Two UC Davis faculty members, Martin Kenney and Kevin Johnson, are among 10 faculty members around the system who received awards last week for outstanding leadership on UC President Janet Napolitano’s initiatives.

Kenney

Johnson

She cited Kenney, professor of community and regional development, for documenting the economic benefits of UC innovations; and Johnson, dean of the School of Law, for his work on behalf of undocumented students.

Napolitano announced the winners in her remarks at the Board of Regents meeting. Each receives $3,000 with the Award for Outstanding Leadership in Presidential Initiatives and will be honored by Napolitano at a dinner in early 2016.

“The brainpower and creativity of these 10 faculty members represent one more proof point of the tremendous difference the University of California makes in our state and beyond,” Napolitano said. “I look forward to congratulating them in person when we recognize their achievements in the New Year."

Napolitano’s initiatives include increasing student access and diversity, enhancing campus entrepreneurialism, achieving carbon neutrality, promulgating healthy and sustainable food systems around the world, and furthering UC’s engagement with Mexico.

Here’s some of what UC had to say about Kenney and Johnson, in a news release:

• Kenney, working through Napolitano’s initiative on innovation, entrepreneurship and technology commercialization, is creating an extensive data set on startups that have been based on UC research. He’s previously focused is research on the economic impact of UC innovation, and this new data set will form the basis of an economic impact report commissioned by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute.

• Johnson, a member of the President’s Advisory Council on Undocumented Students, proposed the creation of the UC Undocumented Legal Services Center, which launched in November 2014, providing support to undocumented students at UC Davis and six other campuses (those without law schools). The center offers access to the legal system for undocumented students and also serves as a training ground for law students.

Read the UC news release.

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