Helene Dillard is retiring next year as dean of the University of California-Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

A national search for a new dean will begin in December, and Dillard will retire once her successor is in place.

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Dillard has led CA&ES for a decade.

“This decision is bittersweet for me. It has been an incredible honor to work with so many amazing staff, faculty and students, and serving as dean of this extraordinary college has been the highlight of my career,” Dillard said in “A Message from the Dean — November 2023.”

In a news release, Dillard said she was proud of the people dedicated to the mission of CA&ES to serve California, the nation and the world.

In retirement, she’s looking forward to spending more time with her family, fly fishing and improving her pickleball game.

“Dean Dillard is an Aggie through and through, and she exemplifies all that is best about our campus,” said Mary Croughan, provost and executive vice chancellor, in a news release.

“She is a two-time alumna, a brilliant researcher, an internationally recognized leader in her field, and as kind and compassionate a person as you could ever hope to meet. She is nearly synonymous with the campus, and it is hard to imagine UC-Davis without her. Dean Dillard will be dearly and deeply missed,” Croughan added.

Ag college details

As leader of the agricultural school ranked No. 1 in the nation and No. 2 in the world, Dillard has served as the chief academic and administrative officer of the college, which includes 14 departments, 29 centers and institutes, more than 7,600 undergraduate students, approximately 320 faculty and 585 staff.

She also manages programmatic responsibilities for the college’s Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension.

Dillard supported leadership and staff through several renovation and infrastructure projects, such as: six new greenhouses, including a 14,400-square-foot greenhouse to safeguard an important grapevine collection from red blotch disease and other pathogens; new irrigation and water management initiatives; major upgrades to the Center for Aquatic Biology and Aquaculture; the installation of a new indoor vertical farm to develop innovative solutions for food security and improved water use; and a new and innovative goat dairy and creamery.

Ag secretary respondsBefore her appointment at UC-Davis, Dillard was a professor of plant pathology, a Cooperative Extension specialist and associate dean of two colleges at Cornell University.

Her research focused on the biology, ecology and management of fungal pathogens that cause diseases in vegetables.

“Dean Dillard’s experience as a professor and researcher with an extension assignment made her uniquely qualified to serve as dean of this country’s top College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences,” said state Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross.

“She came to the position with a deep understanding of the importance of the public service mission of land grant universities and building relationships with stakeholders for real-time feedback to enhance the value of research to solve the most critical issues of our times,” Ross said.