- Author: Jodi Azulai
Three opportunities are being offered to improve our diversity, equity and inclusion skills – an understanding unconscious bias workshop, intercultural competence program and a 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge.
Vice President Glenda Humiston encourages participating in activities such as these to support the ANR Strategic Plan 2020-2025 goal to develop a more inclusive and equitable workplace.
Understanding Unconscious Bias: Awareness, knowledge and competency development
Bias, in its most simplistic definition, is having a preference for one thing over another. Also, biases come into play in our impressions and judgment of people, especially those whose identities and experiences are different from our own.
Mikael Villalobos, associate chief diversity officer in the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at UC Davis, and Eric Sanchez, diversity and inclusion educator at UC Davis, will lead the workshop.
Objectives:
- We will explore how we make snap judgments about people by understanding how socialization informs our biases.
- Participants will be introduced to theory and language in understanding implicit and explicit bias.
- Using personal reflection, experiential exercises and case studies, participants will gain greater awareness when they engage in bias and gain essential knowledge and skills (tools) in how they recognize and mitigate biases in both personal and professional domains.
Who should attend:
- Employees who work with clientele, volunteers or provide support to others in ANR.
- Priority will be given to people who have not had previous access to this learning topic.
- There will be a waiting list for those who are interested, but regularly engage with bias-related topics.
Each of the two-hour workshops will be tailored to job roles, but you are welcome to sign up for the session that fits your schedule. Each session will be limited to 35 participants.
Academic coordinators, UCCE advisors, UCCE specialists, community educators, UCCE field workers, REC and staff research associates and other employees who deliver programs to clientele
- Thursday, March 3, 10 a.m.-noon
- Wednesday, April 7, 9 a.m.-11 a.m.
- Tuesday, June 1, 9 a.m.-11 a.m.
- Monday, June 7, 10 a.m.-noon
Volunteer coordinators, managers and other employees who work with volunteers
- Thursday, March 4, 9 a.m.-11 a.m.
- Monday, May 10, 10 a.m.-noon
Administrative and support staff who provide support to others in ANR
- Monday, March 15, 10 a.m.-noon
- Thursday, May 20, 10 a.m.-noon
To register for Understanding Unconscious Bias, visit https://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=32980.
Take the 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge
UC ANR employees are invited to participate in the Food Solutions New England 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge. The challenge timeframe is April 5-25, 2021, so sign up before March 29.
The challenge:
- will raise your awareness, change your understanding, and potentially shift the way you behave,
- goes beyond individual or interpersonal racism by helping to demystify structural and institutional racism and white supremacist patterns that are sometimes invisible to people, and
- inspires you to act, on your own or with others in your organization, business or group, to dismantle these systems.
Why you should participate:
- The 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge led by Food Solutions New England is designed to increase personal awareness and address cultural competency, implicit bias, and other relevant topics that are critical to deliver programs and to address needs of the people California.
How this works and your commitment:
- Each morning of the Challenge, you'll receive an email "prompt" from Food Solutions New England with a short reading, video or audio file. You are encouraged to spend 10 to 15 minutes each day with the material in the prompt.
- You are encouraged to participate in weekly discussion groups for this challenge. You can be placed in a group based on your registration responses or form your own group. These conversations require vulnerability and a safe environment. Guidelines will be available to help your group preserve both.
To participate, please complete both online forms as outlined below before 8 a.m. Monday, March 29.
- Register here to participate to receive email prompts from Food Solutions New England.
- Complete this form to share with ANR that you will participate and to receive assistance with discussion group placement.
Increase your intercultural competence
UC ANR's Intercultural Development Inventory Qualified Administrators team invites you to participate in a professional development opportunity to increase your intercultural competence and demonstrate our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, and growth as professionals.
An ANR-wide cohort of 10 to 12 individuals will participate in an intercultural competence professional development activity that uses the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI).
As a member of the cohort, you will:
- Take the Intercultural Development Inventory,
- Receive individualized coaching by an IDI Qualified Administrator, who will review your confidential results and help guide you to increase your intercultural competence, including your personalized intercultural competence plan.
- This process is super confidential
In addition, to support your intercultural competence professional development, you will have the opportunity to participate in several structured learning opportunities with other UC ANR professionals and video trainings. In these interactive and participatory sessions, you will engage in open dialogue and deep reflection on issues related to your work.
The commitment begins March 2021 and extends through August 2021, with an IDI Conference in February 2022. The $150 registration is paid for by ANR Learning & Development. Priority will be given to people who have no or little experience with the work of diversity, equity and inclusion.
