Volume 26 · Number 1 · Fall 2008
100 Ways
that UC Davis Has Transformed the World
Business
Serving while learning.
UC Davis professional students make a difference every day in the lives of Californians — providing medical care at five free clinics for underserved populations; legal representation for low-income people on civil rights, family law, prisoner rights and immigration law; and veterinary care for the pets of the homeless. In addition, management students offer consulting service to business, government and nonprofit organizations.
Economic powerhouse.
UC Davis contributes more than $3 billion each year to the California economy and returns $5 to California for every state dollar received.
Women leaders.
With a few high-profile exceptions, women are largely absent from the top decision-making posts of California’s largest companies. The UC Davis Graduate School of Management has helped to focus new attention on this issue through its annual Study of California Women Business Leaders. Overall, the study shows that women hold only about one in 10 top leadership jobs, a ratio that has remained stable since the study started in 2005.
Growing entrepreneurs.
Great ideas have been brought to market and new companies launched thanks to UC Davis programs that turn graduate and undergraduate students into entrepreneurs. The UC Davis Center for Entrepreneurship brings students and faculty together with experienced entrepreneurs, investors and corporate leaders in a collaborative environment aimed at turning ideas into action. The annual Big Bang! business plan competition, run entirely by M.B.A. students, offers $15,000 in start-up money to the students with the best marketable idea.
Investment wisdom.
In a world where investors are inundated by Wall Street marketing messages to trade and trade often, UC Davis researchers have developed new insights into the effect of expenses on mutual fund investments, gender-related overconfidence in stock trading, reliability of stock analysts’ recommendations and the hazards of active trading of equities. Overall, the school’s faculty research is among the most-downloaded of any M.B.A. program’s nationwide, as measured by the Social Science Research Network.
Ideas to products.
From strawberry varieties to pet vaccines to telecommunications technology, inventions born at UC Davis are being turned into products and services. Since 1975, 41 new companies have been spun off from the campus, and the university holds a portfolio of 875 active patents, plant varieties and other intellectual property. In fiscal year 2006–07, UC Davis earned just over $8 million in royalties and fees from licensing inventions.
A world of alumni.
From the time the first students graduated in 1911, UC Davis alumni have been making their mark in the world — and beyond. Among their countless achievements are winning Olympic gold medals, directing Oscar-winning Disney films, heading UNICEF and flying through space as astronauts. With every year, the Aggie impact multiplies. From nine students in the 1911 class, our living alumni total has grown to 185,000.
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