Austin & Arutha Goss Presidential Chair in African American and African Studies Fund

Alumni and longtime university supporters Lois and Darryl Goss are creating a presidential chair in African American and African studies at the University of California, Davis, to provide sustained funding for teaching, research and outreach about the history and culture of communities of African descent around the world.

“We specifically created this presidential chair due to the current climate around social justice — we want to bring diversity, equity and inclusion to the forefront of everyone’s mind,” Darryl Goss said. “We need to provide appropriate support toward educational opportunities to generate more interaction and understanding of underrepresented people’s histories.”

The Austin and Arutha Goss Presidential Chair in African American and African Studies is named in honor of Darryl Goss’ parents, whom he and his wife credit with teaching them the value of education and lifelong learning.