Stebbins took an appointment at the University of California, Davis in 1950, where he was a key figure in the establishment of the University's Department of Genetics; he was the department's first chairman and held the position from 1958 to 1963. At Davis, the focus of his research changed to incorporate newer areas, such as developmental morphology and genetics in crop plants, including barley. He continued to publish widely and extensively on plant evolution, writing over 200 papers and several books after 1950.