A department chair, a program leader and more are included in this week’s edition of the Org Chart – read on to find more information.

Dateline UC Davis welcomes news of appointments of various types for faculty and staff for publication in the Organization chart (previously titled Transitions). Send information to [email protected].

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has announced Professor Saif Islam as its new chair, effective January 1. He succeeds Distinguished Professor André Knoesen.

This is Islam’s second time as department chair, having previously served from 2017 to 2020. He is excited to apply the lessons learned from his first term to enhance the department’s potential as a national leader for electrical and computer engineering in specifically in meeting the challenges set by the CHIPS and Science Act, which aims to boost domestic semiconductor production in America by 50%.

Interim Executive Director of Student Health and Counseling Services

Paul Kim, who has served as director of Student Health and Counseling Services, or SHCS, since March 2019, has assumed the role of interim executive director of Student Health and Counseling Services, effective Oct. 14. Business Pablo Reguerín made the announcement on October 11.

Kim succeeds Margaret Trout, who will begin a new journey at the University of Oregon as associate vice president and executive director of University Health Services. Her last day at UC Davis will be Dec. 6.

As interim executive director, Kim will continue to support SHCS’ primary goals of supporting student access to community services, promoting staff satisfaction and retention, and ensuring the effectiveness of the resources that are provided.

Kim joined counseling services in 2009 as one of the founding counselors of its Community Counseling Network, or CAN. Working with the Cross Cultural Center and the Department of Asian American Studies, he helped provide mental health care to students and improve access for students from historically underrepresented communities. In 2014, Kim became the Director of Multicultural Services and provided oversight of the CAN program.

Prior to joining UC Davis, Kim spent five years at Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga as the Coordinator of Asian Pacific American Student Programs, a detention center for which she advocated as a student leader. He earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies in 1999 and a master’s degree in counseling in 2003, both from Saint Mary’s, before earning his doctorate in clinical psychology from the Wright Institute in Berkeley in 2008.

Later this quarter, Vice-Chancellor Reguerín will launch a recruitment drive to fill the position permanently.

— Julie Huang

Associate Director of the Animal Care Research and Teaching Program

The Office of Research has announced the appointment of Betty Ma as Associate Director of the Research and Teaching Animal Care Programeffective September 16. Ma will serve as Director of Campus Veterinary Services as well as Director of the Traditional Laboratory Animal Medicine Residency Program.

Ma will facilitate the management and strategic harmonization of the distributed operations of over 1 million square meters of operational animal space at over 50 different vivariums. She will report to Rhonda Oatesassociate vice chancellor for Research and Teaching Animal Care Program.

The UC Davis Animal Care Program is one of the largest in the country in size, number of species, and diversity of research programs. Campus Veterinary Services provides veterinary care for spontaneous illness, research-related illness, and research support for most research and teaching animals in the UC Davis Animal Research and Teaching Program.

Strawberry Breeding Program Director

Mitchell Feldmann, assistant professor and researcher in genetics, is the new director of the Strawberry breeding program, an internationally recognized public program that has released more than 70 patented varieties throughout its history.

program at UC Davis’ College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences has been breeding strawberry varieties since the 1930s and is instrumental in providing climate, disease and pest resistant varieties to the $2.97 billion industry, which is among the first ten crops in California in terms of sales.

Feldmann, who earned his Ph.D. at UC Davis in 2020 and became an assistant professor in the Department of Plant Sciences in 2023, will oversee a staff of more than 20, ranging from high school interns to undergraduate and graduate students to postdoctoral researchers and professional scientists. He assumes the new role following the retirement of Distinguished Professor Steven Knapp, who has served as the program’s director since 2015 after decades in academia and industry.

“Mitchell Feldmann is an accomplished strawberry scientist and has already contributed greatly to the Strawberry Breeding Program,” said Helene Dillard, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “We are excited to see him move forward and expand on the exceptional foundation that Steve has cultivated. This is an important resource for the public, industry and growers.”

Faculty Advisor for Public Scholarship and Engagement

Associate Professor Clare CannonDepartment of Human Ecology, has been named faculty advisor to Michael Rios, vice chancellor for public scholarship in the Office of Public Scholarship and Engagement. The one-year appointment recognizes Cannon’s leadership and expertise in fostering community engagement and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Cannon has collaborated with California communities, regulators, and local governments on research investigating the intersection of environmental injustice and health. A recent project called California Community Airbuilds community capacity to identify and analyze hazardous air pollutants in Sacramento, the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and San Diego.

In the role of faculty advisor, Cannon will lead the planning and development of a faculty liaison program for Office of Public Scholarships and Employment. The program will aim to provide direct support to teachers of colleges, schools and departments through individual consultations, workshops on merit and promotion processand collaborating with departments seeking evaluation guidelines for public scholarships. Additionally, Cannon will guide faculty in finding resources for engaged research and teaching that involve collaborative and reciprocal partnerships between the university and an external community.

First Generation Initiative Faculty Leader

College Education recently named Jeanette B. Ruiz, associate professor of teaching, to lead The first generation initiative in its next phase.

Ruiz, a teaching associate professor in the Department of Communication in the College of Letters and Sciences, seeks to expand resources for first-generation faculty at UC Davis with quarterly workshops, research-focused journal clubs and teaching first-generation students one spring. first generation forum and more.

“This is an opportunity to help teachers become better teachers, mentors and champions for the success of our students,” Ruiz said. “As first-generation faculty, we have the unique opportunity to share our own struggles with students, creating a sense of community in all first-generation experiences—whether with students or alumni. We are always the first generation, and by connecting through these common challenges, we can foster a deeper understanding and support for each other.”