The UC Davis Quarter Abroad program in Florence, Italy, recently received a best practices award in international education. ... Plus, honors for Jamal Abedi, School of Education; Jerrold Tannenbaum, School of Veterinary Medicine and School of Law; Frank Samaniego, statistics; Howard Spero, geology; and Eric Mussen, entomology. ... And Marilyn Ramenofsky, adjunct professor in the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, is one of the newest members of the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. …

The year is winding down, but there are still two exhibitions to see on campus: Sticks and Bones, mixed media works by Dede deGraffenried and Liz Webb, at the Craft Centery Gallery; and Together Again, at the C.N. Gorman Museum. The latter features works by Lillian Pitt, Gail Tremblay, Joe Feddersen and Rick Bartow, all of whom have participated in previous exhibitions at the Gorman, contributing to the museum’s rich history — and are participating in this show to help celebrate the museum’s 40th anniversary year. …

See how our students are mastering the fine arts, in year-end exhibitions and shows, all of them free: Design M.F.A. Graduation Exhibition, through June 6, Cruess Hall; Past Year Reservations, works by first-year M.F.A. students in studio art, through June 4, Art Building; Ensemble Explorations, May 30, 120 Wright Hall; Master of Fine Arts Exhibition, June 1-22, Nelson Hall; and M.F.A. Dramatic Art Design Showcase, June 5, Wright Hall. …

The Davis-Sacramento shuttle will operate less frequently Tuesday and Wednesday (May 21 and 22), and will use a different bus stop in Sacramento both days. ... TAPS announces an increase in most monthly parking rates, effective July 1. ... Voyager Fleet Cards in university-owned vehicles expire on May 31 and need to be replaced. ... The next Organizational Excellence-Shared Services Center brown bag is set for May 22. … UC Davis’ Web CMS unit will hold an open house next week. … The UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center will conduct a free screening for hepatitis B in Asian Americans and adult children of foreign-born Asian Americans. … The Campus Council on Community and Diversity has selected “disability issues” as the topic for the 2014-15 Campus Community Book Project. … Plus, TGFS photos and a new Undergraduate Education website. …

This weekend in the arboretum features plants, bugs and a clearance sale — on plants, not bugs! The plant sale, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday (May 18), is the last of the season. On Sunday (May 19), Arboretum Ambassadors Melissa Cruz and Mira Parek present Bugtopia 2.0: Discover Everyday Insects, about the arboretum’s hidden insect wonders. …

Spurred by a Mathematical and Physical Sciences faculty recommendation to turn their division into a college, the provost’s office and the Academic Senate announced this week that they are forming a joint task force on the university’s academic organization. Also this week, the university librarian unveiled a draft of the library’s new three-year strategic plan and welcomed feedback from faculty, researchers, students, staff and all other members of the community. …

Two UC Davis figures in the Curiosity mission to Mars are set to give campus talks, while a Stanford professor will give the history department’s annual Eugene Lunn Memorial history lecture, this year on how people are safer today than ever before — surprisingly because of violence itself. …

Staff Assembly and the UC Office of the President are hosting town halls next Thursday (May 23): Staff Assembly to present and discuss the results of last spring's Staff Engagement Survey, and UCOP to discuss progress on meeting the recommendations of Robinson-Edley report, officially titled “Response to Protests on UC Campuses.” …

As a child growing up in Italy, Barbara Gandolfi cried on the first days of school and often played hooky to spend time with her grandfather. But now, in an extended academic career, she has been recognized with the Award for Excellence in Postdoctoral Research, which includes a $500 prize. This week, the university recognized Gandolfi, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Population Health and Reproduction in the School of Veterinary Medicine, and 31 others for outstanding graduate student teaching, dissertations and postdoctoral research. …