HYDROLOGIC SCIENCES GRADUATE GROUP

The Hydrologic Sciences Graduate Group seeks your contribution for an endowed fund to support graduate education in Hydrologic Sciences in California with an emphasis on recognizing outstanding students committed to serving society. Earnings from this endowment will be used to provide tuition/fee assistance and student stipends as well as support student service activities that encourage selfless giving. Your contribution will be acknowledged on the Hydrologic Sciences Graduate Group website.

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The Hydrologic Sciences Graduate Group at UC Davis is one of the few organizations society can turn to for professionals trained with a depth of understanding of the physics and biochemistry of water behavior in the natural environment as well as a breadth of experience addressing interdisciplinary, applied challenges. Our students receive little financial aid from the University or State of California and are largely dependent on diminishing external research grants from our faculty. Our degrees are in such high demand that for every one applicant that faculty can raise research funding to educate, we turn away six excellent applicants. Demand for our graduates among employers is high and we have sufficient educational capacity, but we lack financial aid. Our students also benefit from exposure to societal service.

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The late Professor Kenneth Tanji was a pillar of the hydrology faculty in LAWR who served as Department Chair from 1981-84 and as Assistant Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station in Oakland. He was the 1994-1995 recipient of the UCD Academic Senate Distinguished Public Service Award and also the Award of Distinction from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Ken was a recipient of the 1990 Outstanding Service Award from the ASCE's Irrigation and Drainage Division and the prestigious Royce J. Tipton Award, "for his significant contributions to sustaining irrigated agriculture in California and the western United States." For many years, he served the departmental and university community tirelessly with much devotion. He made long-lasting contributions in the areas of water quality and irrigation science.

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Students who follow in Professor Tanji’s footsteps blend professional achievement with service to envision and lead social change. As a result, the Hydrologic Sciences Graduate Group as well as Ken’s family and friends have established the Kenneth Tanji Service Award that will fund the education of outstanding graduate students in Hydrologic Sciences committed to serving society. The fund for the award will honor the extraordinary contributions to research and public service Ken made through UC Davis.

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Our goal is to raise $25,000 to endow the fund and have a permanent testament to Ken’s legacy. As of February 2013 we have raised $9,000, including a $5,000 donation from the Tanji family and several more thousands of dollars raised by faculty and former students, because we truly value the importance of financially supporting and recognizing service hand-in-hand with professional training in hydrologic sciences. Please join us in this effort.

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Contributions to the fund may be made through a secure online giving page at https://give.ucdavis.edu/Go/Tanji. Simply enter the amount of your gift, press "continue", and enter your information. You may also complete and return the form below.

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Questions about the fund or ways to give may be directed to Mark Foncannon, Development Program Administrator in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, UC Davis, at mjfoncannon@ucdavis.edu or (530) 908-0575."

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This is a special opportunity for us as a professional community to recognize the importance and value of graduate education in Hydrologic Sciences, while also paying tribute to a fabulous colleague, mentor and friend.

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Sincerely,

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Gregory Pasternack, Ph.D.

Chair, HSGG Development Committee

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P.S. Does your employer sponsor a matching gift program to match charitable contributions made by employees? Contact your human resources office to find out. Your employer may double or even triple the value of your gift!

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Fundraising Form - PDF Version