Inspiring and Advancing Global Curiosity, Understanding and Engagement
Letter From the Vice Provost and Dean
This year brought both inspiring accomplishments and notable challenges. Amid shifting policies, budget pressures, and a complex global landscape, our community remained grounded in what matters most – connection, inclusion, innovation, and engagement. It also marked a significant milestone – 25 years of catalyzing global engagement at UC Davis. Together, we’ve built partnerships, programs, and opportunities that connect our campus to the world and the world to UC Davis.
We were honored to receive the 2025 Innovative Excellence in Internationalization Award, recognizing UC Davis’s leadership in advancing the United Nations 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Hosting the 10th Annual International Connections Reception and welcoming global leaders for the Universitas 21 Annual Network Meeting highlighted the power of collaboration across borders. These moments underscore the strength of our partnerships and our shared commitment to building global community.
Almost 9,000 students participated in global learning experiences – from study abroad and internships to on-campus and virtual programs. A special highlight was a visual journal exhibition that captured reflections from 14 years of the Design in Europe program and the transformative impact of global education.
We continued to expand our impact through Seed Grants, SDG-focused research, and new partnerships, such as co-chairing with EARTH University a UN SDG Hub, advancing shared goals in education, research, and sustainability.
Our mission – to inspire and advance global curiosity, understanding, and engagement – has never felt more vital. Thank you for standing with us in this work. I am deeply grateful for your continued support and partnership.
With appreciation,
About UC Davis Global
To achieve our strategic plan, Global Affairs is pursuing four goals, driven by four overarching principles:
Tackling Global Challenges, Transforming Global Partnerships, Taking Care of Global Community and Telling Global Stories.
Tackling Global Challenges
Beyond Internationalisation and Towards Global Learning
The Hidden Yet Undying Power Driving the UN Sustainable Development Goals
What would a world without poverty, hunger, discrimination or environmental crisis look like? The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offer a roadmap to a more peaceful and prosperous future. This blog post explored empathy as a powerful human force for advancing global progress. The piece emphasized the deep interconnections among the SDGs and how empathy may be key to achieving them all.
Learning for a Burning Planet: Making Climate Education a Must, not a Maybe
Climate education isn’t optional—it’s essential. A UC Davis proposal would introduce a Climate Crisis General Education Requirement for all undergraduates by 2026, equipping every Aggie to address climate challenges across fields—from policy and engineering to the arts and humanities. Aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and supported by students and faculty, the initiative promotes climate literacy without delaying graduation and is preparing students to lead in sustainability.
Shaping a More Inclusive Future in Higher Education
UC Davis is proud to contribute to a global effort to advance disability inclusion in higher education through the launch of the Universitas 21 Disability Inclusion Mapping Report. This landmark initiative brings together voices from across the international U21 network to highlight best practices and identify areas for progress.
Celebrating Global Engagement and Innovation at UC Davis
This year, we celebrated the 10th Annual International Connections Reception, featuring a keynote by Allan E. Goodman, president emeritus of the Institute of International Education. The event recognized seven UC Davis faculty and staff members with the Chancellor’s Award for International Engagement and the Excellence in Teaching for Global Learning Award, awarded 13 Seed Grants for International Activities and presented 18 UC Davis faculty, researchers, and artists with Grants for Advancing Sustainable Development Goals.
Transforming Global Partnerships
International Gathering Urges Collaboration in Higher Ed
University leaders from around the globe gathered on campus May 7-9, 2025, to discuss existential threats facing higher education as part of the Annual Network Meeting and Presidential Symposium for Universitas 21, a global network of 30 leading research-intensive universities. Discussions held throughout the three-day event centered on ways universities can better serve marginalized communities, advance equity and inclusion, and strengthen their role in addressing global and societal challenges through collaboration, innovation and public engagement.
Global Partnerships
Through partnerships across every world region, we advanced equitable and transformative collaborations that connect the UC Davis community with opportunities to teach, research and take action on global challenges.
Africa
- Engineering Change: Bridging Continents through Leadership Training and Civil Transportation Reform
- Chancellor May Leads Delegation to Kenya to Advance California–Kenya Climate and Trade Partnership
- Exploring Complex Social-Ecological Systems
Americas
- Revisiting a Medical Marvel: Biologist Builds Inroads with Remote Pacific Island that Spawned a Powerhouse Drug
- The Sisterhood of the Traveling MBAs: Our Journey Through Chile
- Humphrey Fellow Speaks at International Forum with a Warning About Overtaxing Groundwater Resources
- UC Davis Presents Novel Musical-Visual Work
- Sό Semente – Only a Seed
Asia
Europe
- "Enduring and Fruitful" - UCD and UC Davis Deepen Partnership to Tackle Global Challenges
- Fulbright Spotlight: Mary Alurwar Experiences the German Higher Education System
- Scotland and Science: A Story of Growth
- Alumna Receives Prestigious Fulbright–National Geographic Award to Advance Electric Vehicle Infrastructure in Portugal's Azores
- UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health, Novo Nordisk Foundation Announce First-of-Its-Kind Fellowship
Middle East
- Threatened Scholar Offers Beacon of Knowledge for California’s Increasing Agriculture Challenges
- Opening New Doors Through Global Experiences
- Mapping Production of Knowledge on Women and Gender in the Arab Region
Oceania
UC Davis Welcomed 12 Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows
This year, UC Davis welcomed 12 Fellows in the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, a prestigious U.S. Department of State program administered by the Institute of International Education. Now in its 33rd year at UC Davis, the Humphrey Fellowship brings accomplished mid-career professionals from around the world to strengthen their leadership skills, expand their professional networks, and engage in collaborative learning across campus.
Meet the 2024-25 Fellows Learn More About the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program
UC Davis Hosted 2025 Mandela Washington Fellows
For the ninth consecutive year, UC Davis served as an Institute Partner for the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. As part of this U.S. Department of State flagship program, 23 of Africa’s emerging Public Management leaders participated in a six-week Leadership Institute. The program offered academic coursework, leadership training, mentoring and networking, while also creating opportunities for mutual learning and exchange with the UC Davis and local community.
Meet the 2025 Fellows Learn more about the Mandela Washington Fellowship
Taking Care of Global Community
Telling Global Stories
Philanthropic Support
Thank you to our Global Affairs Advisory Council and to all our donors for their support to help us achieve our mission.
This year, Global Affairs distributed more than $424,000 in philanthropic awards to 340 students, supporting global study, internships, research and collaborations. Thanks to philanthropic support, we also supported new faculty research collaborations, international students in need and expanded global learning in academic and co-curricular settings on campus.
We invite you to join us in advancing the interdisciplinary research and collaborations that will help solve global challenges, and in preparing our students to create a more just and equitable world. Explore various philanthropic opportunities.
