ANR Update

General salary increase planned to begin July 1

We are pleased to let you know that in accordance with President Drake's recent decision, UC ANR is implementing a 3 percent salary increase program for policy-covered staff and academics at all locations. It is critical that we recognize the extraordinary efforts by our employees, including our policy-covered employees, during the past year and to recognize the challenging period ahead.

The academic salary scales will be increased by a general range adjustment of 3 percent for policy-covered academic appointees. The adjustment to the academic salary scales will be effective July 1, 2021, for UC ANR policy-covered academic appointees. Those academics who are successful in merit and promotion reviews during the current cycle will advance effective July 1, 2021. No decisions have been made regarding any equity adjustments. Any decision to make equity adjustments will be communicated late summer.

All eligible policy covered staff employees would receive a 3 percent increase to their base salary, effective July 1, 2021. The general increases will be effective July 1, 2021, for monthly and June 27, 2021, for bi-weekly paid employees. 

Further information about the payout dates and eligibility will be communicated by HR in the near future.

People are our greatest asset; without you, we cannot achieve our research and extension mission. I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for your hard work and dedication.

Sincerely,

Glenda Humiston
Vice President

President Drake’s message on the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder

May 24, 2021

Dear friends,

Tomorrow marks one year since the murder of George Floyd. We pause to reflect on and honor his memory, and the countless others who have been maimed or killed by forces of oppression and bigotry during our nation's long history. The pernicious effects of racism have altered the course of our country from before its founding, and persist in ways large and small to this very day.

This past year in particular – with international public reckoning over racial injustice, and the disproportionate public health and economic impacts of the pandemic on people of color – leaves us keenly aware of the challenges we face in returning to a forever altered world. It also reminds us of the requirement that we engage our best selves in the work necessary to create a better, more respectful, more inclusive tomorrow.

The solutions to the structural flaws that plague our nation will require us to work collectively to imagine, and then create, the future we all deserve. We long to be that place, to quote the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore, “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high.” A place where we can all realize our full human potential.

As a university community, we can do our part to exemplify best practices and commit ourselves to lead. I applaud the many actions taken by people across the University, from anti-racism work to efforts to address basic needs and much more. So many of our students, faculty, and staff have devoted themselves to this effort, and are working every day to put the University of California on a better path forward. Our work is far from finished; our efforts will not be in vain.

Sincerely,

Michael V. Drake
President, University of California

UC ANR COVID-19 Update: UC ANR planning formal return to in-person work on July 1

California and the nation have made great progress in fighting the COVID pandemic! While we continue to take precautions and seek to vaccinate as many individuals as possible, activities and operations are gradually returning to normal. Given recent progress and following on our last message regarding remote work through June 30, 2021, it is time to prepare to officially re-open our locations, effective July 1.

Formal re-opening guidelines and telecommuting criteria are under development with planned distribution in early June. That information will be shared in future updates and posted on the website http://ucanr.edu/covid19. While there remain a number of unknown details for consideration – UCOP COVID vaccine policy, Cal/OSHA regulations, UCOP telecommute guidelines – we ask that all locations begin conversations about what a return to workplace will look like on July 1, 2021.   

Directors and supervisors are asked to begin talking with their teams to ascertain any obstacles that may influence a location's ability to return to “normal” operations. Each location will have unique restrictions/circumstances. Similarly, individuals may have unique circumstances that present challenges. It is important that teams discuss obstacles and opportunities and individuals discuss their own situations with their supervisors. Each location director/manager will have the flexibility to address their specific restrictions and develop workarounds and scenarios that keep the office location open daily during normal business hours while ensuring safety for employees and addressing unique circumstances to the extent possible. Telework, flexible schedules, and rotating schedules are part of the planning process and not guaranteed, but rather determined by a variety of factors and require supervisor approval.

Business travel around the state has resumed. Out-of-state business travel is limited to ‘essential travel' only. Prior to any out-of-state business travel, you are encouraged to discuss with your supervisor to determine if the travel is essential.

