Judith Schreider Award

October 17, 1939 - September 11, 2020

Words cannot begin to express the gratitude I have for the tremendous amount of help and support you have given me throughout the medical school application process. I could not have achieved this success without your support, dedication, and belief in me.

Her Personal Life

Judith was born on Oct. 17, 1939 in Glendale, California. In 1960, she moved to Hillsborough with her daughters Suzanne Elizabeth and Catherine Elizabeth (she loved the name Elizabeth) and their father.

She met Jay Schreider in Davis, and they were married on May 21, 1993, with their dog (Pepper) serving as a flower girl. Their marriage was exemplary nurturing; they shared a myriad of activities, including visiting their grandkids John and James, for whom Judith was referred to as “Gram”.

Judith died in peace on September 11, 2020 at home in the presence of her loving husband (Jay), sweet dog (Cayenne), and caregiver (Lisa Perrin). It was Jay’s greatest honor and joy to care for Judith for the many years she struggled with Type 1 Diabetes.

Her Legacy and Professional Achievements

1958: accepted in the University of Oregon and joined Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She founded the UC Davis Chapter and lead 25 years of activities as the alumni liaison with the Prytanean Women’s Honor Society. She completed her undergraduate studies at California State University, Hayward.
1970: started her graduate work at UC Davis in Biological Anthropology. Her field of research was on perinatal biology and non-human primate reproduction at the California Primate Research Center.
1976: received her PhD from UC Davis. Postdoctoral work on primate reproduction at the Letterman Army Institute of Research.
1978: Chair of the UC Davis Pre-Health Professions Advisory Committee (PHPAC) until she retired in 1993.

Her Passions

Judith was an avid reader and enthusiastic learner, practices she maintained throughout her life. She always enjoyed working with college students, and usually advising and mentoring them throughout their graduate and post-doc. Many of her students maintained contact with her over the years and her face lit the room when they called or visited her.

She was deeply concerned about social justice and some of her activities included volunteer work for Assemblyman John Vasconcellos and Congressman Vic Fazio.

Mentoring college students was Judith’s niche and love in the academic world.

Judith had a profound sense of fairness and kindness; enthusiasm for science, reading, and education; and deep empathy for the less fortunate.

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