Take this opportunity to engage in discussions with colleagues about the resources and opportunities available through ANR as a division.
All early-career UC Cooperative Extension advisors and specialists, academic coordinators, academic administrators, and Agricultural Experiment Station faculty are invited to participate in the orientation, which will be held at the Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center.
View materials from the 2014 and 2015 orientations online. Evaluations of past orientations have been very positive - 4.0 to 4.4 on a scale of 1 to 5. Comments from participants:
- "Expectations were exceeded, I did not know what to expect and learned so much."
- "Loved the tours! Great work!"
- "I appreciated learning about how the ANR operation looks 'in the field.' It helped me to see how vast the ANR operation is."
- "Thanks to the senior managers that made themselves accessible to the new employees and for building a sense of pride in the organization."
- "I did not expect the orientation to be so impressive, and I was happily surprised at how extremely valuable the experience was."
PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW for February 22-24, 2017!
For further information, visit the Programmatic Orientation website at http://ucanr.edu/sites/orientations or contact ANR Program Support at (530) 750-1256.
ANR leadership encourages you to provide your expert insight and California perspective to the animal production programs of the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture's (NIFA) using a new online “ideas engine.”
USDA is seeking input from its stakeholders, customers and partners on how federal investments can best address current needs and challenges facing animal production. The ideas you provide will help form the framework for developing the next ARS National Program Action Plan and defining priorities for NIFA's animal production research, education and extension.
Information on these programs can be found at these links for ARS and NIFA.
If you are interested in providing your insight by suggesting, refining, and prioritizing ideas around any of the topics listed below, simply send an email with your name, affiliation, email address, and topic of interest (in the format provided below) to Insight@nifa.usda.gov by June 6. You will receive instructions on how to join. You can participate as much as you like, when you like, while the system is open during the month of June 2016.
Topic 1: Animal Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics
Topic 2: Applications of Biotechnology to Animal Production
Topic 3. Animal Well-Being, Stress and Production
Topic 4: Animal Reproductive Biology
Topic 5: Quality, Nutritional Value and Healthfulness of Animal Products
Topic 6: Lactation Biology and Nutritional Efficiency of Animals
Topic 7: Animal Growth Biology and Alternatives to Antimicrobials for Growth Promotion
Topic 8: Forages and Forage Utilization for Animal Production
Topic 9: Reducing Environmental Impacts of Animal Production
Topic 10: General Priorities for Animal Production
Please format your email as follows:
First Name
Last Name
Affiliation
Email Address
Topic of Interest
(Please list the topics by your preference: Example Topic 6, Topic 4, and Topic 9)
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
The university opened its first Cooperative Extension office in Eureka in 1913, but April 27 marked the first official visit to Humboldt County by a UC president.
“I hope to show the president how local residents benefit from UC Cooperative Extension and to give President Napolitano and Vice President Humiston ideas on how the university may get more involved in solving local challenges,” said Yana Valachovic, UC Cooperative Extension director and forest advisor for Humboldt and Del Norte counties, as the tour she organized got underway.
Valachovic introduced Napolitano and Humiston to community members at Potawot Health Village, where they learned about UC's nutrition education projects. Next, they boarded a boat with a shellfish producer and members of California Sea Grant, who briefed them on climate change research in Humboldt Bay.
At City of Arcata Community Forest, where UC has been conducting forest research since the 1920s, the City of Arcata environmental services director discussed how the city works with UC to manage its 2,300 acres of redwoods for timber, wildlife, water quality and to sequester carbon while providing recreational areas for city residents.
The president and Humiston ended the tour by reciting the 4-H pledge and listening to 4-H members and volunteers describe their projects.
To read more about the tour, visit http://ucanr.edu/?blogpost=21065&blogasset=52096.
The goal of MSAP is to address skill gaps and grow competencies that will prepare people for future management opportunities in their UC workplaces.
During the four-day program, Westbrook and Downing participated in simulated UC management scenarios, received behavioral feedback from MSAP assessors, attended a career development workshop and connected with colleagues from throughout the UC system.
Before they arrived, Westbrook and Downing participated in pre-assessment activities and will be involved post-program activities to continue their professional development.
“Being able to participate in the Managerial Skills Assessment Program was very intense,” Westbrook said. “However, it was also positively amazing. I'm extremely thankful to be given an opportunity to focus on my professional skills that are necessary as I continue to grow as a manager. Being in a beautiful location, dedicating time for professional growth away from the day-to-day duties, and connecting with other UC managers permitted me reflection and access to mindfulness on how I will use the experience after the assessment program. The positive coaching and feedback makes the program unique. I recommend all managers take part in MSAP.”
Downing expressed similar sentiments. “It was an intense and enlightening experience,” he said. “It has already made me a better manager. It was also a great opportunity to make connections with campus-based managers and spread the word about ANR's work.”
“A big THANK YOU is due John Borba, 4-H Youth Development advisor from UCCE in Kern County,” Azulai said. “John served for three very full days as the ANR assessor this April, as well as taking the assessor training.”
“It was a mind-expanding experience for the assessees and the assessor,” Borba said. “It also reinforced to me that some of the issues they need to address are also issues I personally need to address.”
The next MSAP will be held Oct. 10-13, 2016. Application announcements will be made in early June. We strongly recommend that department heads, unit leaders and directors discuss the program with supervisors and managers who exhibit potential for management development and encourage them to apply.
A video of the March 17 Training Tools Demo webinar is now online and available for viewing.
The one-hour webinar covered the following topics for giving more effective trainings:
- Speaking tips from a Toastmaster (Anne Schellman, UC IPM)
- Developing specific and measurable learning objectives (Steven Worker, CA 4-H)
- Assessing learning outcomes (Steven Worker, CA 4-H)
- Best practices in developing quizzes (Shannah Whithaus, UC IPM)
- C3 Software for clickers and cell phones for quizzes & polls (Sarah Risorto, UC IPM)
- Using the ANR Survey tool for quizzes (Lauren Snowden, UC Master Gardeners)
- Building a better webinar (Melissa Tamargo and Rebecca Lyn Brock, EFNEP)
- Easely for infographics (Jodi Azulai)
The unlisted YouTube link to the training video is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbQEPpTfFK8. There are plans to add closed captions to the video in the near future. If you have any suggestions, please contact Anne Schellman, Jodi Azulai or Sarah Risorto.
