Power of knowledge

An inventor, farmer and pioneer in California’s pistachio industry, David Fiddyment understands the power of knowledge and the promise of education.

David came from a long line of teachers. And then he married one.

“Teachers are tremendous role models,” said Dolly Fiddyment, David’s wife and an elementary school teacher for 25 years before retiring in 1981, “but they need the best training and tools to work effectively with children.”

David, whose great-grandmother built and taught at the first school in Roseville in the 1880s, and his wife Dolly made a $1.09 million gift to the UC Davis School of Education in 2006 to support an endowed chair in teacher education.

The Dolly and David Fiddyment Endowed Chair in Teacher Education is one of only a handful of academic chairs in the country focused on teacher education. The generous endowment also helped UC Davis attract a nationally recognized scholar to lead the teacher education program and inspired many gifts to support students interested in teaching.

“It is such a joy for us to be able to stand up and take a position on something of such importance, “ said David. “With this gift, we are hoping to make a difference in the education of children everywhere.”