Screenshot from the UC Davis emeriti tribute video shows emeritus H. Rao Unnava (left), former dean of the Graduate School of Management, and UC Davis Distinguished Professor Walter Leal, video producer. Photo courtesy of UC Davis

DAVIS, CA (MPG) - UC Davis Distinguished Professor Walter Leal of the Department of Molecular and Cellular recently released a tribute video congratulating all UC Davis faculty who transitioned to emeriti during the 2025-26 academic year. 

Leal spotlighted 22 retirees. This is the fourth video in Leal's series of annual emeriti tributes, and the one with the largest number of participants (22). His tribute videos date back to the 2021-22 academic year.

“On average, these newest members of the UC Davis emeriti served our campus and the people of California for 26 years,” Leal said during the introduction. “Their ranks include colleagues who joined our faculty within the past decade, as well as others who devoted 43 or 44 years of their careers to UC Davis. Together, they have made our campus a richer academic ecosystem and helped create the environment in which a new generation of scholars will begin and develop their own academic careers. Retirement, of course, does not necessarily mean retiring from academic life. Many of our newest emeriti will remain active on campus, continuing their research, creative work, mentoring and service.”

Leal dedicated the 2025-26 video to emeritus H. Rao Unnava, former dean of the Graduate School of Management, who with his wife, Vasu, adjunct associate professor at the Graduate School of Management, were enroute to Tibet on Aug. 26 when catastrophic flash floods swept through the Nepal-China border region. They are among hundreds missing. 

Rao Unnava served as the Michael and Joelle Hurlston Dean of the UC Davis Graduate School of Management for 10 years until his retirement in June.

Leal also paid tribute to “two colleagues who passed away in 2026 before they had the opportunity to retire”: UC Davis Distinguished Professor Bruce Hammock (Aug. 13, 1947, to Jan. 5, 2026), who held a joint appointment with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Professor Mariel Vazquez (Feb. 24, 1971, to July 5, 2026), who held joint appointments with the Departments of Mathematics, and Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. 

UC Davis celebrated the life and legacy of Bruce Hammock Saturday, Oct. 10 in California Hall.

UC Davis will celebrate the life and legacy of Mariel Vazquezon Oct. 27 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the International House. In keeping with her spirit of celebrating culture and diversity, attendees are invited to wear culturally significant attire rather than black.

The video can be viewed online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd4qQb7-NtY.