Dr. Hess is Chair of the UC Davis Nutrition Department and Dean Emeritus of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. He served as Dean from 1975 to 1989. In 1989 he was appointed by the President to be the Assistant Secretary of Science and Education in the USDA. He also had two presidential appointments to the National Science Board, the governing board of the National Science Foundation. Upon his return to campus in 1991, he served as the Director of International Programs and has served as a special assistant to the Provost and Chancellor.

B.Sci., Plant Science, Rutgers University
M.Sci. Horticulture and Plant Pathology, Cornell University
Ph.D. Horticulture, Plant Physiology and Plant Pathology,  Cornell University
U.C. Management Institute, UC Davis Senior Executive Education Program, Federal Executive Institute


Alpha Zeta
Gamma Sigma Delta
Phi Beta Kappa
Phi Kappa Phi
Sigma Xi
Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Fellow, American Society for Horticultural Science
Honorary Doctoral Degree, Purdue University

University of California, Davis. Chair, Department of Nutrition, 2007 to present.

University of California, Davis. Special Assistant to the Chancellor, 2003 to 2004.

University of California, Davis. Special Assistant to the Provost. July 1, 1994 to June 30, 2003.

University of California, Davis. Director of International Programs. April 2, 1992 to 1998. 

University of California, Davis. Professor Emeritus, Department of Environmental Horticulture (Plant Science). July 1, 1994 to present.

Vice Chair, Council of University of California Emeriti Associations (CUCEA) 2007- present.

Chair, UC Davis Retiree Center Advisory Committee, 2005-2007.

Member, Executive Committee of the UCD Emeriti Association and Chair of the Program Committee, 2000 to 2007, Vice President, 2002-2004., President, 2004-2006.

Member, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Executive Committee, 1999-2002. Chair, 2001. 

University of California, Davis. Professor, Department of Environmental Horticulture. October 1, 1991 to June 30, 1994.

Assistant Secretary for Science and Education, U. S. Department of Agriculture. May 22, 1989 to September 30, 1991. 

University of California, Davis, Dean, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Associate Director, California Agricultural Experiment Station. July 1975 to May, 1989. 

Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Dean, Cook College and Director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. July 1972 to June 1975. 

Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Acting Dean, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences and Director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. July 1971 to July 1972.

Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Associate Dean, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences and Director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. January 1971 to July 1971.

Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Research Professor and Chair of the Department of Horticulture and Forestry. September 1966 to January 1971.

Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. Department of Horticulture. December 1958 to August 1966. 

Assistant Professor 1958
Associate Professor 1962
Professor 1965

U. S. Army Chemical Corps, Frederick, Maryland. First Lieutenant. November 1956 to November 1958. Served at the U. S. Army Biological Laboratories and as project leader in the Chemical Section of the Crops Division.

President, American Society for Horticultural Science, 1972.  Chair of Board of Directors, 1974.

Editor, International Plant Propagators Society 1962-1970; President of the Eastern Region 1969-1970, International President 1973.

Chair, Section O (Agriculture) of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 1989-1990.

Appointed by Governor Deukmejian to two successive four‑year terms on the California State Board of Food and Agriculture, 1984‑1992.

Chair, USAID/National Academies Review Panel for the Pakistan-US Science and Technology Cooperative Program, 2006 – present.

Consultant to the National Academies, National Research Council’s Committee on Science and Technology in Foreign Assistance, 2004-2005.  Participated in a site visit to Bangladesh.

Panel member, National Academy of Public Administration Study of the Organization and Management of the National Science Foundation including the National Science Board, the research portfolio, the promotion of interdisciplinary and innovative research, and the use of rotators in key positions in NSF.  2003-2004.

Board Reviewer, National Research Council, Division on Earth and Life Studies (DELS) of the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Institute for Laboratory Animals Research, 2001-2002.

Consultant, Iowa State University in the search for a Dean of Agriculture, 2001.

Board Member, by Presidential appointment, to the National Science Board (National Science Foundation) 1982-1988 and 1992-1998.  Member of the Executive Committee 1983-1988 and 1995-1998, Vice Chairman of the Board 1984-1988; Member, Task Force on Polar Issues 1994-1998; Chair, Audit and Oversight Committee 1996-1998.

Member, Board of Directors, Petoseed Company, 1992 to 1996.

Member, Biotechnology Science Advisory Committee, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1991-1994.

Trustee,  BIOSIS (Bioscience Information Service) 1988-1989.

Co-Chair, appointed by Secretary of Agriculture Richard Lyng, of the Joint Council on Food and Agricultural Sciences, 1987-1989.

Advisory Board Member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Publication, Issues in Science and Technology, 1987-1993.

Member, National Science Foundation’s U.S. Antarctic Safety Review Panel 1987-1988.
Co-Author, Report of the U.S. Antarctic Program External Panel, 1997.

