This October 22, 2026 feature from the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden looks back on its Summer Landscape Assistant program, in which 13 students spent the summer mulching, weeding, and power washing buildings across campus while photographing their work. They worked alongside staff from Grounds and Landscape Services and Building Maintenance Services and learned from longtime volunteer gardeners. They also took part in weekly leadership trainings through the Learning by Leading™ program. Along the way, students gained practical skills, a broader view of how the campus operates, and ideas about possible career paths, all while helping make UC Davis a more beautiful and welcoming place.
For Armin Bozorgi, web development is most meaningful when it gives people useful information and a way to make a difference. As a web development intern with UC Davis Facilities Management, he helps create digital tools that make campus energy data easier to understand and use.
As the Facilities Coordinator for the National Biomedical Research Institute (NBRI), formerly known as the California National Primate Research Center, Makayla Rojas plays an important role in maintaining a safe, functional, and welcoming environment for the institute’s employees.
After 25 years at UC Davis, Dan Goodwin continues to find new ways to improve the campus’ facilities and support their long-term success. As an Inspector, Planner, Estimator (IPE) with Building Maintenance Services (BMS), Goodwin develops project scopes, prepares cost estimates, and coordinates mechanical system repairs and upgrades across campus.
Mention a lock shop, and most people picture keys, cylinders and a quick lock change. Those services are part of the work—but for the UC Davis Facilities Management Lock Shop, they are only the beginning.
Behind many of UC Davis’ essential utility systems is a highly skilled team working behind the scenes to keep campus operations safe, reliable, and running smoothly: the Instrumentation & Controls Team.
What began as a project to remove an abandoned cooling tower near Kerr Hall has transformed a once-overlooked corner of core campus into a new outdoor gathering space for the UC Davis community.
When Facilities Management Inspector, Planner, and Estimator Dan Goodwin began exploring electric steam generation at Animal Resource Service J1 in 2019, technical, electrical, operational, and financial challenges kept the idea from moving forward. Seven years later, changing facility needs and sustained collaboration have created a new path, one whose potential benefits extend beyond a single building.
The UC Davis Grounds Yard has supported campus operations for more than a century. Now, a series of security and aesthetic improvements is helping the historic work area better serve today’s Grounds and Landscape Services team.
