- Author: Jodi Azulai
Each year, UC ANR Learning and Development sends several women to systemwide UC Women's Initiative for Professional Development.
UCWI is a unique, experiential professional-development program committed to enabling the full participation, success and advancement of woman-identified professionals at the University. The program is open to all who support this mission and who are interested in the development of woman-identified professionals.
Several of the 2021-2022 participants shared their unique experience.
– Marilynn Ljungberg, Community Education Specialist
The UC Women's Initiative gave me the tools and confidence to take control of my career, specifically through developing my professional Board of Advisors and thinking through my values and the impact I make while creating my professional narrative.
– Kathryn Stein, Executive Assistant
I really enjoyed this program, it provided a framework to be a better leader and mentor.
- Alda Pires, Associate Professor of Cooperative Extension/Associate Specialist
UCWI was just the kickstart I needed to be more invested in my career development. This program helped me eliminate my fear of networking and allowed me to put together a board of advisors to council me on my career.
- Sibani Michael Bose, Chief Business Officer, Nutrition Policy Institute
Because of this exceptional program, I will be able to share better feedback, and ask more succinct questions to get the information I need.
– Terri White, Executive Assistant
The UCWI program connected me with women throughout the UC system. Together we created a safe environment to share, built a support system, and created friendships that will last for years. As a result of my participation in the program, I have increased my self confidence in my role in the organization and in leading my team. I feel empowered explore what opportunities for career advancement exist around me and to take steps to surround myself with people and opportunities that will allow me to transition into those positions.
- Rita Palmer, California 4-H Statewide Staffing Plan Coordinator
The overall program UC Women's Initiative for Professional Development is designed to:
- Cultivate a professional network that spans the UC system
- Provide access to top UC leaders — women and men — to learn about their diverse leadership approaches and journeys
- Strengthen skills and confidence through hands-on practice with a range of tools in the areas of:
- Professional development and impact
- Strategic relationship building
- Developing and delivering a compelling narrative regarding one's professional accomplishments and vision
- Negotiating at work
- Peer coaching
Interested? Stay tuned for ANR nomination announcements in early February 2023!
/span>- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Do you have new ANR colleagues in your program or at your location? Please let them know about the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Alliance and invite them to participate.
The DEI Alliance promotes diversity, equity and inclusion in our work and workplace to make UC ANR a truly multicultural and inclusive institution for employees and our clientele.
To keep these values top of mind, the group will plan regularly scheduled discussions based on short articles, videos and podcasts, said Jodi Azulai, a member of the alliance
“This will likely start before fall, but in the meantime, we could use some new folks with new energy,” she said. “We could use new people with fresh ideas to serve on the Coordination & Outreach and Learning Subcommittees.
Both UC ANR veterans and new hires are welcome to join.
“If you would like to help plan the monthly discussions, please let me know,” Azulai said.
For more information about the DEI Alliance, contact Azulai at jlazulai@ucanr.edu or visit https://ucanr.edu/sites/deialliance/DEI_Alliance_Home. To join, fill out the membership interest form on the website.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
UC supports employees who want to advance their education and offers tuition and fee discounts to those who are eligible. Regular status employees who meet the admission requirements of the university are eligible for a two-thirds reduction of both the University Registration Fee and the Educational Fee when enrolled in regular session courses of up to nine units or three courses per quarter or semester, whichever provides the greater benefit.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program is a federal program created for people working in public service, such as UC ANR, that offers the opportunity to have one's federal loan balances forgiven after 120 qualifying monthly payments.
Notably, the program would allow those who qualify to have the remaining balances of their student loans waived. The PSLF has recently been overhauled, making the application process easier and widening the scope of eligibility.
If you have qualifying loans and haven't taken advantage of the forgiveness program, the deadline for the PSLF is Oct. 31. To apply, you will need to obtain employment verification from UCPath, which could take some time. Check out the full details at the government website.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Daniel Munk, UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor, retired from a 36-year career with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources on July 1.
“Dan has played a pivotal role in the success of cotton that has been grown in California, especially his work on drought-related growing conditions and how best for cotton to overcome those conditions and thrive,” said Roger Isom, president and CEO of California Cotton Ginner & Growers Association and Western Agricultural Processors Association in Fresno.
“And while I know he has been involved most recently in reduced tillage research, it is his irrigation work that he will be remembered for,” Isom said. “Dan put on numerous irrigation workshops and grower meetings over the years, and he was the cotton industry's ‘go to guy' on deficit irrigation and related topics.”
