It was a joy to see the amazing group of UC Davis employees receiving well-deserved awards at the UC Davis Staff Assembly's Citation of Excellence ceremony, held Sept. 10 at the residence of Chancellor Gary May.
One of the recipients was "bee guy" Joseph Tauzer, manager of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
Tauzer, who serves three faculty labs within the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, received the second-place award, a $1000 prize, in the highly competitive service category. He was one of only eight individuals and one team given a Citation of Excellence, and the only recipient this year within the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CA&ES).
Joining the celebration was newly selected CA&ES Dean Ashley Stokes, who accepted her UC Davis appointment in July 2025. She previously served as a professor of veterinary large animal clinical sciences at the University of Tennessee and dean of the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture’s UT Extension.
Welcoming the crowd were Ashley Pelham, past chair of UC Davis Staff Assembly, and Stefan Toma, past chair, UC Davis Health Staff Assembly. Award committee co-chairs Mary Carrillo and Darolyn Striley announced the winners.
“It’s wonderful to share this evening with tonight’s award winners, their families, and colleagues,” Chancellor May told the crowd. “Thank you all so much for being here to help us celebrate each of these deserving staff members who make UC Davis such a remarkable place.”
“Thank you so much for your outstanding contributions to UC Davis," he said. “Your accomplishments, hard work, and inspiring dedication to excellence have significantly enriched our university and made it a better place. Your work powers the engine of this world-class university every day. Your excellence powers our research, builds opportunity for our students, and creates a welcoming environment for everyone on our campus.”
The chancellor praised their commitment to UC Davis. “Your commitment to our university and exceptional efforts are appreciated, and they are crucial to our mission and vision. Your tireless passion for your work and support for the UC Davis community make this a special place to learn and work. Your deep knowledge of our programs, skill at handling complex issues, and commitment to achieving the highest outcomes are the foundations of our success at UC Davis.”
Tauzer works with three principal investigators: professors Elina Niño and Neal Williams, and associate professor Brian Johnson. Niño is the founding director of the UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP) and director of the UC Davis Bee Haven, a half-acre demonstration garden planted in the fall of 2009 next to the Laidlaw facility.
"I help plan and execute the logistics for various entomology experiments, including preparing grounds, managing irrigation, and controlling pests for native plant and bee experiments," said Tauzer, a longtime beekeeper. "I maintain a healthy apiary for research purposes and provide bees for pollinating specialty crops in other departments."
Tauzer assists with CAMBP classes, the Bee Haven, Bee Health Hub services, experimental miticide trials, and other honey bee-related projects. "Just about every month there is a youth outreach event that needs bees and I help with those as well. At the university I am passionate about safety in the work place and being a leader in the beekeeping safety implementation."
Tauzer, who grew up just outside of Woodland, was nominated by the trio of Kathy Keatley Garvey, communications specialist and member of the department's awards committee, and Wendy Mather and Kian Nikzad, co-program managers of CAMBP. They gathered input from his supervisors, faculty, staff and students. The nominations are kept anonymous as to name, title and gender.
Tauzer "exemplifies outstanding leadership, consistently demonstrating integrity, compassion, and a deep commitment to our shared mission," the trio wrote. They praised his ability "to inspire trust and respect across faculty staff and students" and his "teamwork and ability to work well with others."
"I grew up between two worlds: Davis, a powerhouse of research, and Woodland, a leader in the agricultural industry," Tauzer said. "I work in a niche between Industrial agriculture and the environment."
He attributed two youth organizations, 4-H and FFA, with "giving me a passion for networking in the business world. In high school, I ran a livestock breeding program." Following his high school graduation, "I worked for the Natural Resource Conservation Service which helped galvanize my love of research. My bee journey began with menial labor in my family's apiary business, and I later fell in love with bees while in community college in San Luis Obispo."
"After college, I spent two years in queen bee production, and my expertise grew further as I worked in management of hive health and quality control for a commercial beekeeper," Tauzer related. "In 2016, I started volunteering at UC Davis and eventually became a paid intern, which led me to my current position in 2022."
Tauzer and his wife Kate, are residents of Winters and have a son, Clayton, 2, and are expecting a daughter in several weeks. Kate is a fifth grade teacher at Sierra Vista School, Vacaville. They also own a business showing and breeding Corgis. "We want to provide excellent quality and ethically raised Corgis to the world," Joseph commented, "plus I love to lay in the puppy pile after work."
(See more information on all other UC Staff Assembly award recipients, including scholarship recipients, here. A PDF includes the winning entries.)