Announcements

UC ANR reports gains in sustainability

UC ANR's statewide facilities – including nine Research and Extension Centers, the Elkus Ranch Environmental Education Center and an administrative building – made strides in sustainable practices in fiscal year 2020–21. 

For example, Hansen REC gleaned 9,300 pounds of fruit from orchards typically used for agricultural literacy school field trips. With youth programs shut down due to COVID-19, HAREC partnered with Food Forward and Ventura Unified School District to redistribute fresh produce to students and families.

West Side REC, meanwhile, leveraged COVID-19 site closures to redesign two buildings into laboratories with energy-efficient air systems, lighting, windows and insulation, demonstrating how older facility conversions can increase UC ANR's sustainability.

The RECs reduced carbon dioxide emissions from 1,766 to 1,596 metric tons from 2014 to 2019 and further cut emissions by 711 metric tons during pandemic-related closures in fiscal year 2020–21. UC ANR's water consumption remained stable in 2020–21 due to ongoing agricultural research.

Additionally, it is often not feasible for UC ANR to use zero-emission vehicles or hybrid vehicles given the need for trucks and farm equipment, which are often unavailable in these models. When possible, UC ANR purchases or leases flex-fuel vehicles.

UC ANR's LEED-certified administrative building – the offices at 2801 Second Street in Davis – reduced electricity use by 22% and natural gas use by 50% from 2014 to 2019. 

Read more at https://sustainabilityreport.ucop.edu/2021/locations/agriculture-and-natural-resources.

Employee comment sought on academic family leave policy changes

The University invites comments on proposed revisions to Sections 715 and 760 of the Academic Personnel Manual: 

• APM - 715, Leaves of Absence/Family and Medical Leave
• APM - 760, Family Accommodations for Childbearing and Childrearing

Summarized below are the proposed key policy revisions that are being distributed for systemwide review:   

• Proposed revisions are being made to APM - 715, Leaves of Absence/Family and Medical Leave, and APM - 760, Family Accommodations for Childbearing and Childrearing in order to reflect the increase in the paid family leave benefit from 70% to 100% of eligible earnings, with a proposed effective date of January 1, 2023.  All other aspects of the policies will remain the same. 

The proposed policy may be viewed at https://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/Administration/Business_Operations/Controller/Administrative_Policies_-_Business_Contracts/Policy_and_administrative_handbooks/ANR_Administrative_Handbook/Recent_Updates.

If you have any questions or if you wish to comment, please contact Robin Sanchez at rgsanchez@ucanr.edu, no later than July 18, 2022. Please indicate “APM-715/760 Employee Comment” in the subject line.

In memoriam: James Farley

James (Jim) Farley, emeritus UC Cooperative Extension livestock advisor, passed away March 31. He was 78. 

Farley, who lived in Merced County almost all of his life, was active as a youth in 4-H as a Merced County 4-H All Star. He owned a herd of Hereford cattle and showed them at the Merced and Los Banos Fairs.

He earned a B.S. in animal husbandry from UC Davis and a M.S. in animal science from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

During his 35-year career as a livestock advisor at Cooperative Extension in Merced County, Farley received the National Association of County Agricultural Agents recognition. He also was honored by the California State Association of Farm Advisors, for which he served a term as president.   

After retirement, he was employed by Validus Verification in Western states. Farley also co-authored a book titled “Handbook for the Small-Scale Pork Producer” and also was heavily involved in providing content for the software program “Pork Planner.” 

Farley was a leader in the 4-H Swine Project and shared his livestock knowledge with the 4-H youth. He received the 4-H Merced County Tak Date Meritorious Service Award. He was elected to the McSwain Union Elementary School District Board of Trustees twice. He also was a dedicated volunteer with the Atwater Chamber of Commerce.

Farley is survived by his wife Louise Farley, son Jeff Farley, daughter Laurel Farley Mitchell and her husband Kevin Mitchell, sister Jan Fister and her husband Larry, and grandsons Jacob and Mason Mitchell.

