- Author: Mark Bell
Unify-Communicate-Advocate
The UCANR Strategic Initiatives offer a home for strategic thought - drawing on members of the wider UC ANR community and beyond to 1) help people connect and 2) to help them identify and address issues of current and emerging importance.
Nutrition and health vision takes shape
Want to provide input on creating our UC ANR vision for health? Contact Lynn Schmitt-McQuitty, who is facilitating the effort, at lschmittmcquitty@ucanr.edu.
Why are we looking at our health vision now?
1. There are resources to do this now
- “People like to fund winners.” The increase in state funds means others are interested in supporting our work - that includes building on our current health efforts. It's an opportunity to leverage that state funding.
- Due to COVID, there is more awareness of physical and emotional health needs. The increased awareness will lead to more resources available to address health needs (federal, state, NGO, donor resources).
2. There is a need
- The health needs across California are immense, and growing
- Health spans the lifecycle and is a component of all of our program areas (social, emotional, physical health)
- Farmer stress, positive youth development, diabetes prevention, aging demographics
3. We are the right partner to contribute to meeting needs
- We already do a lot in the area of health. We just haven't tended to use “health” to describe our work, even though we talk about “Healthy Californians” and we have a public-value statement related to health: “Promoting healthy people and communities.”
- We already play a role. So we want people to imagine how new capacity in UC ANR could make a difference in addressing unmet needs. What more might we do with expanded capacity?
- These efforts would utilize new capacity without reducing capacity in existing areas. It would build on existing areas.
4. It's a window that won't stay open forever and will increase overall awareness of UC ANR
- There is increased national dialogue on workforce development and health in the world of Extension. That means a window of opportunity. We should be ready with ideas and capacity to leap at opportunities before the funding is distributed elsewhere.
- Activity in non-traditional health areas for UC ANR will increase awareness of all of our program areas. Such awareness has spillover effects thereby “lifting all boats.”
For more on the SIs and their activities, contact
Jim Farrar: Pests (EIPD)
OPEN: Natural Ecosystems (SNE) (Let us know if you are interested in making sure SNE has a voice)
David Lewis: (Water)
Deanne Meyer: Food Systems (SFS)
Lynn Schmitt-McQuitty: Families and Communities (HFC)
Mark Bell: Vice Provost (Strategic Initiatives and Statewide Programs)
- Author: Jodi Azulai
ANR Learning & Development Webpage
Webinar Recordings
Be a part of the ANR Learning Culture. Find upcoming and ICYMI (in case you missed it) webinars and resources in these following sections:
Extension Deliver
Diversity Equity, and Inclusion
Office, Team, and Personal Management
Building Support
Do you have a learning topic you would like to present to our ANR colleagues that covers the ANR Strategic Plan 20-25 or one of these four strategic learning goals? Submit your webinar idea here.
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EXTENSION DELIVERY
Impact Collaborative Innovation Facilitator Training (Q3, Part I) (Connect Extension)
Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021
10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Click here to register.
Become an innovation facilitator!
Are you someone who is always looking for new ways to improve? Do you like adopting innovative ideas and helping others along the way? Would you like to be a leader who helps teams design cutting edge programs/projects that make real impact? If so, please consider joining our innovation facilitator team! Click here to read more.
Our innovation facilitator training provides you with a new way of looking at innovation. Once trained, you are an invaluable asset in helping teams develop projects or programs more quickly and connect them with national resources. You will use our innovation incubator process to bring fresh ideas aligned with institutional goals to every team you work with.
Today, there are 151 Innovation Facilitators across Cooperative Extension working to synergize innovative efforts in their own states, institutions, and supporting regional & national teams.
Social Media - How to Increase Engagement
Thursday, Sept. 16, 2021
12 - 12:30 pm
Join Doralica Garay, our new social media expert to learn how social media best practices can help increase online engagement.
Zoom link: https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/751701428?pwd=Q1ZrbUtoQVJwMXJVRkQydUlwNytJQT09
Password: 4Learning | +1 669 900 6833 | Webinar ID: 751 701 428
Save the Date: Annual Conference – National Association of Extension Programs and Staff Development Professionals (NAEPSDP) Moving Forward in a New World
Nov. 30-Dec. 2, 2021
This will be the association's second virtual conference. As we were able to demonstrate in 2020, due to the expertise and flexibility of our membership, the association can conduct an excellent and productive virtual conference.To see a tentative agenda for the conference, go to: 2021 NAEPSDP Conference Tentative Schedule.
We are looking forward to getting together virtually to again interact with colleagues and share ideas and successes!
Rev-up Your Virtual Leadership Series: Rev-up the Focus!
Sept. 22, 2021
11 a.m. - 12 p.m. PDT
Click here to register.
This four-part series is part of our Impact Collaborative program and is for Extension Directors and Administrators, and Extension Program Leaders from Extension Foundation Member Institutions. Rev-up Your Virtual Leadership includes discussions on how to lead when we've lost the ability to put a hand on a shoulder.
Part III: Rev-Up the Focus!
Deciding what not to do is just as important as deciding what to do. Being “busy” is the easy choice. Learn the secret to doing the right things!
