Helene Dillard, Ph.D

Helene Dillard, Ph.D




Biography

Helene retired in 2025 from the University of California Davis after serving 11 years as Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.  She enjoyed a rewarding career as a professor of plant pathology at Cornell University for 30 years, including service as associate dean and director for Cornell Cooperative Extension.

Helene grew up in San Francisco in a family that enjoyed the outdoors and spent time gardening and fishing.  At UC Berkeley, she earned her B.S. degree in Biology of Natural Resources and continued her studies at UC Davis, where she earned an M.S. in Soil Science and a Ph.D. in plant pathology.  She and her husband Victor live in Davis and enjoy traveling, fly fishing, pickleball, and gardening.