ANR Update

UC ANR 21-day racial equity challenge begins Sept. 14

ANR employees, along with other UC locations and thousands of other people across the US and beyond, are committing to deepening understanding of, and willingness to confront, racism for 21 consecutive days.

Diversity scholar Eddie Moore, Jr. created the 21-Day Challenge to encourage a deeper understanding of race, privilege, supremacy, power, and oppression. People at Food Solutions New England Sustainability Institute (FSNE) were inspired by his work and the work of Debby Irving and Dr. Marguerite Pennick-Parks to adapt the 21-Day Habit-Building Challenge to their food system network. FSNE has been organizing and hosting the Challenge every year since 2015. 

Why 21 days? Some say it takes 21 days to create a habit. The intention of this initiative is to support ANR employees in developing “effective social justice habits” to effect meaningful change. ANR has adapted FSNE's February 2020 21-Day Equity Challenge to make it easy for employees to independently dive into their own examination of the program or to create a cohort of ANR employees with whom to share the experience.

Through a look at the food system challenge developed by FSNE, we will distinguish that racism is expressed through institutions, cultures, and behaviors instead of flawed personal character defects. Uncovering inequities and injustices will assist each of us in broadening our understanding and compassion and grow our engagement towards anti-racism and towards the experiences of Black Americans.

In examining the Black experience, we will consider our own personal layers of privilege and those of all marginalized people, keeping in mind marginalized colleagues, clientele, community members or maybe even family members. Marginalized people include and are not limited to those marginalized by age, class, ability, immigration status, race, sexuality, spirituality, gender, gender expression, ethnicity, culture, identity and generation.

Most importantly the challenge will help us discover the many ways we can individually and collectively promote a more just and equitable food system for all. It will also prompt us on ways we can work as individuals, with others at ANR, with marginalized clientele, and within our communities and families to dismantle these systems everywhere.

Please visit https://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/Diversity/UC_ANR_21-day_racial_equity_challenge/ to learn more about participating in this important challenge.

Glenda Humiston 
Vice President

Input on the UC ANR 2020-2025 strategic plan

I'd like to thank those of you were able to join one or more of the four strategic plan input sessions to share your ideas on how to strengthen UC ANR.  We hosted four weekly sessions throughout the month of August, each covering a particular focus area. 

• Session #1 - Increasing Program Resources
• Session #2 - Strengthening Partnerships
• Session #3 - Fostering a Positive Work Environment
• Session #4 - Expanding Virtual Reach

With up to 200 participants at each session, we received many thoughtful comments.  Goal owners are reviewing all of the comments from these sessions and will use them to inform the UC ANR strategic plan goals for the next five years.  These goals operationalize organizational priorities for realizing and supporting our mission; they provide a roadmap for future focus and resource allocation.

If you were not able to attend these input sessions and are interested in hearing more about the challenges we face, our accomplishments to date, and the draft strategies for the future – the session recordings and slides are now posted on the UC ANR Strategic Plan web page.

After listening to the recordings, if you would like to provide input, there is still time. Links to surveys for each topical area are available on the web page listed above. The surveys will be closed at 5 p.m. on Sept. 9 to ensure that the goal owners will have time to review additional comments before completing their draft goal summaries.

We received positive feedback on the format of the input sessions, and so will definitely consider this approach again in the future.

Thank you again for your ongoing commitment to creating the best possible future for UC ANR.

 

Glenda Humiston

Vice President

New artificial intelligence institute, flu vaccine FAQs, unauthorized survey

New artificial intelligence institute 
I am very pleased to announce that with a $20 million award from the National Science Foundation and several federal agencies, UC ANR is collaborating with UC Davis and other institutions to create a new artificial intelligence institute for next-generation food systems.

The farming/food industry is experiencing a technology revolution. Digital, biological and mechanical innovations are being applied to solve long-standing challenges such as the impacts of climate change, ensuring food and nutrition security, and sustainable and profitable crop production. Artificial intelligence (AI) can be applied to most of these innovations, as they all have one common attribute: they produce and consume large amounts of data. AI is a way to put the large amount of data we have to work for us, making computers and machines smarter and more effective.

The USDA-NSF AI for Next Generation Food Systems (AIFS) puts UC ANR in a leading role with UC Davis, UC Berkeley, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Cornell in developing AI-based technology for the food system, but perhaps more importantly in applying them in real-world situations, training a next-generation workforce, and engaging the public in their value.

UC ANR staff and academics will have the opportunity to engage with AIFS through virtual and live events, research, extension and commercialization projects, workforce development activities and more. In many ways, AIFS will be a new support center for UC ANR staff and academics, helping to provide the latest training and tools for UC ANR's Cooperative Extension and outreach activities in California and beyond.

