UC ANR recognizes the importance of helping employees manage a work/life balance. During the COVID 19 pandemic, it is understandable that some employees may wish to temporarily reduce their appointment time to address priority family and self-care needs. UC ANR is providing opportunities for flexible work schedules and reduced time appointments through programs such as the Employee-initiated Reduction In Time program (ERIT).
For academics, approvals for one year or less will be considered and are subject to renewal consideration. All requests to reduce the appointment time must be supported by supervisors. Final approval rests with AVP Wendy Powers. The academic or supervisor may end such approved arrangements with a 30-day advanced notice.
Salary, monthly sick and vacation leave, and UCRP service credit accruals will be calculated on the reduced appointment percentage. You are also encouraged to contact the UC Davis Benefits Office to discuss the implication of healthcare coverage for any such reduced appointment.
Academics who are interested in seeking a voluntary reduction in time, please complete the documents listed below and submit to Tina Jordan (tljordan@ucanr.edu).
Staff employees may, with the approval of their department, reduce their working hours and corresponding pay between 5% and 50%. For more information about the Employee Initiated Reduction in Time (ERIT) Program, please visit the website or contact John Fox or Bethanie Brown.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
UC ANR employees made their voices heard through the 2020 ANR@Work survey. The survey received a 73% response rate with over 74% of respondents stating that they are a “satisfied” or an “extremely satisfied” UC ANR employee.
The inaugural ANR@Work survey was distributed to academics, staff and county-paid employees between March 17 and April 3, 2020. The goal of the anonymous survey was to obtain feedback about the work environment at UC ANR.
“Your responses tell us the top strengths of UC ANR include feeling valued by your department, feeling welcomed in your workplace, and feeling your department supports your work-life balance,” said John Fox, executive director of Human Resources.
Two of the top-scoring issues (4.4 out of 5 on the scale) show that respondents feel their supervisors treat them with respect and that their supervisors are supportive of their personal issues.
We hear you.
“Overall, while scores were not low, employees shared opportunities for improvement, which included wanting to have more of a voice on how to improve UC ANR, and wanting to hear more from senior leaders about long-range goals and strategic direction,” Fox said. “Another opportunity to improve was in the area of feeling more valued by the organization.”
Fox will review the overall ANR@Work survey results during the Town Hall Zoom meeting on Thursday, Aug. 20, at 1:30 p.m.
“We plan to repeat the survey annually for at least five years,” Fox said. “The 2020 survey results establish a baseline for continually assessing UC ANR's work environment.”
See more about ANR@Work Survey results at https://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/Diversity/ANR@Work_Survey_741. Questions or comments about the survey? Contact satsurvey@ucanr.edu.
- Author: Mark Bell
Unify-Communicate-Advocate
Building a resilient food system: Webinar series is off and running
Worried about our food system? Healthy Families and Communities and Sustainable Food Systems Strategic Initiatives are encouraging continued discussions on how to reimagine them. Sign up below and join us for Food System Resiliency webinars on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, through at least November, to continue the discussion.
Please let us know if you're interested in providing leadership or participating in a webinar for this series. Contacts: Deanne Meyer (SYS SI leader) and Lynn Schmitt McQuitty (HFC SI leader). The six-part series covers:
Webinar #1 - Food Safety and COVID-19 (July 14) See Slides (PDF)
Webinar #2 - California Food Systems: Partnerships and Resources(July 28) See Slides (PDF)
Webinar #3 - The Ins and Outs of Niche Marketing Meat (Aug 11) register here
Webinar #4 - Beef Supply Chain and Market Disruptions (Aug 25) register here
Webinar #5 - TBD (Sept 8)
Webinar #6 - Victory Gardens Then and Now (Sept 22) register here
Visit the Spotlight webinars page to see recordings.
Growing Reach and Impact by Enhancing Our Virtual Skills
We continue to explore and develop materials to help us better use virtual tools. Visit the UC ANR Learning & Development Site (UCANR.edu/L&D) to learn more about:
- Integrated Web Platform (IWP). See the summary ideas for our emerging Integrated Web Platform project
- Online courses. Check out the recently developed Checklist: online course minimum standards
- Video. Develop your "How-to" video making skills
- Virtual Consultations. Get some Virtual consultation tips
- Webinars. Pick up some pointers from the engaging webinars checklist or explore deeper to develop your webinar skills
Lucky winners will soon receive one of 20 video production kits supplied in recognition of their video production efforts.(Contacts: David Lewis and David Lile)
All of these materials have been developed with input from many, many colleagues. Let us know what skills or tips you found useful and what more you'd like to learn.
