The Center for Reducing Health Disparities (CRHD), together with its collaborators, proudly co-hosted the 15th Annual Spanish Mini Medical School (SMMS) on Saturday, October 4. What began as a modest community gathering has grown into a beloved tradition — this year’s milestone “quinceañera” edition lived up to the magic.
A recent analysis by researchers at Urban Science Lab at UC Davis reveals a troubling trend: between 2018 and 2022, roughly 85% of urban public elementary schools in California lost some portion of their tree canopy. While the average decrease statewide was modest — under 2% — some districts, particularly in the Central Valley, saw losses as steep as 25%.
In a quiet corner of International House Davis on a Tuesday evening, a group of about a dozen Davis community members and UC Davis faculty, staff and students gathered for conversation that was anything but small. They came together to discuss Solito — Javier Zamora’s powerful memoir of migration from El Salvador to the United States — and in doing so, they found connection, courage and belonging.
When the COVID-19 pandemic exposed deep gaps in access to reliable health information and care, researchers and community leaders across the country moved to build better connections.
Volunteers organized through the Veterans Employees Association (VEA) Employee Resource Group actively contributed to the 9/11 National Day of Service on September 11 at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery. A dozen UC Davis Health employees — primarily from Real Estate, Facilities Planning and Development, and the Health Equity by Design for Inclusive Excellence team — joined in to clean headstones, assist with landscape maintenance, and provide food and water to attendees.
The 2025-2026 Campus Community Book Project focused on the theme of belonging and featured Solito: A Memoir by Javier Zamora. Solito narrates Javier Zamora’s 3,000-mile journey at the age of nine from his small town in El Salvador, through Guatemala and Mexico, and across the U.S. border to reunite with his parents. What was anticipated to take two weeks expands into two life-altering months alongside fellow migrants who will come to encircle him like an unexpected family.
The UC Davis Campus Community Book Project has selected Solito: A Memoir by Javier Zamora as its 2025–26 title, aligning with the theme of belonging. The bestselling memoir recounts Zamora’s harrowing 3,000-mile journey from El Salvador to the United States at just 9 years old, traveling alone to reunite with his parents.
UC Davis Womxn in Technology— a new employee resource group (ERG) within the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion—recently broke a DEI funding record during the university’s most recent crowdfunding campaign.
The next book project title is Weathering: The Extraordinary Stress of Ordinary Life in an Unjust Society, by Arline T. Geronimus, a professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health. It is part of this year’s theme, health equity and justice, and will guide discussions, lectures and other events, culminating in a campus visit by the author on March 5.
During February 12–16, the UC Davis campuses in Davis and Sacramento celebrated Principles of Community Week — a time spent reflecting on the shared aspiration to advance respect, equity, learning and community. The Principles team was delighted to highlight Dr. Jann Murray-García of UC Davis Health during this year's celebration. Murray-García’s inspirational career embodies the principles and its core values.
