- Author: Wendy Powers
The good news continues – my student gave a great seminar and successfully defended his dissertation research! Only some minor changes to be made, a third publication to prepare and submit, and then consider a fourth. This also means that other than a house to sell, my obligations to Michigan are complete! The real benefit to that is that it changes my tie to O'Hare airport with its frequent travel disruptions, including my return flights. One would not expect high forties and no snow on the ground would be problematic mid-January in the Midwest. At one point, I found myself trying to give odds to which airport I would spend the night; I had three from which to choose. However, alas, I made it back!
Reviewer requests have been to prospective evaluators for those seeking merits or promotions. I'm really pleased that of those I have heard back from, all have agreed to write a letter, demonstrating the collegiality and support for peers that are core strengths of UC ANR. Thanks everyone! I know all are busy enough without this added task.
Today the New Academic Peer Cohort has its first Zoom meeting. This is a group of Advisors and Specialists that have been in their positions 4 years or less. While traditional mentoring is critical, I think peer cohorts serve an equally valued function. It also gives the group a mechanism to get to know peers from around the state that are outside of their program area.
Later today the Senior Leadership Team meets. While the agenda looks light, I have a few items to bring up that I didn't add to the agenda. Those are on the topics of a funding campaign idea and recall of academics, post retirement. This meeting will also be a good opportunity to talk about next steps following the strategic plan retreat that occurred last week.
On to Hopland tomorrow to work on a new rate and recharge approach for the RECs that will keep the RECs viable, long term. Then finally down to San Bernardino County for a quick visit at the end of the week. In between, I need to get a message out about the position call process for academic hires. And I hope to be gathering feedback on the 4 Vice Provost candidates that were interviewed last week. If you get a chance, please take a look at the seminars and provide that feedback. The 30-minute recordings don't give us all the insights into the candidates but it's the best way for as many people as possible to share their thoughts so I hope you can take the time this week.
Clearly no time for travel disruptions.