Gabe Youtsey, UC ANR chief innovation officer and Maggi Kelly, director of UC ANR's IGIS will be the primary UC ANR AIFS contacts. In the coming weeks, AIFS will provide further information about events and ways to engage. Please reach out to gdyoutsey@ucanr.edu to express your interest in getting more information as AIFS is launched.

Flu vaccine FAQs 
UCOP has published frequently asked questions concerning the 2020-21 UC influenza vaccination order requiring employees to be vaccinated by November 1, 2020. I encourage you to review them at 
https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/coronavirus/frequently-asked-questions-for-employees-about-the-2020-21-uc-influenza-vaccination-order.html.

Unauthorized survey 
UCOP Communications has learned that an outside market research firm, Consumer Evaluation & Insights, recently sent a survey about UC's flu vaccination policy to a number of UC faculty and staff with the subject line “Share your opinion on the UC Flu Vaccine requirement.” Please be aware this survey was not authorized or commissioned by UC, and you are under no obligation to complete it. 

Additionally, because data from this survey is being collected by an external organization, UC cannot make any assurances regarding the use, privacy or security of any information you provide.

Glenda Humiston 
Vice President

 

Integrated Web Platform

We are pleased to announce that the Integrated Web Platform (IWP) project has been approved and implementation work has begun.

The purpose of the Integrated Web Platform (IWP) is to unify and modernize the UC ANR web platform in order to:

• organize the division's educational information and make it more discoverable via proven, taxonomy-driven content strategy principles
• drive increased engagement with UC ANR's programs, services and fundraising efforts
• bring an appealing, modern, user-friendly design to our web presence
• improve the organization and discoverability of internal-facing (UC ANR employee) information

The IWP will replace UC ANR's current web platform, Site Builder. The project represents a major technological transformation for our organization that helps us expand the reach of our programming and improve information delivery. It will be developed in phases, with the first major phase expected to launch in summer 2021.

The project is led by Sree Mada and Jonathan Wilson (UC ANR IT) along with Jim Downing and Linda Forbes (content management), and is expected to take approximately 2 years to complete all phases. The project leaders will work with a steering committee to establish and implement a detailed project plan. Steering committee members include:

Academic Community - Mark Bell, Dustin Blakey, Bruce Linquist 
Research & Extension - Mark Lagrimini 
Development Services - Lorna Krkich 
Program Support Unit - Sherry Cooper 
Human Resources - John Fox 
UC Integrated Pest Management - Jim Farrar 
UC Master Gardeners - Missy Gable

Details of the phased project plan are included in Goal 5 of the 2020-2025 UC ANR Strategic Plan. We encourage you to explore the development site at http://iwp.ucanr.edu/ for project updates throughout the implementation.

Please feel free to share any input or questions you may have by emailing iwp@ucanr.edu.

Tu Tran, Associate Vice President, Business Operations 
Wendy Powers, Associate Vice President

Emergency resources

Dear UC ANR Community,

We have all experienced so many challenges this year, and now we face the challenges wrought by more than 300 wildfires around the state. Some of you have had to evacuate to safety, wondering if your homes will be standing when you return. Others are sheltering family and friends who have had to evacuate. Power outages and poor air quality are adding to the stresses we face in the midst of a global pandemic.

We would like to remind you of resources that are available to help the UC ANR community weather this time of crisis.

• Supervisors are encouraged to be flexible and understanding with staff who have been impacted by the fires or power outages. If you cannot work due to fire impacts, contact your supervisor. Supervisors should contact Jodi Rosenbaum (jrosenbaum@ucanr.edu) about paid leave options.
• For those in need of further assistance, the Academic and Staff Assistance Program (ASAP) offers confidential and cost-free assessment, intervention, consultation and referral services to you and your families.
• Emergency resources from UC's benefit plans can be found at: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/compensation-and-benefits/emergency-resources.html
• Use the following safety notes and UC ANR fire website links to help with emergency preparedness and safety:

          167 Be Informed about Emergencies

          168 Make a Plan for Emergencies

          169 Build a Kit of Emergency Supplies

          https://ucanr.edu/sites/fire/Prepare/

          https://ucanr.edu/sites/fire/Safety/Evacuation/

          https://ucanr.edu/sites/fire/Safety/Current/

          https://ucanr.edu/sites/fire/Safety/AirQuality/

• Monitor air quality in your area using https://www.airnow.gov. Your local Air Quality Management District may also be a good source of detailed information. When checking the Air Quality Index, be sure to look specifically for the rating/number associated with AQI for5. Particulate Matter of 2.5 microns (PM2.5) is the pollutant of concern that is most typically associated with wildfire smoke. Anything above an AQI of 151 for PM2.5 is considered unhealthy.
• Use social media to stay up to date on the situation in your area: follow your County's emergency services, the Sheriff's office, CalFire, etc. to stay informed.

I am grateful to the firefighters who are working so hard to protect our state and to all of you for your resiliency and commitment to our mission. Thanks for all you do and stay safe out there!

Glenda Humiston 
Vice President

 

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