The Cal Aggie Alumni Association (CAAA) at the University of California, Davis, will present awards to 13 alumni at a ceremony during Homecoming weekend, on Friday, Oct. 18. The alumni, selected for their outstanding contributions to the university, their community or their profession, will be honored at a dinner beginning at 6:15 p.m. at the University Club on campus. The dinner is one of several Homecoming events planned for the weekend; also scheduled on Oct. 18 are a Golden Society luncheon (for alumni who graduated 50 or more years ago) and a night rally (8:30 p.m. at Toomey Field), and on Oct. 19, a barbecue and carnival (11:30 a.m. at the field adjacent to the stadium) followed by an Aggie football game (2 p.m., vs. Humboldt State University). During the awards ceremony, the following alumni will be honored: William B. Hewitt will receive CAAA's Distinguished Achievement Award, which honors individuals for a lifetime of achievement in their career, community or public service. Hewitt, a resident of Sequim, Wash., received a bachelor's degree from UC Davis in 1933, a master's degree in 1934 and a Ph.D. degree in 1936. He is a UC Davis professor emeritus of plant pathology, former chair of the department and former director of research programs at UC's Kearney Agricultural Center. Hewitt is also an internationally recognized plant pathologist who is probably best known for his pioneering work with plant diseases, particularly diseases of grapevines. He has not only characterized and differentiated many diseases of grapes, but has also developed practical methods for their cure and prevention. He is the recipient of many awards, including a merit award from the American Society of Enologists, and was the co-founder and, for 20 years, president of the International Council for the Study of Viruses and Virus Diseases of Grapevines. Hewitt also is past secretary and president and a fellow of the American Phytopathological Society. Hewitt joined UC Davis in 1937 and retired in 1974. He has been an active supporter of the university, filling the positions of treasurer and president of the alumni association in the 1940s and 1950s and was a founding officer of the Cal Aggie Foundation, serving for many years as secretary, from 1959 through 1975. The Jerry W. Fielder Memorial Award is going to Gary M. Cusumano, a 1965 graduate of UC Davis and president of the Newhall Land and Farming Co., in honor of his extensive service to the association, the UC Davis Foundation and the university. Cusumano became a member of the alumni association's board of directors in 1978, then went on to serve as vice president in 1982-84 and president in 1984-86. In that capacity he served also as a UC regent-designate and regent in 1984-86 and ex-officio member of the foundation board. Following his stint of service with CAAA, he became a trustee on the foundation board in 1986 and now serves as its chair. Cusumano is a past chair of the Davis Chancellor's Club Fellows (an organization of individuals who give $5,000 or more annually to the university). He is also a contributor to the alumni scholarship fund and the Alumni and Visitors Center campaign. Gajendra Singh, who received his Ph.D. degree from UC Davis in 1973, was chosen to receive the Emil M. Mrak International Award. This award is given to alumni who have distinguished themselves in their careers or service outside the United States. Singh is a professor of agricultural and food engineering at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Thailand. A co-founder there of the Division of Agricultural and Food Engineering, Singh helped lay the foundation for international-level postgraduate studies in agricultural engineering in Southeast Asia. During his years as chair of the division, 1977-84, it grew from the the smallest of nine divisions at AIT to the largest. He has organized two international conferences on agricultural engineering and has been recognized throughout the world for his work, receiving the Commendation Medal for Outstanding Contribution in Agricultural Engineering from the Indian Society of Agricultural Engineers and the Kishida International Award from the American Society of Agricultural Engineers. Kenneth Campbell is Young Alumnus of the Year, an honor given to alumni who have made outstanding contributions to their profession, community or the university. Recipients must be no older than 35 or have received their first degree within the past 10 years. Campbell, who received his bachelor's degree from UC Davis in 1979, is a dentist practicing in Sacramento and an athlete -- an unusual combination of skills made all the more surprising by Campbell's personal history. In 1983, just as he was nearing completion of his dental studies at Northwestern University in Illinois, Campbell was in a fiery automobile accident that left him burned over 70 percent of his body. Though he was not expected to survive the accident, Campbell did and has since gone on to achieve many of his life's goals. After returning to school to re-learn the use of his dental instruments, he opened a practice in Sacramento. And he has gone back to athletic training and competing in triathlons and marathons. In 1987 he competed in the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii, in 1989 the Western States 100-mile run between Squaw Valley and Auburn, and most recently, Eppie's Great Race in Sacramento with brothers Kevin and Keith, a UC Davis student. Campbell also finds time to speak before a variety of organizations across the country about his experiences. n In addition, the association will present Alumni Citations for Excellence to nine alumni who have brought distinction to UC Davis or who have made their mark in their career or community. Citations of Excellence will be presented to the following alumni, who are listed here with the date of their UC Davis degree and their occupation: • Mary M. Baker, M.H.S. '77, president and chief executive officer of Chicken Soup, Plus, a home nursing service in Sacramento; • Riley P. Bechtel '74, president and chief operating officer of Bechtel Group Inc., a San Francisco firm that is the second-largest privately held engineering and construction firm in the United States; • Dennis F. Devereux, M.D. '74, professor of surgery and chief of surgical oncology at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of the New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick; • Billy Wayne Geer, Ph.D. '63, professor of biology at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., named 1990 Illinois Professor of the Year by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education; • Augustus S. "Gus" Lee '69, J.D. '76, senior executive for legal education and competence for the State Bar of California, and author of the best-selling book China Boy; • Joseph M. Ogawa '50, Ph.D. '54, UC Davis professor emeritus of plant pathology and specialist in the area of fungal diseases of fruit and nut trees; • Niels C. Pedersen '65, D.V.M. '67, UC Davis professor of medicine in the School of Veterinary Medicine and noted researcher in the field of feline disease; • Antonio R. Velasco, M.D. '79, family medicine physician at the Valle Verde Medical Group in Salinas and assistant clinical professor of family medicine at the UC San Francisco-affiliated residency program at the Natividad Medical Center; • Harry O. Walker '47, M.S. '50, UC Davis senior lecturer emeritus of land, air and water resources and, for many years before his retirement, associate dean of advising services for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Anyone who would like to attend the awards dinner or would like more information about other Homecoming events should contact the alumni association at (916) 752-0286.