Honorees recognized for positively contributing
to student experience


Six former UC Davis faculty and staff members will be honored
during a second round of building namings at the student
residential complex The Colleges at LaRue.


Buildings and courts in the complex are being named for
faculty and staff members who have contributed in outstanding
ways to the undergraduate experiences of UC Davis students.


In this second round of namings, five former campus employees
-- Isao Fujimoto, Lucille Hurley, Sumner Morris, Frank
Ogasawara and David Risling -- will have buildings within a
residential court named after them, and the complex's
community center will be named for Merna Villarejo.


A ceremony officially honoring the six latest honorees will
take place in the fall, said Bob Franks, interim vice
chancellor for student affairs.


"This naming is a small way of extending our thanks to these
individuals for all that they have meant to so many students
over the years," said Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef. "UC Davis
will be forever in their debt, and we would like our
gratitude to be known in tangible, long-term fashion."


Isao Fujimoto helped found the Asian American studies program
at UC Davis and was twice a finalist for the campus's
Distinguished Teaching Award. The former senior lecturer in
Asian American studies retired in 1994 and was known for
firing the imaginations of students, encouraging them to
apply what they learn -- regardless of their majors -- to
improving the quality of life in their communities.


Fujimoto has received the Excellence in Instruction award
from the Rural Sociology Society and the College of
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences' Outstanding Faculty
Advisor award. He continues to teach community development
courses in his retirement, including UC Davis courses taught
in San Francisco and Japan.


Lucille Hurley, a professor of nutrition and internal
medicine who died in 1988, was a founding member of the
nutrition department in the 1950s. A former chair of the home
economics department and acting chair of the nutrition
department, Hurley was known for her ability to instill in
students a love of nutrition and nutrition research.


She was known especially as a role model for women, showing
students they could achieve their highest goals and not
sacrifice family. A world authority on linkages between
dietary deficiencies in expectant mothers and birth defects,
Hurley received the Academic Senate's Faculty Research
Lecturer award in 1987. Many students who studied under her
are now leaders in the field of nutrition, including Carl
Keen, the current chair of the department.


Sumner Morris joined UC Davis in 1958 as the first full-time
director of the campus counseling center. He also was a
lecturer in applied behavioral sciences on campus. Morris
retired in 1988 and died in 1994. On his retirement, he
received a Lifetime Service award from the Mental Health
Association of Yolo County.


Morris also was a founding member of Davis' Human Relations
Commission, formed in 1983 in the wake of the stabbing death
of Vietnamese student Thong Hy Huynh to foster mutual respect
and tolerance among people. Active on campus, he made
numerous presentations in residence halls and was an advocate
for ways the campus could assist students' personal growth
and learning.


Frank Ogasawara was for decades known to avian sciences
students as the flag bearer for their major. The former
professor died June 8. He specialized in poultry and avian
reproductive physiology courses and was a noted worldwide
authority in turkey production. He also helped found the
campus's raptor center for the treatment and study of injured
birds of prey. He was an adviser to the Avian Sciences Club,
and the major adviser.


Ogasawara was known for not only guiding students' academic
paths, but also making sure that they had money to pay their
rent, a place to spend holiday meals and jobs upon
graduation. He retired in 1983 after 24 years of service to
the campus.


David Risling was the founder of Native American studies at
UC Davis and the founder of DQ University. The senior
lecturer, who retired in 1991, was a recipient of the
Academic Senate's Distinguished Public Service Award. He was
a founding member of several major Native American
organizations, including the National Indian Education
Association, the California Indian Legal Services and the
California Indian Education Association.


In addition, Risling has been a key player in legislation on
behalf of Indian people. On the state level, he pushed for
the Native American Heritage Commission. At the national
level, he pushed for the Native American Grave Protection and
Repatriation Act. He was also an original adviser to the Ford
Foundation for setting up a fellowship program for
minorities.


Merna Villarejo joined the UC Davis faculty in 1975 and
served as associate dean for undergraduate studies in the
Division of Biological Sciences from 1988-1993. An emeritus
professor of microbiology, she retired in 1999.


Her contributions have included: leading a biological
sciences effort to revamp the undergraduate curriculum;
creating a nationally recognized Biology Undergraduate
Scholars Program; creating a model program of collaboration
with community college biology faculty and a model transfer-
student program for students in the biological sciences; and
serving as a local principal investigator and statewide
director of the California Subject Matter Project. She was
the first recipient of the Undergraduate Mentorship award
from the vice provost's office.


Several more buildings remain to be named, and at least three
more rounds of building-namings are planned, Franks said.