Congratulations to UC Davis staff research associate Joseph Tauzer, who manages the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility and who serves three labs within the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
Tauzer is a winner in the UC Davis Staff Assembly's coveted 2025 Citations of Excellence Awards Program.
A Staff Assembly panel selected Tauzer for honorable mention or second place in the service awards category. He will receive a $1000 cash prize and special recognition at the Staff Assembly Awards Ceremony, set for Wednesday, Sept. 10 at the residence of UC Davis Chancellor Gary May.
The top honor in the service category went to Kim Evans, Staffing Coordinator, Student Dining and Housing Services.
Tauzer, an experienced beekeeper 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 the UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP). They gathered input from his supervisors, faculty, staff and students.
The nominations are kept anonymous. Nominators can neither mention a nominee's name nor such identifying factors as department, job position, responsibilities or gender.
The trio wrote that Tauzer "exemplifies outstanding leadership, consistently demonstrating integrity, compassion, and a deep commitment to our shared mission." They praised his ability "to inspire trust and respect across faculty staff and students" and his "teamwork and ability to work well with others."
Tauzer has "effectively established a larger vision for the facility space and organization and is diligently working on creating a unified and purpose-driven environment, comfortable and functional for all," they wrote. Tauzer "never shies away from a challenge and greatly enjoys solving problems and coming up with solutions" and "is ready to assist anyone, student and staff, at any time and with anything."
They described him as "an effective supervisor and mentor to a number of undergraduate and graduate students and other junior staff and has a remarkable ability to motivate others."
"(He) often comes in on the weekends and works late night hours to accomplish what needs to be done," they noted, "and even when these needs sometimes arise last minute as we work with living animals that don’t have watches and calendars."
The nominators also described him as "an expert multitasker."
"Despite being busy with multiple tasks and responsibilities, (he) always takes the time to check in with every team member, actively listens, and is extremely approachable. (His) hard work and initiative were also instrumental in reestablishing and revitalizing the a bee garden with other staff."
The nominators also drew attention to Tauzer's subtle sense of humor that makes him "a pleasure to work with" and that he is "always positive, optimistic and hard-working."
Works With Three Principal Investigators
Tauzer works with three principal Investigators: professors Elina Niño and Neal Williams, and associate professor Brian Johnson. "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," he said. "I maintain a healthy apiary for research purposes and provide bees for pollinating specialty crops in other departments."
Niño is the founding director of 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.
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."
Grew Up Between Two Worlds
"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, have a son, Clayton, 2, and are expecting a daughter in October. Residents of Winters, 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."
For the complete list of winners, access the Staff Assembly website.
