May 22, 2009
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| Bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey, manager of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr., Honey Bee Research Facility, received a citation for excellence. (Photos by Kathy Keatley Garvey) |
DAVIS—Bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey and account manager Susan Ragsdale of the UC Davis Department of Entomology each received a citation for excellence at the UC Davis Staff Assembly’s annual awards ceremony, held May 22 in the courtyard of the chancellor’s residence.
Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef presented the campuswide awards, spotlighting 21 individuals and 13 teams. Categories included general contributions, campus service and supervision. Both Cobey and Ragsdale were honored for general contributions. Three other individuals and two teams received distinguished awards.
Some 6000 staff employees were eligible for the awards from a total pool of 12,000 UC Davis staff, according to Staff Assembly coordinator Tiva Lasiter.
Susan Cobey, Bee Geneticist
Cobey, manager of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, was singled out for her contributions to the bee industry and the university.
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Susan Cobey |
“California agriculture depends upon a healthy and viable beekeeping industry, and at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, the university depends on our nominee to improve honey bee stock,” the nomination letter read. “She is genetically improving honey bee stock and has developed her own line of the internationally known New World Carniolians. In lay language, she’s building a better bee that will resist pest pathogens and parasites, considered key factors in colony collapse disorder (CCD).”
Cobey was praised for raising awareness for the plight of honey bees at local, state, national and global levels. She maintains a close relationship with the beekeeping industry at all levels, especially the California Bee Breeders, who produce half the nation’s supply of mated queen honey bees. “If an individual beekeeper is having trouble, she takes a personal interest in solving the problem as if the bees were hers,” the nomination letter read.
Cobey maintains collaborative research projects with many honey bee researchers in the U.S. and abroad. This year she helped develop the protocol for the international importation of honey bee germ plasm. She imports bee semen from various countries to build a better bee. She conducts three different popular workshops on queen rearing and on instrumental insemination at the Laidlaw facility; is often invited to conduct workshops overseas; and has produced a video on the topic.
“Our nominee treats bees as she does people: both politely and respectively,” the nomination letter read.
Cobey joined the UC Davis Department of Entomology in May 2007 from Ohio State University. She received her bachelor’s degree in entomology from the University of Delaware, Newark. She worked in bee biology at UC Davis from 1978 to 1980, influenced by Harry Laidlaw (1907-2003).
The team nomatinating Cobey: communications specialist Kathy Keatley Garvey, UC Cooperative Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen and administrative assistant Nancy Dullum of the Department of Entomology.
Susan Ragsdale, Account Manager
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Susan Ragsdale |
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| Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef presents a citation for excellence to account manager Susan Ragsdale. |
Susan Ragsdale, who will mark her 10th anniversary as a UC Davis employee this summer, began her university career in June 1999 at the Center for Health and Environment (CHE), formerly known as the Institute of Toxicology and Environmental Health (ITEH). She accepted a position in the Department of Animal Science in July 2005.
In January 2007, Ragsdale joined the Department of Entomology, where she serves as an account manager for four faculty and three researchers.
Nominators praised her as “absolutely outstanding.” At one time, the department had four account managers, but for six months, Ragsdale served as the only account manager. “During this critical period, she faced the challenges with a smile, considering them opportunities instead of challenges,” the nomination letter said.
“She has shown what loyalty and tenacity can do to keep a department together,” said the nominees, describing her as a “great resource to faculty, emeriti faculty, staff and students.”
“We are fortunate to have her on board and we appreciate how she goes that extra mile to get the job done effectively and efficiently. She is a shining example of what can happen when an employee takes ownership of her job. She exemplifies excellence, professionalism, generosity and helpfulness.”.
Penning the Ragsdale nomination leter were management service officer Barbara Geisler and communications specialist Kathy Keatley Garvey, with the assistance of business office manager Lori Champlin; graduate student coordinator Carol Nickles; and account manager Gabriela “Gabby” Sanchez.
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--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
