Or, as UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and former chair of the Department of Entomology, says: "Most of our colleagues remain so active that we are unaware of their 'retirement' until we see their signature with the suffix emeritus, emerita, or emeriti in an email or another document."
"Meanwhile, we members of the non-emeriti UC Davis faculty are so busy writing grants, manuscripts, and books; performing research and scholarly creative work; teaching; and engaging in critical services to the university and professional societies that we end up with little or no opportunities to get together and thank our faculty colleagues at the time of their retirement."
To honor his UC Davis colleagues, Leal created a video, "Tribute to Our New Emeriti," featuring 24 professors from eight colleges and schools who transitioned to emeriti in 2021-2022.
"The retiring faculty and their predecessors made the university a better place to thrive as we pursue research, scholarly work, and services and fulfill the university's instructional mission," he wrote on his YouTube site.
The video "highlights the accomplishments of those who have allowed us to acknowledge publicly their contributions to the various missions of the university over the last few decades," Leal said.
Leal noted that many "emeriti continue to make relevant contributions to UC Davis, including outstanding achievements in research and scholarly creative work, teaching and mentorship, services to professional societies, and outreach."
In his introductory remarks, Leal called attention to emeritus professor and medical entomologist Robert Washino, via text and images. Washino, who turned 90 this year, "epitomizes how emeriti continue to be engaged with the UC Davis mission," Leal said. "When I interviewed for a faculty position here, about 23 years ago, Bob was chairing the Search Committee."
Washino, who holds a doctorate in entomology from UC Davis, joined the faculty in 1967, chaired the entomology department from 1981-1987, and served as associate dean in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CA&ES) from 1987 until his retirement in 1993. From 1996 to 2001, he served as special assistant to the CAES Dean. During "retirement," he also directed the Center for Vector-borne Diseases, "which laid the foundation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-sponsored Pacific Southwest Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases. Leal serves as one of the principal investigators at the Center, now led by Chris Barker of the School of Veterinary Medicine and the Department of Entomology and Nematology.
Also during his "retirement," Washino chaired the entomology department chair in 2005-2006. "To date, Bob remains as a 'go-to-person' for guidance in our vector biology activities at UC Davis," Leal pointed out. "Bob is an integral part of the UC Davis Emeriti Association that provides crucial support for excellence at UC Davis."
In the video, Leal covers these emeriti:
- College of Biological Sciences: Harris Lewin and Sharon Strauss
- College of Engineering: Bruce Gates
- College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences: Mark Grismer, Mark Schwartz, Andrew Waterhouse, Beth Ober, Steven Morgan, Edward DePeters and Julian Alston
- School of Medicine: Jay Solnick and Fredric Gorin
- School of Veterinary Medicine: Laurel Gershwin and Frank J. M. Verstraete
- College of Letters and Science: Sandra Carlson, Daniel Cox, Lynnette Hunter, Robert Feenstra, Geerat Vermeij, Robert Bayley and Gina Werfel
- School of Law: Judy Cusumano Janes
- Graduate School of Management: Brad Barber and Chih-Ling Tsai
In closing, Leal commented: "When you learn of a retiring faculty member, please take the opportunity to thank them for their accomplishments and for making the university a better place for us to thrive as we pursue research and scholarly work, services, and fulfill the instructional mission of the university."
He also mentioned the New Emeriti Lecture series in the fall, winter, and spring quarters. "Harris Lewin will deliver the inaugural lecture on Dec. 7, 2022. The winter lecture will be presented by Geerat Vermeij on Feb. 15, 2023. The series ends with the spring lecture by Sharon Strauss on April 19, 2023. All lectures are at 5 p.m., Pacific Time (in person and via ZOOM)."