For more on the SIs and their activities, contact:
Jim Farrar (EIPD)
David Lewis (Water)
David Lile (SNE)
Deanne Meyer (SFS)
Lynn Schmitt-McQuitty (HFC)
Mark Bell (Strategic Initiatives and Statewide Programs)
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
ACWA honors PCWA and French Meadows Forest Restoration Project team
The Association of California Water Agencies has selected the Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) French Meadows Forest Restoration Project for the 2020 Clair A. Hill Agency Award for Excellence. The award recognizes exemplary programs developed by ACWA members that creatively address water industry issues and show commitment to water use efficiency and conservation, leadership in broad water-related issues, and excellence in agency management and operations.
The French Meadows Project is a collaborative partnership that aims to accelerate ecologically based forest management to reduce wildfire risk and promote healthier, more resilient source waters. Safeeq Khan, assistant UCCE specialist in water and watershed sciences at UC Merced's Sierra Nevada Research Institute, is part of the project team that includes members from the Placer County Water Agency, U.S. Forest Service, Tahoe National Forest, Sierra Nevada Conservancy, Placer County, American River Conservancy and The Nature Conservancy.
As a part of this effort, Khan is evaluating forest management impacts on hydrology (e.g. snow accumulation and melt, soil moisture, streamflow and evapotranspiration) and forest health (e.g. tree growth and mortality) in the headwaters of the Middle Fork of the American River.
“The overall aim is to measure and assess the effects of restoration treatments on downstream water supplies, and drought resiliency in source-water watersheds,” Khan said. “My research team is working on installing and measuring water- and energy-balance in the project area and has acquired digital imagery for the site that provides baseline before-and-after data for analysis and scaling.
The results will inform land managers locally and across the region of the multi-year impacts of landscape-scale vegetation treatments and stimulate further participation in both restoration and long-term management.”
The award was presented to PCWA during ACWA's 2020 Virtual Summer Conference. As a part of this award, PCWA will have the honor of awarding a $5,000 scholarship to a deserving student in the name of Clair A. Hill.
- Author: Jodi Azulai
Upcoming webinars
Past Webinar Recordings
Offering a webinar?
Innovation Skill-Building Experience (ISBE)
Aug. 4, 6, 11, and 13
Time: 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. PDT
Register here.
More information
Do you have a project idea that needs incubation, innovation and ways to get to implementation and impact faster? Are you looking to learn about design thinking and lean experimentation combined with Cooperative Extension's best practices for solving important community issues? Are you interested in becoming an Innovation Facilitator/Coach for future Impact Collaborative events and to support your institution's teams and teams across the nation? Are you already an Innovation Facilitator or a team member who would like a refresher on the Innovation Skill-Building process? If you answered yes, to any of these questions then join us to explore the Impact Collaborative's Innovation Skill-building experience in a whole new way: The ISBE will meet via Zoom for four sessions covering specific ISBE building blocks to spark ideas, increase innovation, and turbocharge implementation to ultimately create local impact.
Request for Proposals - National Association of Extension Programs & Staff Development Professionals NAEPSDP Due date - Aug. 11, 2020 by 8:59 p.m. PDT
The 2020 Conference Planning Committee is requesting presentation proposals (Click for more information) for the VIRTUAL 2020 NAEPSDP Conference. The purpose of the presentations is to share research, application, theory/philosophy or innovative educational models related to, but not limited to: evaluation and assessment; staff development; organizational development; program development and delivery; technology; and communications. In the scenario that the 2020 NAEPSDP Conference is moved to an online format due to COVID-19 and university travel restrictions, you will be asked to deliver your presentation virtually.
Evaluation Designs & Reporting - Part 1 of 2-Part Series
Wednesday, Aug. 12 (& 26), 2020
11 a.m.-Noon
Participants in these webinars will learn basic program evaluation designs and data collection methodologies. The webinars will cover steps to design and incorporate evaluation into a new or an existing program. The webinars will also focus on California statewide 4-H program evaluation efforts and the procedures to access country-specific evaluation results. With Roshan Kumar Nayak. Zoom access: https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/751701428?pwd=Q1ZrbUtoQVJwMXJVRkQydUlwNytJQT09 - 1 669 900 6833 or +1 646 558 8656 - Webinar ID: 751 701 428
Investing in Community Resilience Series - Trauma-informed Practice: Moving from Knowledge to Action - Learning Circle (eXtension)
Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020
Noon – 1 p.m.
