Generous McOmie Gift Recognized

The Department of Animal Science hosted a luncheon to honor Marylou and Ken Horn during their visit to campus on October 30, 2002. Marylou is the niece of the late Lorenzo “Rennie” McOmie who with his late wife Judith made a large gift to UC Davis and in particular to the Department of Animal Science. Coincidently, Marylou was the college roommate of Ida Garrett, wife of Animal Science Professor Emeritus Bill Garrett, and the Garretts helped to arrange the Horns' visit to campus. After lunch in Meyer Hall, which was attended by the Dean and Associate Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and by representatives from the Department of Animal Science and the Department of Agronomy and Range Science, the Horns were given a tour of several Animal Science animal facilities where departmental research and outreach were described.

Ida Garret and Bill Garret (right), former chair of Animal Science, welcome Ken and Marylou (left)  to campus to accknowlege the McOmie's bequest.

The McOmie charitable trust was established in 1975 with the income from the sale of the couple's Solano County ranch. At the time of Rennie McOmie's death in 2001, the value of the McOmie gift to UC Davis was valued at more than $9 million, making it one of the campus' largest gifts. Annual income from an endowment account will be divided between the Departments of Animal Science and Agronomy and Range Science. The Department of Animal Science has committed a significant portion of its McOmie funds to support graduate students. The first McOmie Fellows will be announced shortly. Other important uses of McOmie funds will be as matching funds for facility improvement and equipment purchase, as seed money for new research initiatives, and for jointly funded collaborative research with other departments. The McOmies through their gift were able to realize tax advantages of giving to the university while ensuring that their generosity would continue to support agricultural research, teaching and outreach that the McOmies so appreciated.