By participating in this intercultural competence program, you will:
- Increase understanding of how the development of our individual and collective intercultural competence is connected to the UC ANR mission and core values
- Increase understanding of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to strengthen your intercultural competence; understand how people perceive cultural similarities and differences and learn strategies to begin to bridge these differences.
- Understand how people perceive cultural similarities and differences and learn strategies to begin to bridge these differences.
If you would like to participate in this professional development opportunity, please fill out the IDI Interest Survey by March 12, 2021.
For more information, contact the Intercultural Development Inventory Qualified Administrators Team:
Dorina Espinosa, dmespinoza@ucanr.edu
Maria de la Fuente, medelafuente@ucanr.edu
Russell Hill, rdhill@ucanr.edu
Car Mun Kok, cmkok@ucanr.edu
Keith Nathaniel, kcnathaniel@ucanr.edu
Lynn Schmitt-McQuitty, lschmittmcquitty@ucanr.edu
Liliana Vega, live@ucanr.edu
Two award opportunities are available this year through the Western Extension Directors Association (WEDA). Please note that applications for both are due March 1, 2021.
The WEDA Awards of Excellence was created in 2005 to recognize Extension outreach education programming that has achieved outstanding accomplishments, results, and impacts in addressing contemporary issues in one or more of the 13 Western states and Pacific Island US Territories. The Western Extension Directors Association (WEDA) Awards of Excellence is offered annually to individuals or multi-discipline teams for single state or multi-state programs. Awards are presented by the Chair of the WEDA. Winners receive a plaque, certificate and monetary stipend in support of their program. The award recipients present a brief seminar at the time of the award presentation, typically during the Western Regional Joint Summer meeting. UCANR can make up to two program submissions. Vice President Humiston will make the final selections. Reception and initial screening of applications will be made by the Academic Assembly Council Program Committee. Their recommendations will be forwarded to the AVP.
The WEDA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Extension Award was created to recognize Extension professionals in the Western Region who have demonstrated excellence in reaching diverse audiences, especially minority and/or traditionally underrepresented populations. Any client or Extension employee may nominate an individual. Self-nominations are also accepted. UCANR can submit one program. Vice President Humiston will make the final selections. Reception and initial screening of applications will be made by the Academic Assembly Council Program Committee. Their recommendations will be forwarded to the AVP.
Submit your applications by March 1, 2021, to Joan Taylor Warren (jtwarren@ucanr.edu).
https://ucanr.edu/sites/UCAAC/Western_Extensio__Directors_Association_Awards_of_Excellence
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
The Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety is seeking proposals for short-term research, outreach or educational projects on a wide range of topics that address occupational health and safety in agriculture in Arizona, California, Hawaii, and/or Nevada. Find the call for proposals at https://aghealth.ucdavis.edu/funding/rapid-response.
Organizations, faculty and Cooperative Extension advisors may request up to $15,000. Graduate students may request up to $10,000. Proposals are due on or before April 2, 2021, 5 p.m. Pacific time, and funds must be spent by Sept. 29, 2021.
Email aghealth@ucdavis.edu with any questions.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
The UC Learning Center is the web-based Learning Management System (LMS) tool used across the University of California. Over the years, UC ANR employees have used multiple campuses to access the UC Learning Center, making it difficult for UC ANR to track and create our own training materials.
UC ANR will be implementing our own UC ANR UC Learning Center domain, similar to the campuses to access and use training activity, which will allow for the continued access to those critical campus-based trainings.
“As we move closer to the implementation dates in spring, we will share more information, links and FAQs,” said Bethanie Brown, Human Resources director. “We wanted to reach out early to ensure all employees were aware of this exciting news!”
Users can register for training activities, access online materials and view transcripts through the UC Learning Center. As a benefit, employees will be able to access other campus trainings based on ongoing local agreements.
Feel free to contact humanresources@ucanr.edu with any questions or feedback.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Informatics and GIS is offering a new series of online training for ArcGIS tools for spring 2021. The workshops will include introductions to:
- ArcGIS Online, for creating interactive web maps (Feb. 26)
- ArcGIS Field Maps, for mobile data collection (March 19)
- ArcGIS Story Maps, for creating eye-catching online stories and tours, supported by web maps and other visual content (April 2)
Please visit the IGIS training page, http://igis.ucanr.edu/Training/, for more information and to register for these new and exciting workshops.
