Honoring our retirees: Truman Young

Truman Young retired as a professor and restoration ecologist from the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences. His work has taken him to Africa and beyond, helping communities restore and manage landscapes.

Eviner and Porensky: Young "a great community member"

Valerie Eviner is a professor in the department and an ecologist with the UC Agricultural Experiment Station system. She called Young "an amazing mentor" to both faculty and students. Porensky, a former graduate student who joined the event by video call, recounted Young's wide-ranging interests in the field of ecology.

Young: "UC Davis gave me the tools"

Young's research in plant population and community ecology has led to work in the American West, South America, Europe and Africa. His most recent work has focused on human-dominated landscapes and working with stakeholders to address their issues. He describes his journey from loner to team player, and from theory to practice:

Taylor welcomes guests and honorees at the 2023 Retirement Dinner

The department traditionally has held its retirement dinner every two years. But, the COVID-19 pandemic caused postponement of both the 2020 and the 2022 dinners, department Chair Gail Taylor explained. This event, held at the UC Davis Convention Center on April 28, 2023, honored several faculty members who had retired since 2018.

Taylor offers closing remarks here:

Video playlist

You can watch the entire video playlist from the 2023 Retirement Dinner here.

​Read more about the work of Truman Young here.