It has been a long road and I am eager to see us take this next step. I want to sincerely thank each of you for your efforts during this unusual time in history. I look forward to bumping into you, in Davis, in airports, or in our county locations, as we move into this next phase of recovery.

Sincerely,
Glenda 

 

June 1 Zoom Cloud recording data retention policy for UC ANR changes

Starting on June 1, 2021, Zoom cloud recordings will be retained for only 120 days and then automatically deleted. This means any existing cloud recordings will be deleted 120 days after June 1, 2021. Likewise, any new cloud recordings created on or after June 1, 2021, will be stored for 120 days and then deleted.  

Why is this necessary?

ANR has seen explosive growth in the amount of Zoom cloud recordings on our account. All ANR shares a limited Zoom cloud storage, which isn't designed for long-term archiving. If we go over our cloud storage limit, we will no longer be able to create cloud recordings, and we will also be charged overage fees.  We need to make sure that cloud recording continues to be available for all ANR staff.  

What if I need my recordings?

We recognize that many Zoom cloud recordings are essential to ANR's outreach. Therefore, ANR IT recommends downloading and then deleting any cloud recordings you currently have on your account. Once you download your recording, you can upload and share it from a cloud solution such as Box or OneDrive.    

How do I access my cloud recordings?

You can access your cloud recordings by following the instructions below:  

Accessing recording management

1. Sign into your Zoom web portal.
2. In the navigation menu, click Recordings.
   You will see a list of cloud recordings that you started.
3. Adjust the date range and status, then search by the host, meeting ID, topic, or keyword.
   Note: There is no limit on the date you can specify.

Downloading

You can also download the cloud recording to your hard drive and then safely delete it from your account. 

1. Find the recording you want to view and click the topic.
2. Click Download to download your cloud recording.
3. Once the file is downloaded, you can delete the recording.

Deleting cloud recordings

Once you've accessed your cloud recordings, you can delete cloud recordings. This will move the files to the trash, and you can permanently delete them from the trash manually.

For more information, see the official Zoom article about managing cloud recordings: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/205347605-Managing-and-sharing-cloud-recordings.

For any additional help, please reach out to ANR IT help@ucanr.edu. 

Regards,

Sree Mada
Chief Information Officer

 

UCCE academic positions to be released soon

I am pleased to announce that we plan to release a handful of UCCE academic positions for recruitment as soon as we know the final state of our FY2021-22 state budget. The state has announced full restoration of UC's budget for this next fiscal year, offering significant relief to UC ANR's budget outlook. That announcement means that the 12.7% cut we experienced in FY 2020/21 will be reversed, bringing our FY 2021/22 budget back to the pre-COVID levels we had in FY 2019-20.

While this news is very good, challenges will remain to fill the many other UCCE positions identified as high priority. Over the past 20 years, state funding for UC ANR decreased by almost 50% (adjusted for inflation), resulting in a significant decrease of UC ANR's Cooperative Extension Advisors and Specialists; from 427 positions in 2001 down to only 269 in 2021 – creating many vacancies in critical positions.

Strengthening and rebuilding our Cooperative Extension academic footprint is our highest priority and we will continue to seek additional funding for an array of sources. To this end, we have been successful in finding partners to co-fund UCCE Advisor, UCCE Specialist and other program positions. These partnerships reflect how our stakeholders value our people and our work. Not all positions have the same opportunity for partnerships, nor is it a goal to have all positions funded through partnerships, making it important to be able to fund new positions through our state and federal funds.

I wish to thank the Program Council for their work developing recommendations for the highest priority and most urgent 15 UCCE Advisor positions and five UCCE Specialist positions. Likewise, I thank the County Directors, Program Team Leaders, Statewide Program/Institute Directors, REC Directors, and Associate Deans for their efforts to identify priority position needs, considering the 2018 and 2019 proposals and more recent departures. This input was critical to inform Program Council's recommendations.

Over the past couple of years, we continued recruitment for high-priority positions identified through earlier UCCE position processes. See Academic Recruitments for a full list of UCCE academic positions recently recruited.

I look forward to sending more information on the specific positions to be released soon!

Glenda Humiston
Vice President

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