By Bonnie Shea, director of communications, Global Affairs

The UC Davis Global Centers initiative— which aims to leverage campus strengths and expand mutually-beneficial partnerships in regions around the world—is set to move forward with the appointment of Lovell “Tu” Jarvis as the Faculty Director of Global Centers for Latin America and the Caribbean. Jarvis will bring strategic leadership to the development the first UC Davis Global Center, building on existing partnerships and linkages in the region—including activities through the UC Davis Chile Life Sciences Innovation Center (UC Davis Chile), which launched with Chilean government support in 2015.

Center activities in Latin America and the Caribbean will also strengthen ties with Mexico and collaborations with the UC location in Mexico City, Casa de la Universidad de California. In August, Global Affairs worked with Casa de la Universidad de California and the National Association of Universities and Institutions of Higher Education (ANUIES) to organize a delegation of UC Davis leaders, including Chancellor Gary S. May, that traveled to central Mexico to explore opportunities in food, water, wine, agriculture and health. 

“We have tremendous partnerships, research, and academic exchange happening all over the world,” said Vice Provost and Associate Chancellor of Global Affairs Joanna Regulska. “Global Centers will bolster connections and relationships to increase international opportunities for faculty, students, and the entire UC Davis community.”

Jarvis, a professor emeritus in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Davis, is charged with developing a plan for a Global Center in Latin America and the Caribbean. He will lead the implementation of center activities and the cultivation of new partnerships in the region. 

Jarvis has lengthy experience researching economic issues in the region, including in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, and, especially, Chile. He serves as the Faculty Director of the Blum Center for Developing Economies within Global Affairs and is on the Board of Directors of UC Davis Chile Life Sciences Innovation Center. He also chairs the Chile-California Council, a bi-national nonprofit organization facilitating mutually beneficial exchanges between California and Chile. 

“I am very pleased that under Tu’s leadership, our Global Centers initiative will begin to take shape in Latin America and the Caribbean. There are many opportunities for us to build on a strong history of partnership,” said Regulska. “Tu has been a long-time champion of international education and research. He brings a deep level of understanding and experience in the region that will allow us to advance a meaningful strategy in developing our first regional hub.” 

The Global Centers process began in 2015, co-chaired by Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter and Vice Provost and Associate Chancellor of Global Affairs Joanna Regulska and involving more than 100 faculty members and administratorsfrom across UC Davis. Regional faculty advisory committees then presented recommendations to Chancellor May and Provost Hexter—which set strategies to leverage UC Davis expertise and expand mutually-beneficial partnerships in addressing today's most pressing economic, social, and environmental challenges.

“The Global Centers initiative will expand UC Davis’ international connections, creating exciting opportunities for collaborative research and innovative student learning," Jarvis said. "I am delighted to lead the development of a Global Centers strategy for the Latin America and Caribbean region. The center will facilitate a significant expansion of the work our faculty are undertaking in the region and will be a catalyst for campus program development in many disciplines."

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 studying and researching internationally—and by facilitating collaborations that tackle the world's most pressing problems through more than 150 international partnerships.

Lovell S. “Tu” Jarvis received a B.A in economics with highest distinction from the University of Kansas in 1964, and a Ph.D. in economics from MIT in 1969. Jarvis taught economics at UC Berkeley from 1969 to 1983, and worked as an international consultant before becoming a Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Davis in 1984. He was Divisional Associate Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, 1999-2009. Jarvis conducts research on agricultural development and agricultural policy in less-developed countries, including the economics of livestock production; the prevention, control and eradication of animal disease; the adoption and impact of new technologies; the allocation of water resources; agricultural labor markets; international trade; biotechnology; food and nutrition policy; and the development of Chile's agricultural sector. He has consulted extensively for the U.S. government, international agencies such as the World Bank, foreign governments and private firms.