Since 2015, the UC Davis Chancellor’s Awards for International Engagement have recognized faculty and staff members for their exceptional dedication to advancing the university’s teaching, research and service missions, whether through leading global research projects, collaborating with colleagues around the world or promoting global learning opportunities and innovative pedagogy through virtual and experiential educational programming.  

On March 3, 2022, Chancellor Gary S. May honored two recipients with the award at the seventh annual UC Davis International Connections Reception. Hosted by  Global Affairs, the evening celebrated the accomplishments of faculty, staff and scholars who have worked to advance global higher education. This work of the university community has not gone unnoticed. In 2021, UC Davis was ranked No. 1 in the diversity and internationalization category in the inaugural QS World University Rankings.  

“Our 2022 recipients continue to spur the global engagement of UC Davis,” says Joanna Regulska, vice provost and dean of Global Affairs. “By championing partnerships and research collaborations with partners around the world, these awardees are actively advancing the UC Davis commitment to global research and to Global Education for All. Their ability to initiate and implement international multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary projects is a testament to the global collaborative spirit of our university community and the power of working across borders.” 

2022 Chancellor’s Awards for International Engagement Recipients 

Nancy J. Allen 

Throughout her impressive career, Nancy Allen has worked tirelessly to scale university research to the developing world. By ensuring that faculty and students have access to global learning experiences, Allen has established pathways that help the university community tackle global challenges related to food and agriculture. 

Allen currently serves as a grant writer and as executive director of Global Fellowships in Agricultural Development (GFAD) in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences’ Global Engagement Office . In the latter role, Allen helps UC Davis advance international agricultural development by mentoring and connecting students in agriculture and environmental studies with UC Davis partners around the world. Through these fellowships, early-career professionals enrolled in agricultural and development-oriented graduate programs receive funding and training for community projects in support of international development. By wearing myriad hats, Allen has been instrumental in putting teams of faculty, students and partner organizations together and in helping them prepare highly competitive grants, particularly through USAID and U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

Since coming to UC Davis in 2015, Allen has also served as deputy director of the U.S.-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Agriculture and Food Security, securing a significant USAID grant in partnership with the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (UAF), Pakistan’s leading agricultural university. As chief of party, she lived in residence for two years on the UAF campus and coordinated faculty exchanges with both UAF and UC Davis faculty and staff. Throughout the partnership, Allen advocated for the selection of female student exchanges and strongly supported the inclusion of women faculty.  

Award nominators share that, “in all of her work, Nancy brings compassion and a commitment to diversity, equity and cultural awareness. She’s a mentor for future generations of international agriculture professionals.”  
  

Samuel Sandoval Solís 

The research interests of this Cooperative Extension water resources specialist run deep. From water supply and flood control management in California to hydrology and climate change across the Americas, Sam Sandoval continues to contribute to UC Davis’ international impact on water resources and research. Sandoval hosts numerous Cooperative Extension seminars and works with a wide cross-section of stakeholders—providing bilingual trainings to farmworkers on water contamination and research and policy updates to water management decision-makers at home and around the world.  

An associate professor in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, Sandoval has been a crucial partner on numerous water-related projects in several parts of the world. As an advisor to the UC Davis Chile Life Sciences Innovation Center (UC Davis Chile), he has helped water authorities in Chile improve water management in the Aconcagua basin and has developed guidelines for aquifer recharge. After completing a groundbreaking water resources literature review, he developed a multilingual, open-source web platform that relies on data visualization tools to represent the “bright spots” and “blind spots” of water research in Latin America and the Caribbean.  

According to award nominators at UC Davis Chile, “His extension skills were crucial to communicate the UC Davis experience with private and public stakeholders in Chile. He’s already recognized in our local water community as an expert from UC Davis. And he’s been accurate and objective in the delivery of the experience of California and the University to our team and public and private partners.”  

In the Country of Georgia, Sandoval is evaluating current and alternative water management strategies for the water supply of the capitol city, Tbilisi. In Panama, he has helped the Ministry of Science evaluate grant proposals related to water. In Mexico, he is working to build bridges between Instituto Politécnico Nacional and UC Davis in their undergraduate student exchange program and to develop research studies for improving water management of the Rio Grande and the Colorado River. And at UC Davis, he has served as a technical advisor for the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders and the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, sharing his expertise with international professional fellows and giving talks, complete with tactile presentations, to demonstrate water resources in action. All of this has been instrumental in extending invaluable water resources know-how across the globe.  

2022 International Connections Reception Award Announcements

Faculty and staff recipients of other grants were also recognized at the March 3 event:

• 2022 UC Davis Seed Grants for International Activities
• 2022 UC Davis Grants for Advancing Sustainable Development Goals

Faculty and Staff Ambassadors were recognized for increasing the visibility of UC Davis' international presence and creating meaningful connections worldwide. The Global Education for All Steering Committee and Global Education for All Fellows were recognized for their efforts in advancing the campus goal to provide 100% of students—undergraduate, graduate, and professional—with global learning experiences that change their lives and our world. The Global Affairs Advisory Council was acknowledged for their  support of Global Affairs and their philanthropic leadership. The Global Strategy Advisory Committee was recognized for their engagement in strategic conversations to coordinate, elevate, and shape global engagement at UC Davis.

About Global Affairs at UC Davis

Global Affairs brings the world to UC Davis, welcoming more than 10,000 international students, scholars and leaders, and hosting programs that inspire global curiosity, understanding and engagement. Compelled by the valuable outcomes of thinking globally, we make transformative opportunities a reality by supporting the thousands of students and faculty learning and researching globally—and by facilitating collaborations that tackle the world’s most pressing challenges through more than 150 global partnerships.

Putting our vision of a UC Davis community that engages, thrives, and leads in this interconnected world into action, Global Affairs is in pursuit of an ambitious goal: Global Education for All.