- Author: Deanne Meyer, Sustainable Food Systems Strategic Initiative Co-Leader
- Author: Mark Bell, Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives and Statewide Programs
Being able to connect is key to the success we in UC ANR enjoy in developing and providing solutions to help the people of California.
Please provide your input (see #3 under "Where are we?) to see how we might do this even better.
A summer survey to program team leaders and workgroup chairs asked for input on how we currently connect (and our current structure).
The three main findings were:
- Our current structure [roles of Workgroups (WG), Program Teams (PT) and Strategic Initiatives (SIs)] is - shall we say - somewhat “fuzzy.”
- Even with the lack of clarity on WG, PT and SI functions, people greatly value the opportunities to engage and interact.
- There is a desire to identify which of our (80+) workgroups are active and still needed.
Where are we? What are the actions in play?
- Workgroups: Frequently Asked Questions” A fact sheet on our structure was developed to help clarify roles – your feedback is welcome.
- Identify active Workgroups. This week, we are doing a follow up survey with WG chairs to seek input on the level of WG activity and connections.
- Your input welcome. We welcome your input through this simple survey - 5-10 minutes can help us all move forward. Please complete the survey https://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=26325 by Jan. 4.
What's next? After receiving input from you and the workgroup chairs, we will revisit our structure (program teams, etc.) and see how we can better connect.
Thanks for your efforts to help us positively impact the lives of all Californians.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
IREC is a 140-acre research facility located at 4,000 feet elevation near the Oregon border. The center specializes in crops grown in Northeast California including potato, small grain, onion, peppermint, forage grasses and alfalfa; however, most cool season field and vegetable crops can be accommodated and grown at the center.
Research topics of interest include variety development, integrated pest management, irrigation management, plant nutrition and agriculture-wildlife interactions. Available facilities and equipment at the center include a greenhouse, controlled postharvest facility, drying ovens, an automated potato grading line, a mini-still for essential oil extraction, clean and dirty laboratory space, specialized small plot pressurized irrigation equipment, research-adapted small plot planters and harvesters, and a full line of commercial farm equipment for field and vegetable crop production.
IREC also has a multi-purpose conference and laboratory building for extension events with high-speed internet connection, wifi, and audio-visual equipment for video conferencing. Technical assistance is available for all farming practices, field instrumentation and equipment operation, data collection, and data entry and analysis.
The center's Research Advisory Committee will evaluate proposed research for scientific merit and regional need. Approved projects will be eligible for center-provided support, which includes land, labor, technical assistance, equipment and facilities.
Questions about the research proposal process or about research opportunities here at IREC should be directed to Rob Wilson, IREC director, or Darrin Culp, center superintendent, at 530/667-5117.
Proposals may be submitted into the REC Manage System via http://irec.ucanr.edu at IREC Proposal Submission beginning Jan. 1, 2019, and are due no later than March 1, 2019.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Starting Monday, Dec. 17, ANR's help desk team will begin offering virtual “office hours” to answer questions about the multifactor authorization app Duo.
The Zoom link to the “Duo Clinic” is ucanr.zoom.us/s/491057944.
Join any time between 9 and 11 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday or Friday to ask Duo- and MFA-related questions.
To support ANR-wide adoption of Duo MFA, Tu Tran, associate vice president for Business Operations, asks all managers, supervisors and directors to make everyone in their offices aware of the Duo initiative and actively encourage them to enroll in Duo.
Everyone's participation in this cybersecurity initiative will help protect UC ANR information assets and help us comply with laws and regulations pertaining to the protection of personal and confidential information.
Questions may also be emailed to help@ucanr.edu.
- Author: Liz Sizensky
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
She was highly respected for her research on the food habits of minority populations living in California. She provided guidance in nutrition education and counseling. In addition, Ikeda was an early champion of a relatively new approach to weight management entitled Health at Every Size (HAES). This approach in the clinical treatment of obesity was seen as an important paradigm shift in the field of obesity.
In the HAES movement and in other ways, Ikeda distinguished herself as a visionary thinker. She developed new solutions and approaches to problems. She knew how to bring her ideas to fruition. She, along with Sharon Fleming and Patricia Crawford, co-founded the Center for Weight and Health at UC Berkeley. This was the first extension center of its kind in the nation.
The center facilitated interactions among researchers, policymakers and community-based providers from various disciplines and institutions concerned about weight, health and food security. The center became known nationally for the development and distribution of culturally sensitive nutrition education materials, for innovative studies on childhood overweight and policy work to improve nutrition and reduce disparities. While the Center for Weight and Health is no longer in operation at UC Berkeley, the center's projects and Ikeda's mentees were foundational in the creation of a new UC ANR institute, the Nutrition Policy Institute.
Although she retired in 2007, reporters continued to seek Ikeda's comments on the issue of weight.
Ikeda's many colleagues and friends at the Nutrition Policy Institute will miss the wisdom, energy, passion and vision she had for using nutrition as a vehicle to improve people's lives.
The Department of Nutrition and Toxicology posted a story about Ikeda at https://nst.berkeley.edu/news/2018/12/in-memoriam-joanne-ikeda.
Instead of flowers, Ikeda requested donations in her name be made to the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior Foundation at https://www.sneb.org/sneb-foundation/ or 9100 Purdue Road, Suite 200, Indianapolis, IN 46268.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Sciaroni, who served UCCE as a farm advisor and director for close to 40 years, was instrumental in establishing UC Cooperative Extension in San Mateo and San Francisco counties.
“Hank will be missed by many but his legacy and work will live on for generations to come,” said Wei-Ting Chen, co-director for UCCE San Mateo-San Francisco counties and nutrition, family and consumer sciences advisor.
A few of his notable accomplishments include starting the 4-H Youth Program in San Mateo and San Francisco counties, expanding the food and nutrition programs with an emphasis on serving minorities and low-income groups, and coordinating the donation of Elkus Ranch to the University of California. Active in the community, Sciaroni served on numerous agricultural and land-use committees and boards. He also authored and co-authored many publications for nursery crop production and agricultural crops.
After retiring from UC in 1986, he became a consultant for Nurserymen's Exchange in Half Moon Bay.
He earned his bachelor's degree in 1947 from UC Davis and received the Alumni Citation for Excellence in 1988 from the California Aggie Alumni Association.
Virginia Bolshakova, former UCCE director in San Mateo and San Francisco counties, described Sciaroni as “Always a humble servant with an eternal flame for justice and sharp intellect for his fields of agriculture and politics!”
While planning a UCCE centennial event in 2014, Bolshakova interviewed Sciaroni about his career and made a 16-minute video that she showed during the UCCE centennial event at Elkus Ranch in 2014: https://youtu.be/rAYmY66CGM8.
“Hank is a true hero!!” Bolshakova, now a professor at Purdue, wrote in an email. “I met with Hank and Dorris on a few occasions as he was an incredible mentor and advisor, even at 90! Elkus Ranch, San Francisco, the 4-H Farms, hiring one of the first African American advisors in the UC System, and the legacy of San Mateo/Coastside Ag can all be attributed to Hank's leadership with an amazing team of visionaries, givers and doers!"