The UC Davis Cal Aggie Alumni Association has named a former United States deputy secretary of agriculture to the University of California Board of Regents. Richard E. Rominger, who received his bachelor's degree from UC Davis in 1949, will serve a two-year term as UC Davis' alumni representative.

Rominger has a distinguished record of service to UC Davis, the region and the nation. A Cal Aggie Alumni Association life member, he has served on both the CAAA board of directors and the UC Davis Foundation. He also often lends his expertise in agricultural issues to the University of California, acting as both an adviser and a liaison between UC and the agricultural community.

He and his wife Evelyne own a family farm in Winters, which is managed by their three sons and daughter, also UC Davis alumni. Rominger has served on several agricultural boards and committees, including the American Farmland Trust and the California Agriculture Executive Roundtable. Before assuming his federal post, Rominger directed the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

Rominger cites reconciling budget constraints with the increasing numbers of eligible students as the most important issue facing the Board of Regents. "The University of California is the greatest university system in the world because the people of California have invested the resources necessary to build it and take pride in maintaining the highest standards," he says. "My experience as a government official managing large organizations with large budgets and many employees, coupled with the knowledge gained from operating a farm and being part of many university and agricultural groups should help me with the difficult decisions a regent must make."

Appointments of alumni regents rotate among the ten campuses of the University of California system. Beginning on July 1, 2004, Rominger will serve as a non-voting "regent designate" for one year, followed by one year as a voting member. UCLA has already named the other alumni regent designate, Eric Juline.

The Cal Aggie Alumni Association's mission is to advance the interest and promote the welfare of UC Davis and its alumni; visit http://www.alumni.ucdavis.edu for more information. The Board of Regents governs the University of California, as outlined in the California Constitution. For more information about the UC Board of Regents, visit http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/about.html.