Arts patron Barbara K. Jackson has been awarded the UC Davis Medal, the highest tribute bestowed by the university. Jackson, one of two namesakes of the Mondavi Center's Barbara K. and W. Turrentine Jackson Hall, received the honor Saturday evening during the opening event of the Mondavi Center's 2008-09 season.

"As a philanthropist of extraordinary generosity and an exceptional volunteer, Barbara has had a profound effect on the cultural landscape of our region," Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef said. "By her example, Barbara challenges each of us to discover our own particular passion, to do more, give more and achieve more in its service."

The award recognizes individuals of rare accomplishment. Past recipients have included President Bill Clinton and UC Davis law professor Cruz Reynoso, the first Hispanic to serve on the California Supreme Court.

Jackson's more than 50 years of contributions to the arts in Northern California have ranged from the humble -- she once cut up her dining room curtains and stitched them into petticoats and bloomers for a Gilbert & Sullivan show at the Davis Art Center -- to the lofty. Her 2001 gift of $5 million to name the Mondavi Center's main performance hall set a record at the time as the largest gift by an individual to the arts in the Sacramento region; it was instrumental in making the Mondavi Center a reality.

Now in its seventh season, the Mondavi Center has established itself as a world-class performing arts facility and regional destination for the best in classical music, dance, distinguished speakers, jazz, theater and world music, as well as a center for education and public service.

"Barbara is passionate about all aspects of musical performance. She helped make possible an extraordinary concert hall, one which performers of the highest caliber seek out because the acoustics are so good," said Jessie Ann Owens, professor of music and dean of the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies. "She also is deeply invested in the careers and lives of young performers. Imagine the enrichment her philanthropy makes possible -- the extraordinary musical experiences for audience members and performers alike. What a gift she has given us all!"

Jackson moved to Davis in the early 1950s with her late husband when he joined the UC Davis history department faculty. During the next five decades, she served as president of the University Farm Circle, was a charter member of what is now the Sutter Davis Hospital Auxiliary and organized the Davis chapter of the Embroiderers Guild of America. She also helped to found the Davis Theatrical Costumers Guild, a group of volunteers who designed and sewed costumes for schools and community theater groups from the 1950s through 2006, working at sewing machines set up on card tables in the dining room of Jackson's Davis home. For 10 years, Jackson was an award-winning costume designer, seamstress and wardrobe mistress for the Sacramento Opera. She is also a trustee emerita of the UC Davis Foundation and a founding member of the Friends of UC Davis Presents.

In addition to the $5 million gift to name Jackson Hall, Jackson has endowed the Barbara K. Jackson Chair in Orchestral Conducting, the Barbara K. Jackson Chair in Choral Conducting and the Barbara K. Jackson Endowed Fellowship in Student Conducting. Before her husband's death in 2000, the couple made numerous other gifts to the campus, including gifts to establish two new endowments in the Department of History: the W. Turrentine Jackson Chair in Western U.S. History and the W. Turrentine Jackson Graduate Fellowship.

Jackson's support extends to the Bay Area as well. For more than 25 years she has sponsored young professional singers through the San Francisco Opera's Merola Program. In 2001 she was honored as philanthropist of the year by the California Capital Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

About the University of California, Davis

For 100 years, UC Davis has engaged in teaching, research and public service that matters to California and transforms the world. Located close to the state capital, UC Davis has 31,000 students, an annual research budget that exceeds $500 million, a comprehensive health system and 13 specialized research centers. The university offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges -- Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science -- and advanced degrees from five professional schools: Education, Law, Management, Medicine, and Veterinary Medicine. The UC Davis School of Medicine and UC Davis Medical Center are located on the Sacramento campus near downtown.