Read more about Farley's life at https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/mercedsunstar/name/james-farley-obituary?id=34245242.

In memoriam: Leon Garoyan

Leon Garoyan, emeritus UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the UC Davis Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics, died on March 26, 2022, at age 96. 

Garoyan grew up in Fowler, near Fresno, and earned a B.S. in horticulture from Cal Poly. His first job was as a Cooperative Extension farm advisor for six years in Oregon, where it became apparent to him that he needed to know economics.

After earning a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1960, Garoyan served in the Kennedy Administration as a staff economist in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, then returned to Oregon to resume working in Extension.

In 1970, Garoyan accepted a UCCE position in UC Davis Agricultural and Resource Sciences. At Davis, he wrote and advised extensively in several areas of marketing, particularly about the role of cooperatives and independent individual farming-related and commodity activities. He was also very active in The Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics. Garoyan retired in 1983.

He also worked and consulted with many farming-related cooperatives in the U.S., Chile, several Eastern European countries, and the Republic of Armenia. His Eastern European activities also involved consulting for the CIA on the food production and marketing systems in Eastern Europe and Russia before Perestroika. Although retired, he returned to Davis to serve as the founding director of the Statewide Center for Cooperatives, created by the Legislature in 1987 and located at UC Davis. He served as director for five years.

Garoyan was interviewed about his career in 2010 by his colleague and friend, Richard Howitt, professor emeritus of agricultural and resource economics. To view the conversation, visit https://video.ucdavis.edu/media/Leon+Garoyan/0_1dx04vri/25823532.

Garoyan is survived by his wife, Nina Hendrickx; son Leon Garoian III (Pia Kreutzer), daughter Elizabeth Garoian and grandson Benjamin Garoian.

Read more about Garoyan's life at https://www.davisenterprise.com/obits/leon-garoyan.

Community Education Specialist Self-Assessment Tool designed for nutrition programs

To be successful, CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE (CFHL, UCCE) community education staff require a wide variety of skills and expertise in topics ranging from community nutrition, classroom management, and growing food, to conducting needs assessments and youth and community engagement. Onboarding new staff or supporting the professional development of experienced educators can be challenging since new staff may not be fully aware of the skills required, and experienced staff may not be fully aware of areas where growth and development are needed.

To address these issues, we convened a working group of CFHL, UC and CFHL, UCCE staff and academics from across the state to develop the Community Education Specialist Self-Assessment Tool (CESSAT). The CESSAT is a tool for supervisors to use in collaboration with community educators to self-evaluate current knowledge and skills and identify areas for professional development. This tool can be used with new hires and/or experienced educators to: 

1) identify gaps in knowledge and skills and prioritize training accordingly

2) identify areas where growth or development is needed

3) inform the probationary and/or performance review process

4) identify opportunities for peer-to-peer support and informal mentoring

Over the course of 16 months, the workgroup met to review existing tools for community and nutrition educators, develop the skill and competency areas the tool should cover, draft self- assessment questions for each skill area, and divide skill areas between entry level and advanced. Once we had a complete working draft, we sent the CESSAT to subject matter experts in each of the skill areas for review and feedback. The current draft of the CESSAT reflects the input received from multiple partners and stakeholders.

We launched the CESSAT during a Feb. 24, 2022, webinar with CFHL, UCCE supervisors, managers and academics. We will collect feedback from this cohort of professionals as well as other program supervisors over the next six months. We plan to revise the CESSAT as needed to reflect the evolving nature of community education competencies and as additional skill areas are requested.

The CESSAT, if used broadly, can support the development of a highly skilled workforce, and help to identify training needs across the state. Our goal is that the CESSAT will support supervisors with access to a targeted self-assessment that they can use with new and experienced educators to support the training and development needs of every CalFresh Healthy Living program.

To access the CESSAT, click on this link: https://ucdavis.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2tyQ5AeYoaLpbFk. You will be asked for your contact information so that we can follow-up with a short feedback survey. 

Read more