This week, Dateline UC Davis is presenting news of faculty members being recognized for long-term success. Find that, along with recognition for a recent campus construction project, in this Laurels column.
Dateline UC Davis welcomes news of faculty and staff awards, for publication in Laurels. Send information to dateline@ucdavis.edu.
Lifetime Achievement Stewardship Award
Kathleen Socolofsky, assistant vice chancellor and director of the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, has received the Lifetime Achievement Stewardship Award at the UC Davis Foundation Board’s 2024 Faculty and Staff Stewardship Awards Luncheon on Oct. 19. The honor is a tribute to Socolofsky’s 26 years of service, during which she has shaped the UC Davis campus into an inviting learning landscape and vibrant hub for community engagement.
Her approach to building community is the heart of her work, creating a distinctive philanthropic environment that goes beyond securing financial support. Her efforts are rooted in providing meaningful ways for people to connect with and contribute to the university and the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. From helping create murals, offering input on educational signage, or volunteering, Socolofsky’s philosophy centers on fostering a sense of ownership and belonging. As a leader at a public, land-grant institution, she prioritizes the mission of including the community in shaping the university’s future, ensuring that everyone has a stake in the campus’s growth and transformation.
Read more on the Arboretum and Public Garden website.
Best Higher Education/Research Project
Orchard Park was recently recognized for its design and innovation with awards from both Engineering News Record, or ENR, and Pacific Coast Builders Conference, PCBC.
ENR named Orchard Park the Best Higher Education/Research project in Northern California in its 2024 Regional Best Projects competition. ENR highlighted Orchard Park’s thoughtful design in integrating the housing community with the rest of campus through pedestrian and biking infrastructure, innovative techniques to save time and costs during construction, and the thorough tree protection measures implemented. Read more about what makes Orchard Park a stand-out project.
Orchard Park also caught the eyes of PCBC, which rewarded the project a Gold Nugget award of merit, naming it one of the best “Student or Faculty Housing” projects in the country.
Read more on the Design and Construction Management website.
Murray Fowler Lifetime Achievement Award
Professor Emerita Joanne Paul-Murphy is the 2024 recipient of the Murray Fowler Lifetime Achievement Award from the American College of Zoological Medicine. Throughout her career, Paul-Murphy was widely recognized as a leader in exotic animal medicine. She has received multiple awards celebrating her contributions to zoological medicine including the Animal Welfare Award from the American Veterinary Medical Association in 2019 and the TJ Lafeber Avian Practitioner of the Year Award in 2014.
Read more on the School of Veterinary Medicine website.
Career Achievement Award
Amy Kapatkin, professor of orthopedic surgery, was awarded the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, or ACVS, Founders’ Award for Career Achievement at the 2024 ACVS Surgery Summit. The award recognizes the service of an ACVS Diplomate distinguished by contributions to the development of surgical techniques and methodology and disseminating knowledge to colleagues, residents, and students.
Kapatkin is a clinical expert in hip dysplasia, gait analysis, total hip replacement, and nonunion management. She gained international recognition for her work using bone morphogenetic protein-2 to manage nonunion fractures and for publishing seminal research influencing sacroiliac luxation management.
Read more on the School of Veterinary Medicine website.
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Cody Kitaura is the editor of Dateline UC Davis and can be reached by email or at 530-752-1932.