Register here
More information
We believe it is critical to acknowledge what is happening to our communities. From the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic that has taken many lives, to the systemic racism and inequalities that continue to deeply affect communities of color, we are seeing trauma in a multitude of ways.
Please join us on Wednesday, Aug. 12, from 3-4pm ET for the first Learning Circle of the Investing in Community Resilience web series. Connect with others from around the country who are integrating ACEs and trauma science into their work in order to bring about stronger, healthier communities.
Communicating Science Using the Science of Communication (eXtension.org)
Friday, Aug. 14, 2020
11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. PDT
Register here
More information
In the digital world in which we live today, the public is presented with an overwhelming quantity of information, much of which is unscientific. STEM professionals seeking to navigate this information space need new strategies for breaking out from the pack and targeting new audiences. This webinar is brought to you by the iAMResponsible project, a nationwide team of researchers and extension experts working to develop and deliver effective outreach on antimicrobial resistance for diverse audiences, from the farm and pharma to family. In this webinar, we will apply the lessons learned from antimicrobial resistance and health communications to more science communication challenges. We'll be joined by a panel of communication experts discussing how the public forms their perceptions of science and health information, the kind of information sources they trust and seek out, and how socioeconomic and cultural differences impact audience engagement with scientific information.
Webinar for Educators: Exploring Climate Migration in the Classroom (eXtension.org)
Aug. 19, 2020
2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. PDT
Register here
More information
Educators are invited to join Pulitzer Center education staff and journalist-grantees for a professional development webinar on migration and its relationship to climate change. By engaging with a path-breaking new reporting project in The New York Times Magazine and ProPublica, participants will be able to...
• explore new models for understanding how migration will change as the world warms,
• hear the stories of today's climate refugees from Central America,
• evaluate action steps to keep the planet habitable for human life,
• and identify interactive methods for sharing under-reported stories on migration with students.
Webinar attendees will receive a 1-hour certificate of attendance upon completion of a short survey.
ANR has a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Alliance?
Thursday, August 20, 2020
Noon - 12:30 p.m.
The ANR DEI Alliance is an affinity group of ANR employees who want to make a difference at ANR to create an inclusive and equitable organization. Join us to learn about goals, structure, and how you can join the Alliance. Zoom access: https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/751701428?pwd=Q1ZrbUtoQVJwMXJVRkQydUlwNytJQT09 - 1 669 900 6833 or +1 646 558 8656 - Webinar ID: 751 701 428
Post Award Process
Wednesday, August 26
9:30-10:30 am
Fiscal management of grants, contracts and other funding agreements is the responsibility of the principal investigator and the administering unit. Learn more about how to successfully manage your project finances, adhere to University policies, adhere to the sponsor's terms and conditions, and how to monitor your subawardees. Zoom access: Zoom access: https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/751701428?pwd=Q1ZrbUtoQVJwMXJVRkQydUlwNytJQT09 - 1 669 900 6833 or +1 646 558 8656 - Webinar ID: 751 701 428
Evaluation Designs & Reporting - Part 2 of 2-Part Series
Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020
11 a.m. – Noon
Participants in these webinars will learn basic program-evaluation designs and data collection methodologies. The webinars will cover steps to design and incorporate evaluation into a new or an existing program. The webinars will also focus on California statewide 4-H program evaluation efforts and the procedures to access country-specific evaluation results. With Roshan Kumar Nayak.
Zoom access: https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/751701428?pwd=Q1ZrbUtoQVJwMXJVRkQydUlwNytJQT09 - 1 669 900 6833 or +1 646 558 8656 - Webinar ID: 751 701 428
Antiracism resources
Are you concerned about racism? Do you want to learn more about it and how to dismantle it? UC ANR has an Antiracism resources webpage. The list is meant to serve as an initial resources to guide you into understanding and dismantling internalized and institutional racism. Antiracism is not something that can be checked off a list; nor cured within an individual or an institution through occasional learning. Dismantling racism must be a regular and intentional process that is done throughout the course of our lives. Unlearning racism and becoming antiracist is a lifelong, ongoing process. We encourage you to continue unlearning racism after using these resources. Over time, we will add to the list to address different intersections of racial oppression.
Everyone can learn something new.
ANR Learning & Development
Find webinar announcements and recordings here.
Office: 530.750.1239
jlazulai@ucanr.edu
