Retirement Review

Faculty and Extension Specialists with a total of 250 years of UC service have retired from the Department of Animal Science since 1991. Eight people retired in the three VERIP (Voluntary Early Retirement) programs (UC's form of term limits!), and there was one additional retirement. We recognize the many contributions of these nine people to the department, campus and state.

1. Bob Ashmore joined the faculty in 1969 and retired in 1993. Bob's field was muscle biology, and during his early years at Davis, he developed a system of classifying muscle fibers that has become a widely used standard in the field. He worked extensively on characterization of the muscle of cattle with muscular hypertrophy and chickens with muscular dystrophy and developed a rigorous course on laboratory techniques used in animal science research. On his retirement, Bob moved to Arkansas.

2. Don Bath completed both B.S. and Ph.D. degrees at UC Davis and joined the Department as Extension Dairy Nutrition Specialist in 1964, a position he held until his retirement in 1993. He pioneered the use of linear programming, using computers to increase the efficiency of dairy cattle ration formulation, and is an internationally recognized authority in the field. He served as president of the American Dairy Science Association in 1985 and 1986. Don and Gloria continue to live in Davis when not at their place at Clear Lake, and Don continues to assist the department and ADSA with assignments related to the dairy industry.

3. Eric Bradford came to UC Davis from McGill University in Canada in 1957 and retired in 1993 after serving two terms as department chair (1973-1978 and 1990-1992). A geneticist, he carried out studies on the effects of selection for growth rate and multiple births in sheep, using UC's flocks at Davis and the Hopland Field Station to study the interaction between genetic potential and production environment. The latter work was extended to overseas locations through his participation in the Small Ruminant CRSP He was responsible for introducing the Finn sheep into California. He co-taught, with Bill Garrett, courses on animal growth and range livestock production. He also did pilot genetics research with laboratory mice and used them extensively in teaching. Since retirement, Eric has been recalled part time by the college to serve as director of the Animal Agriculture Research Center (AARC).

4. Wally Clark joined the department in 1976 as Professor and Director of UC Davis' Aquaculture (now Aquaculture and Fisheries) Program, with both freshwater (at Davis) and marine (at Bodega Marine Laboratory) components. Wally built that program into one of the world's best known aquaculture research programs. He is also internationally known for his research on reproduction in marine invertebrates. He moved to Bodega in 1986 to devote full time to this research. The 1994 VERIP opportunity from UC coincided with an invitation to head the Aquaculture Program at the University of Florida, and Wally is well into a new career there.

5. John Dunbar's first position with UC was as Farm Advisor in Humboldt County, from 1957 to 1967. After a short time in industry, he returned to the Cooperative Extension service in Imperial County where he became well known for his work on nutrition and management of feedlot cattle. In 1972, he was recruited to the Davis campus as CE Specialist in animal nutrition. He carried out research in cattle nutrition at Davis and at the Sierra Field Station and helped develop least cost computer programs for feeding and management of feedlot cattle, swine, sheep and horses. John continues to live in Davis since his retirement in 1993.

6. Ken Ellis also followed the route from County Farm Advisor (Tehama, 1969-1972) to Campus Specialist (1972-1974), with time out for administrative assignments as County Director in Fresno County (1974-1976) and Regional Director (1982-1988). His field was livestock management, and he had a special talent for working with producer organizations and developing of leadership skills of members of those organizations. He worked closely with the Western States Meat Association and received their WSMA E. Floyd Forbes Award in 1990. He initiated the effort to develop the highly regarded UC Cooperative Extension publications on animal care practices. On his retirement in 1991, Ken and his wife Margaret returned to their native Midwest and are enjoying life on 30 acres in Rockville, Indiana.

7. Bill Garrett came to UC Davis as a graduate student and, after completing his Ph.D. in Nutrition in 1958, served five years as Animal Nutritionist at UCs Imperial Valley Field Station. He then returned to the Davis campus as a faculty member in Animal Science and served as chair of the department from 1987-1990. With colleagues Jim Meyer and Glen Lofgreen, he developed the net energy system of feed evaluation, which has had a major impact on efficiency of animal feed evaluation and ration formulation worldwide. Bill taught senior level courses in animal growth and livestock production throughout his career at Davis. He served as president of the American Society of Animal Science in 1983 and 1984 and received the Morrison Award, the highest honor from ASAS, for distinguished contributions to the organization and the field. Bill retired in 1991; he and his wife Ida continue to live in Davis.

8. Roy Hull was a Specialist in the Agricultural Experiment Station, Department of Animal Science, for 41 years prior to his retirement in 1991. In addition to conducting research on producing beef on irrigated pasture and on livestock management, Roy was in charge of the department's farming operations and livestock facilities management. He was also the department's primary liaison with the DANR Sierra Foothills Research Extension Center field station. Roy and wife Pat continue to live in Davis.

9. Bob Touchberry came to the department in 1981 as chair and Sesnon Professor of Animal Science, following 18 years as a faculty member in the Department of Animal at the University of Illinois and 12 years as head of the Department of Animal Science at the University of Minnesota. During his career, he carried out genetics and breeding search on species from drosophila to dairy cattle. He was perhaps best known for work on the effects of crossbreeding in dairy cattle, in which he studied the effects on production, health and herd life, as well production per lactation. Upon his retirement in 1992, Bob and his wife Carol moved to Ely, Iowa, to live on the farm where Carolyn grew up.

These nine people made diverse and substantial contributions during their many years at Davis. Their retirements (in addition to lowering the mean age of the department academic staff) leave a large void in terms of experience and institutional memory. We wish them all many good years of retirement

A future edition of this newsletter will "highlight" the contributions of staff who have retired since 1991.