Chair, National Research Council committee to develop a National Strategy for Biotechnology in Agriculture.  The report, Agricultural Biotechnology - Strategies for National Competitiveness, was issued in May 1987.

Member, Committee on Biotechnology, Division of Agriculture, National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, 1982-1990.

Chair, National Germ Plasm Resources Board, 1989-1991.

Co-Chair, Interagency Committee on Human Nutrition Research, 1989-1991.

Consultant, U.S. Office of Technology Assessment, 1977-1979.

Member of the Board of Trustees of the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC), Taiwan, Republic of China 1993-1996.

Appointed Honorary Member of the Faculty of Agricultural University of Hebei, Baoding, Hebei, Peoples Republic of China, September 1993.

Reviewed the National Agricultural Genetic Engineering Laboratory, United Nations Development Program, Cairo, Egypt, March 1993.

Review of the Egyptian Horticultural Research Institute, National Agricultural Research Project, Cairo Egypt, Nov. 3 -11, 1992.

Member of the Board of Trustees, International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR), The Hague, Netherlands, 1992 to 1998; Board Chairman 1995-1996.

Member of the Board of Directors, Institute of International Development and Education in Agriculture and Life Sciences (IDEALS), 1989 to present.

Co-chaired the U.S./European Community Task Force on Biotechnology Research. 1990-1991.

Participant in the High Technology Group of the European Economic Community discussion on applications and regulation of biotechnology, Brussels, Belgium, December, 1989.

Member National Academy of Sciences Team to evaluate scientific exchanges with Hungary, Budapest, Hungary, 1988.

Co-chaired conference in Guadalajara, Mexico to foster collaborative research between the University of California and the National Institute for Agricultural and Forestry Research (INIFAP), 1988.

Chaired a National Academy of Science workshop on Environmental Research and Agricultural Development, Ceske Budejovice, Czechoslovakia, 1987.

Led a World Bank and Chinese Ministry of Agriculture team to evaluate the effectiveness of World Bank Loans on upgrading Chinese Agricultural Education and Research.  A report "Agricultural Education in China: Past Accomplishments ‑ Future Directions" was issued in 1985.

Member of the Joint Committee on Agricultural and Research Development (JCARD) of the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD) a division of the Agency for International Development (AID), Department of State, 1983‑1986.

Member of ISEC, the International Science and Education Council, which links the international programs of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, 1980‑1983.

Leader of U.S. Agricultural Education Team to China to establish linkages between the seven key Chinese Agricultural Colleges and U.S. Land Grant Colleges, 1980.

Member of the Board of Directors of the University of California‑Egypt Program, a $15 million AID project to facilitate agricultural policy development and enhance food production and nutrition in the Middle East, 1976‑1981.

Consultant to the Ministry of Education, Republic of Sudan, 1976.

Consultant to the Agency for International Development to teach an intensive course in plant physiology to graduate students at the Rural University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, 1965.

Member, University Club Board of directors 1996-present; President 1997-1999.

Member, Davis Science Center Board of Trustees, 1991 to 1994.  Davis Science Center Regional Council, 1986 to 1989.

Member of Deans' Council of the California Agricultural Leadership Program, 1975 to 1989.  Chair of Deans' Council 1988.

Member, West Lafayette School Board, 1963‑1968. Appointed in 1963, elected to a four‑year term in 1964, Secretary 1963‑64, President 1964‑65.

Director Lafayette Regional Science Fair, 1962‑1964.

Cook College, Rutgers University – The State University of New Jersey and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station – Lifetime Recognition for Distinguished Leadership, 2006.

Gamma Sigma Delta – “Distinguished Achievement in Agriculture Award,”   2004.

College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Davis, “Award of Distinction,” 1994.

The National Association of State Universities and Land Grant College, Division of Agriculture, Recognition of Distinguished Leadership in Promoting Excellence in U.S. Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching. 1991

USDA Graduate School. Award for Outstanding Leadership as Board Chairman, 1989-1991.
The Fraternity of Alpha Zeta.  Award for Distinguished Service to Agriculture, 1991.

USDA Award for Distinguished Service, 1988.

Outstanding Educator of the Year, California Association of Nurserymen, 1986.
                                                                             
George Hammell Cook ‑ Distinguished Service Award, Cook‑CAES Alumni Association of Rutgers University, 1985.

Communicator of the Year, Town and Gown Toastmasters, Davis, California, 1984.

George H. Cook Memorial Award from the Cook College Board of Managers in recognition of the development of Cook College and leadership as Dean and Director, 1975.

Thomas A. Weston Trophy from the New York Florists' Club, 1971.

Jackson Dawson Memorial Medal from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 1971.

Kenneth Post Award in 1967 and 1969 for research papers published in the Proceedings of the American Society for Horticultural Science.

Norman J. Colman Award from the American Association of Nurserymen, 1967.

International Plant Propagators Society Award of Merit, 1963.

Selected as one of the five "Most Popular Professors" by the students of Purdue University, 1960.