cook.
• Silver Nutrition Award, in the category Special Diet Program — Student Housing and Dining Service’s Residential Dining Dietary Support Program was developed by Registered Dietitian Emily Ortega to provide meal accommodations to students with food allergies or other dietary restrictions.
• Bronze Loyal E. Horton Dining Award, in the category Residential Special Event of the Year — Latitude’s Lunar New Year celebration with Chef Martin Yan honored the holiday through a special menu, cooking demos and decorations.

— Kristen Stephens

Esogbue-May Award in Engineering Diversity

Doreen Joseph, a Ph.D. candidate in computer science, is the inaugural recipient of the Professor Emeritus Augustine O. Esogbue and Chancellor Gary May Endowed Award in Engineering Diversity.

The award was established in 2023 with a gift from Augustine O. Esogbue, professor emeritus in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and a longtime mentor to Chancellor Gary S. May. It recognizes graduate students who share a passion for excellence and demonstrated commitment to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the field of engineering and computer science, especially through dedication to enhancing UC Davis' recruiting, retaining and graduating Black Ph.D. students in STEM fields.

—  Molly Bechtel

American Public Gardens Association awards

UC Davis has received two recent honors from the American Public Gardens Association: a Program Excellence Award for the Arboretum and Public Garden's Learning by Leading™ program, and an Honorary Life Member Award for Kathleen Socolofsky, assistant vice chancellor and director of the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.

Launched to engage students in hands-on environmental leadership roles, the Learning by Leading™ program – built on the belief that students learn best through leading – offers a unique blend of applied training and personal development. Students take on significant and growing responsibilities, from urban tree stewardship to habitat restoration, all while gaining invaluable, real-world experience.

Read more about the program here.

Meanwhile, Socolofsky received praise from university leaders.

“Kathleen is an outstanding and visionary leader who has led multiple strategic initiatives at UC Davis,” said Mary Croughan, provost and executive vice chancellor at UC Davis. “She always seeks innovative and creative ways to elevate and advance the purpose of the Arboretum and Public Garden, and fulfill the teaching, research and service mission of the university. This award rightfully recognizes the significant benefits of her work in the lives of individuals and in the community as a whole.”

Read more about Socolofsky’s major accomplishments here.