As a youngster, the Bay Area native was interested in the natural sciences so he earned a B.S. in soil and water science and an M.S. in soil science from UC Davis.
“I never had an idea of becoming a farm advisor until I worked with Donald Grimes,” Munk said. In 1986, Munk took a job assisting the now UC emeritus water scientist with research on water penetration problems. It was while working with Grimes at Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center south of Fresno, Munk said, “I got an understanding of the importance of agriculture.”
In 1990, he became a UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor in Fresno County.
“Dan has been helpful,” said John Diener, a Five Points farmer who began working with Munk in the 1990s. “If I needed anything, he was helpful, bringing information like for lygus bug or diseases or new varieties.”
To solve a salinity problem, Diener consulted Munk. “Dan was an irrigation guy and worked with USDA ARS and NRCS. This was bigger than what a local farmer can do,” Diener said, adding that Munk brought UC technical knowledge and resources from USDA Agricultural Research Service and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service to the West Side of Fresno County to build a tile system for managing the salinity in drainage water. “It took a whole group of people to make it happen,” Diener said.
When Munk joined UC Cooperative Extension, California was growing over 1 million acres of cotton, mostly Acala varieties. During the state's six years of drought spanning the 1980s and 1990s, growers began planting the higher priced extra-long staple Pima cotton varieties instead of Upland cotton types.
In response, Munk began studying ways to improve irrigation management for Pima cotton. He and colleagues also studied plant growth regulators and found that by treating vigorously growing Pima cotton plants with plant growth regulators following first bloom, cotton yields improved by 60 to 120 pounds per acre, which translated to a $50 to $100 per-acre increase in crop value, with higher cotton quality and fewer problems with defoliation.
As water became increasingly limited in California, the state's cotton acreage plummeted and Munk turned his research to producing crops with less water using reduced tillage systems. In one study, he and his research collaborators found that they could improve water use efficiency by 37% by growing cotton in wheat residue versus conventional tillage. In other research, Munk and colleagues showed that reduced till cotton systems could reduce fuel use by more than 70%, increase soil carbon by more than 20%, and reduce dust emissions by more than 60%, relative to conventional till approaches.Another of Munk's projects suggests that garbanzos and sorghum can be grown under no-till practices in the San Joaquin Valley without loss of yield.
“He has also been helpful in issues related to nitrogen uptake and air and water quality,” Isom said.
Because of Munk's expertise in nutrient and water management practices, he was asked to serve on the state's Agricultural Expert Panel in 2014 to assess agricultural nitrate control programs. They developed recommendations for the State Water Resources Control Board to protect groundwater.
One of the recommendations was to develop a comprehensive and sustained educational and outreach program. As a result, the California Department of Food and Agriculture and UC California Institute for Water Resources created the Irrigation and Nitrogen Management Training Program, for which Munk helped develop curriculum and train growers and farm consultants on best farm practices for nitrogen and water management. Leading the program's southern San Joaquin Valley courses, he helped certify more than 300 growers, consultants and farm advisors in protecting groundwater.
“I hope these more recent programs will have lasting impacts on farm economic viability and improved groundwater quality,” Munk said.
The farm advisor also extended his irrigation knowledge beyond farms. Working with fellow UCCE advisors and specialists, Munk conducted hands-on training for school landscape staff in 2012-2013. The staff learned how to measure irrigation output, sample soil and manage water to avoid runoff and improve water quality.
“He has had a huge impact, and his work will remain instrumental in the cotton industry's survival in California as we deal with ongoing drought issues,” Isom said. “His departure will leave an empty spot in the cotton world today without a doubt!”
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
In 2016, she joined UC ANR to provide fiscal, analytical, administrative and policy/procedure support.
Hammer Coffer started her UC career in 1996 in Facilities Management at UC Davis, then moved to UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education. Over the years, she also worked for UC Davis School of Medicine, UC Davis Health's budget office and payroll, UC Davis Student Housing, Campus Recreation, Transportation and Parking Services and Crocker Nuclear Laboratory.
Before joining UC, she was a jet engine technician for the U.S. Air Force Reserve for six years, then a crime analyst for the City of Vacaville for six years.
Hammer Coffer retired from the U.S. Air Force Reserve with 27 years of service in the aviation operations field.