Tan Yan Kee Foundation, Inc. Chairman and President Lucio C. Tan (seated, center) hosts a recent meeting of Foundation trustees and officials with Chancellor Gary S. May (seated, right) and key officials of the University of California-Davis at the Century Park Hotel to discuss best practices in sustainable agriculture and environmental conservation in relation to the Foundation’s Legacy Forest Project. Seated with Dr. Tan are TYKFI trustees Amando M. Tetangco, Jr., Marixi R. Prieto, Carmen K. Tan, and Chancellor May’s wife, LeShelle. Standing (from left) are Marina Tan Harper, UC Davis Senior Director of International Development; Shaun B. Keister, Vice Chancellor for Development and Alumni Relations; TYKFI’s Foundation Head Philip Sing and Vice President and Corporate Secretary Juanita Tan Lee; Anita Oberbauer, Associate Dean and Professor of College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; TYKFI Trustee Cesar E.A. Virata; and UP Los Baños Professor Marlo D. Mendoza.
The Tan Yan Kee Foundation, Inc. (TYKFI) Board of Trustees, officers, and staff led by Chairman and President Lucio C. Tan had the opportunity to meet and discuss with top officials of University of California – Davis (UC Davis) on two occasions when the latter came to Manila in April and June 2019.
 |  |
On April 1 and 2, 2019, UC Davis’ Helene Dillard, Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Science, met with TYKFI key officers and technical staff both at the Makati head office and model farm in Carranglan, Nueva Ecija where she learned firsthand about some of the challenges of the Foundation in crop production and management.
With programs ranked #1 in plant sciences, animal science, and agriculture, UC Davis is well positioned to share their knowledge and expertise to the Tan Yan Kee Foundation on improving agriculture and the natural environment.
During her site visit, Dean Helene Dillard has identified and discussed key farm challenges like the anthracnose disease in the chili, pulp weevils in mangoes, and barnacles in mangrove plantations.
Dean Helene Dillard’s expertise and past researches include the biology, ecology, and management of fungal pathogens that cause diseases in vegetable crops, such as anthracnose. As a plant pathologist, she has addressed sustainable disease management strategies, integrated pest management, epidemiology and host/pathogen/ environment interactions. Dean Dillard has received many awards including her contributions in plant pathology and extension work with the agriculture industry.
Meanwhile, UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May also met with Dr. Lucio C. Tan, Trustees Artemio V. Panganiban, Marixi R. Prieto, Carmen K. Tan, Amando M. Tetangco, and Cesar E.A. Virata; Vice President and Corporate Secretary Juanita Tan Lee, Foundation Head Philip Sing, and University of the Philippines Los Baños Professor Marlo Mendoza on June 21, 2019 at the Century Park Hotel. The TYKFI and UC Davis groups discussed sustainable agriculture and environmental conservation in view of the many challenges of climate change, poverty and food scarcity.
Chancellor May was accompanied by Anita Oberbauer, Associate Dean and Professor of Agricultural Sciences, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; Shaun B. Keister, Vice Chancellor for Development and Alumni Relations; LeShelle May, CNN senior software manager and developer and wife of UC Davis Chancellor May; and Marina Tan Harper, UC Davis Senior Director of International Development.
Gary S. May became UC Davis’ seventh chancellor on Aug. 1, 2017. He leads the most comprehensive campus in the University of California system. An accomplished scholar and engineer, May came to UC Davis from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, where he had been for nearly three decades, most recently as dean of the institute’s College of Engineering — the largest and most diverse school of its kind in the nation. In 2015, President Obama honored him with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering (STEM) Mentoring. n
RSS Feed