My parents were both big believers in education and what it can do for you and your career.
I was a very strong student in elementary school. In high school I
virtually got straight A's throughout, and that built up a certain amount of
confidence in me, you might even say it was arrogance, but it made me feel like I
could do whatever I needed to do to be successful in the classroom.
When I got to college I was perhaps overly confident.
I wasn't gonna be able to skate through this as easy as I thought, and I was going to have to work hard.
I was going to have to make friends and use all my resources. Well it taught me that I do
need other people to be successful, so my leadership style is very inclusive I'm a
consensus driven leader, I'd like to seek opinions from everyone
on my team before I make decisions as opposed to doing it all myself.
As good as Davis is I think we can still reach another level. I'd like for Davis to be one
of the small handfuls of schools that is mentioned when we talk about the very
best public research universities in the country. It should be at the tip of
everyone's tongue, at the prospective student's tongue, at the prospective
parent's tongue, at the legislator's tongue, at the donor's tongue, researcher's tongue.
So, the building blocks are here, the elements are here, we need to assemble
them in the right way, and be able to tell our story and one of the ways we're
going to do that is through a strategic planning exercise that we're undergoing
right now which will set the path for Davis for the next ten years or so.
Well as educators we were on the front line for our students, we are the role
models they see every day, or every other day, in the classroom. We have to project
a knowledge, we have to project compassion, we have to project our own
excitement about the subject matter, and let the students see that reflected in
the way we teach. I've always admired people if you use the professional
athlete analogy, the ones that had the natural talent but also had that work
ethic, and I think I have that combination. I have some natural talents
that when combined with the fact that I have a very strong work ethic and I care
about the results. I think that will be something that stands me in good stead
and benefits the UC Davis campus community. You know there's a saying in
the South, that if you see a turtle on a fence post it didn't get there by itself,
that's me. I had a lot of help growing up. The foundation my parents laid, safe warm
family, loving family environment always emphasizing education, but in a
productive and constructive way. My sister she was my first best friend we
remain very close today. Her support has been invaluable as well.
Can't say enough about your life partner. In every way that I can imagine you know
LeShelle is perfect for me. I'm just so blessed I've been able to meet her and
to be able to live my life with her. We were fortunate enough, blessed enough to
be able to give life to two wonderful girls, they make me so proud. They're
excellent students, they're excellent people, they have great values, they've
never given us any trouble, and now they're they're just about grown, they're
in college and they're on their own and you know I couldn't be more proud of
those two young ladies.
You know this opportunity is is humbling. it means
that a group of people have the confidence in me, for leadership of such a wonderful
institution, and that makes me feel as you know, responsible, accountable and
humble, and I hope I'm up to the task, and I know I'm going to need help, I'm going to
need the help of the Davis community and I think we're all gonna get there together.