I thought for sure I had things to prepare for today's VP Council but it turns out I misread the agenda. Fortunately I caught my mistake in time. So instead I visited Jan Corlett. She looks great. No surprise given the great care she is getting from family and UC ANR friends who are keeping her well-fed. She is very appreciative of the meals, flowers, plants, and good thoughts everyone has sent her way. In other uplifting news, I saw Andrea Ambrose in the Davis building today! I didn't get a chance to say ‘hi' before she left but I'm sure I'll get to catch up with her soon.
Ann Senuta shared at VP Council that Cal Ag just won a prestigious national award! Go Cal Ag team! Given all of the reviewers, editors, authors, designers and the Communications Advisory Board input and effort into the publication, Cal Ag is a team effort with too many individuals to acknowledge each without forgetting someone.
Have you got the WebANRs on your calendar? I'm looking forward to these third Thursday learning opportunities. You know I like the TED talk format – that brief ‘seminar' fits my attention span. That's the format of the WebANRs, followed by brief interaction. And the best part – there are 3 themes that will rotate each month, anyone with a computer and internet connection can attend, and they will be recorded in case I can't attend the live session! Jodi Azuli and team are working really hard to get these learning opportunities started. Thanks to those who have submitted topics and/or volunteered to present a topic! We can learn so much from each other and this approach gives us each a chance to hear from people internal and external to the division that we may not otherwise have a chance to meet.
It occurred to me today that VP Council is a great place to learn from each other. Because both programmatic and business units are represented and each unit operates differently, we have a chance to capitalize on the differences and get new ideas from each other. I've found it often rewarding to attend meetings of groups that are outside my ‘usual' peers just to hear a different perspective and see what creative ideas I can glean. Next week's conference offers a similar opportunity – hopefully many will use it as a chance to meet someone new or sit in on a session that is outside of their ‘usual' topic.
I do have weekend homework in preparation for meetings next week. Perhaps it's karma, the result of not doing homework during primary education.
See everyone next week! Safe travels to Ontario!