We are happy to send Highlights to update you on the people, programs and activities of the UC Davis Department of Animal Science. The year has been one of high anxiety as we dealt with enormous budget cuts that threatened our research and outreach programs. In the past two years, funds to the Agricultural Experiment Station were cut 20% and to Cooperative Extension 30%. Consistent with the campus philosophy for surviving budget cuts, we minimized personal hardships created by layoffs, used reserves to preserve top-priority research and outreach programs and shifted expenditures to non-state sources (e.g., financial gifts from alumni and friends). We have been unable to replace faculty as they retire, and our remaining faculty have found themselves needing to close ranks to deliver the high-quality education our students expect and deserve, to conduct research that will keep California animal agriculture at the forefront and to sustain the principle of outreach to our state’s citizenry. We have resisted closure of departmental animal facilities, a risky route taken during times of tight budgets by some other land-grant universities that since have found it impossible to restore the lost facilities. Instead, we reviewed operations at our animal facilities and, by reducing and shifting of expenditures to non-state sources, intend to keep them open for use by students, staff and faculty. We truly appreciate the many individuals who stepped forward with gifts to

the department to help us emerge intact from the budget crisis. We also acknowledge the donors of gifts large and small to establish a new memorial fellowship for graduate students in dairy nutrition and a new memorial award for undergraduate and graduate students interested in agribusiness.

Despite the gloom of the past fiscal year, the Animal Science Department worked hard to maintain excellence of our academic programs. As recognition of how we value students, yet another member of the Animal Science faculty received this year’s Distinguished Teaching Award, an unprecedented fifth recipient from one department in six years. Our Cooperative Extension faculty were honored for excellence in outreach, and our graduate students joined faculty as recipients of national and international awards for research. With only modest cuts to instruction and no further cuts forecast to research and outreach, we view the future with optimism. We are here to help. If ever we can assist you, please do not hesitate to ask.