UC Davis will welcome students from middle school to community college and their families to the Avanza Rising Scholars Conference for information, inspiration and empowerment to pursue a college degree.

Verónica Martínez Cerdeño is being honored with the Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award by the UC Davis Academic Senate for her exceptional work connecting neuroscience research with meaningful community engagement. As a professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in the School of Medicine, CAMPOS scholar, and a member of the MIND Institute, Martínez Cerdeño studies brain development and neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism, with an emphasis on ensuring that scientific discovery benefits the communities it aims to serve.

In May 2026, the Avanza Initiative is preparing to host its annual conference, which supports K–16 students from backgrounds historically underrepresented in higher education. Our mission is to serve our communities by encouraging students to pursue a college degree. In the past, this event has been known as the César Chávez Leadership Conference.

Advancing Mentoring and the Professoriate, a unit of Inclusive Excellence, is delighted to announce that Professor Marcela Cuellar(School of Education) and Associate Professor Jesús M. Velázquez (Letters & Sciences) will join our office as Avanza Faculty Fellows.