Announcements

Strategic Initiative Brief: DEIJ Program Team, IWP

Unify-Communicate-Advocate

The Strategic Initiatives offer a home for strategic thought - drawing on members of the wider UC ANR community and beyond to 1) help people connect and 2) help them identify and address issues of current and emerging importance. 

1. Program Teams - DEIJ added 

This month, the SI leaders approved the addition of a Program Team on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice. Program Teams operate at a broad level to help people within UC ANR and beyond network, share and learn. The submission of the DEIJ PT (by Clare Gupta and Sonja Brodt) and subsequent approval represents how UC ANR continues to evolve to better meet the needs of California. Learn more about Workgroups and Program Teams here.  

For more on the SIs and their activities, contact:

Jim Farrar: Pests (EIPD)

OPEN: Natural Ecosystems (SNE)

David Lewis: (Water)

Deanne Meyer: Food Systems (SFS)

Lynn Schmitt-McQuitty: Families and Communities (HFC)

Mark Bell: Vice Provost (Strategic Initiatives and Statewide Programs)

Fee policy for graduate student in absentia registration open for employee comment

The University of California Office of the President invites comments on a proposed Presidential Policy - Fee Policy for Graduate Student In Absentia Registration.  The policy is proposed to be revised and includes the following key issues: 

• The revisions to the policy language would permit Deans to establish “a local campus region within which in absentia registration will not be considered” instead of limiting eligibility to students studying outside of California.

The proposed policy is posted 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 22, 2021. Please indicate “Grad-In Absentia Policy” in the subject line.

Join UC Walks May 12

UC Agriculture and Natural Resources is hosting UC ANR Walks on Wednesday, May 12, at 10 a.m.

As a virtual walk, all ANR employees are invited to participate in this annual community-building event by walking – outdoors or indoors – or engaging in another form of exercise such as yoga to promote a healthy active lifestyle.

UC ANR promotes wellness by encouraging employees to take time out of their day to be physically active. As a UC ANR sponsored event, UC ANR Walks allows everyone to get together, be physical active, have some fun and hopefully is the catalyst for all of us to be more physically active.

Grab your walking shoes, water bottle, hat and sunscreen, and join your UC ANR colleagues as we take a walk break for good health and community. Make your walk an adventure by playing Walking BINGO along the way.

You can join the live event at 10 a.m. via Zoom. The Program Support Unit will send an email containing the Zoom link.

A stretching coach will lead light and fun stretching before your 30-minute walk or yoga session. After you walk or do yoga, rejoin the group online to do cool-down stretches to avoid injuries and to share comments about the exercise.

Photo Contest! Take photos and videos along your walk. Share your walk experience through real-time videos and photos during the virtual Zoom event. Enter a photo in the category of nature, fashion or urban point of interest. Photo winners will get a signed UC WALKS t-shirt, water bottle and fanny pack. 

Enter the UC ANR Staff Assembly Wellness Committee raffle by doing the following:

• Complete this survey after the walk.
• Promote your walk on social media (Facebook, Instagram or Twitter) using the hashtags #UCANRmoves and #ucwalks2021.

For more information, visit http://staffassembly.ucanr.edu/Subcommittees/Wellness_Committee/Wellness_Committee/UC_Walks or email the UC Walks planning working group: David Ritz, Scott Brayton, Nora Lopez, and Molica Sim.

 

New guides for engaging Latinx youth published

A series of ANR publications have been developed for people who wish to engage Latinx youth and families in their programs.

These briefs were inspired by a research project and the Journal of Youth Development article Guiding Principles for Reaching and Engaging Latinx Youth in Youth Development Programs, by Fe Moncloa, Nancy Erbstein, Aarti Subramaniam and Claudia Diaz Carrasco.

“We know that, in general, youth-serving practitioners do not read journal articles so we used the information to write easy-to-read briefs,” said Moncloa, UC Cooperative Extension 4-H youth development advisor in Santa Clara County.

The brief ANR publications are authored by Moncloa and Claudia Diaz Carrasco, UCCE 4-H youth development advisor in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

The five-part series are
Engaging Latinx Youth: https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8690.pdf
Conceptual Foundations: https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8691.pdf
Organizational Infrastructure: https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8692.pdf
Program Elements: https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8693.pdf
Building Relationships in Latinx Communities: https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8694.pdf

ANR Staff Assembly seeks active members

The mission of the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) Staff Assembly is to cultivate satisfied, dedicated and professional staff and to work with UC ANR Senior Leadership and other members of the ANR community to promote the interest and welfare of all staff employees. The Staff Assembly Council represents all UC ANR staff – full-time, part- time, limited-term, contract, career, represented, unrepresented and contingent employees.  Members of the council seek staff input on policies, processes and programs, and serve in an advisory capacity to UC ANR leadership, giving staff a collective voice on issues of concern. The council offers wellness programs, educational reimbursements, the ANR Grows program, and ambassadors for each ANR location. 

For Staff Assembly to be successful, volunteers are needed on the council.

Are you interested in:

• Building leadership skills?
• Offering opinions and recommendations to senior leadership?
• Fostering an understanding of ANR's mission?
• Helping ANR staff members further their career advancement?

If so, please consider being nominated for one of the following vacant positions.

Jr. Council of University of California Staff Assemblies (CUCSA) delegate (Two-year term and employee must be unrepresented)

Delegates for this position should demonstrate the following attributes:

• Possess a broad knowledge and understanding of the University of California system.
• Understand concerns and issues faced by staff.
• Have ability to consider and speak to issues from various perspectives.
• Make a commitment to attend and participate in quarterly CUCSA meetings and committees.
• Have full support from supervisor to participate in all CUCSA activities

For more information go to https://cucsa.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2018/01/junior_delegate_info_sheet.pdf

Scribe (one-year commitment)

Duties for this position include:

• Takes and prepares Staff Assembly Council minutes, including capturing action items.
• Provides timely written minutes to all SA Council members. Uses Collaborative Tools to maintain archive of minutes and to disseminate notes. 
• Consults with the chair and vice chair on the appointment of committees and committee members.
• Works with the chair and program chair to send “thank you” letters to guest speakers.
• Assumes other responsibilities as specified elsewhere in the bylaws or as requested by the chair.
• This is a 2.5 to 5 hour per month time commitment, depending on time of year and voluntary extra activities with the SAC.

Communications chair/coordinator (one-year commitment)

Duties for this position include:

• Serves as a liaison between Staff Assembly Council and all UC ANR staff to promote and advocate improved communication and interaction.
• Maintains and updates website as needed to reflect current and accurate information.
• Promotes UC ANR Staff Assembly events and programs as needed and works in conjunction with appropriate workgroup or committees to disseminate appropriate promotions.
• Creates and manages social media accounts: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
• Attends Monthly Staff Assembly Council meetings, bi-annual meetings and annual ambassador meetings.
• Assumes other responsibilities as specified elsewhere in the bylaws or as needed.
• This is 5-10 hour per month time commitment, depending on time of year and voluntary extra activities with the SAC.

For more information, please contact your local ambassador or go to our website:  http://staffassembly.ucanr.edu.

 

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