SEED Method Technical Office Hour
Upcoming office hours:
- Wednesday Sept. 22, 2021, Noon PDT
- Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021, 10 a.m. PDT
- Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021, Noon PDT
What are the office hours? One-hour sessions offered from August through October 2021, to provide a forum for you and your team to bring your questions on applying the SEED method and/or SEED method tools to your research or action planning project.
Who are these office hours for?
- Anyone, any institution or any team that has attended a previous webinar and is interested in using the SEED Method or any of the SEED Method tools for their project!
- All subgroup members interested in using the SEED Method or any of the SEED Method tools.
- Anyone or any institution that has heard about the SEED Method and is thinking of using it for your research, program implementation, or action planning, but still has questions.
Zoom link for all sessions: https://zoom.us/j/93497838827.
Annual Project & Program Summit - Impact Collaborative
Oct. 5 - 7, 2021
9 a.m. - 2 p.m. PDT
Location: Virtual
Registration Deadline: Sept. 17, 2021
The Extension Foundation invites teams of Cooperative Extension faculty, staff and their community partners from member institutions to its annual Impact Collaborative Project & Program Summit.
The Impact Collaborative Summit helps increase Cooperative Extension's organizational readiness and capacity for innovation and change by connecting teams with skills, tools, resources, and partners that can expand and deepen their impact. Participating teams will receive one-on-one support from coaches to help identify gaps in their project and program planning and have access to our network of expert Key Informants to help fill those gaps.
Registration Information: The Impact Collaborative Summit is a team event. All participants must be part of a team to participate. Community partners are encouraged to participate on teams. We highly recommend sending teams that include three to eight individuals focused on a project or program aligned with state/institutional strategic priorities and/or community issues.
Extension Foundation Update
By Aaron Weibe
Created by Extension directors and administrators starting in 2001, the Extension Foundation facilitates and supports the success of Extension professionals and systems. The bylaws state the foundation's purpose is "Helping Cooperative Extension professionals make a visible and measurable impact on local issues." The Extension Foundation mid-year update details funding, impacts and progress towards helping Cooperative Extension professionals advance their work. A timeline of the history, including the logo change from eXtension to the Extension Foundation is available here. The Foundation Board of Directors, who are also members of the Cooperative Extension Section, are listed here.
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DIVERSITY EQUITY INCLUSION
Sept. 8, 2021 (virtual)
8:30 a.m. –12 p.m.
Virtual instructor-led Ttaining
Nov. 18, 2021 (in person and more dates)
1–4:30 p.m.
In-person
Click here for more information.
Click here to register.
Participants will learn skills for responding to abrasive behaviors in the workplace, examine one's own behavior (self-reflection) that impacts interaction with colleagues and workplace climate, and explore strategies for empowering ourselves and others in cultivating inclusive work environments. Throughout the course, participants will have the opportunity to discuss hypothetical workplace case studies and apply various proactive and response strategies to these cases. NOTE: Class is subject to a minimum enrollment of 15 to proceed. If the class is filled, request to be added to the wait-list.
Land-Grab Universities: Owning the truth and sharing the path to making amends
Oct. 6, 2021, 9-11 a.m. PDT
Additional info and registration: https://u.osu.edu/landgranttruth/speaker-series/
As an aside, if you're curious to see where the Morrill Act land grants in California were located, there's an interactive map at http://bit.ly/ca-morrill-map. An interesting fact is only 8.5% of the 1.7 million acres transferred in California under the Morrill Act went to support UC. The rest went to fund the endowments of land grant institutions in other states (click here to see which state got the most land in California).
Connecting DEI and Employee Experience Initiatives (Gartner)
Published May 19, 2021 - ID G00750845 - 6 min. read
By Human Resources Research Team
Initiatives:
To create a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment for all employees, HR professionals must integratediversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategy into organizational employee experience practices. Many organizations focus on DEI as a set of initiatives with outcomes that are different and separate from those of employee experience initiatives. However, to realize a fully diverse and inclusive workforce, DEI must be integrated into employee experience.
HR professionals are investing heavily in employee experience improvements to increase employees' satisfaction, including onboarding updates, flexible work policies, parental leave and L&D programs. HR professionals are even adding DEI-related investments into their employee experience improvements, including DEI training and diversity recruiting. Despite these efforts, only 13% of employees indicate they are currently fully satisfied with their experience.
To be fully satisfied with their experience, employees need to be able to bring their full selves to work without negative repercussions. Eighty-two percent of employees say it's important for their organizations to see them as a person, not just an employee; however, only 45% of employees believe their organizations actually see them this way. When organizations see employees as people, they invest in creating an environment that is inclusive, where employees feel like they are safe and belong. By integrating DEI into the employee experience rather than adding on DEI investments, employees can more comfortably bring their full selves to work. Click here to read more. All ANR employees have free access to Gartner. To register enter your name and ANR email address here.
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OFFICE, TEAM and PERSONAL MANAGEMENT
Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021
1 – 4:30 p.m.
Click here to register.
Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021
1:30 – 5 p.m.
Click here to register.
This course focuses on customer service essentials that elevate service levels, whether interacting with internal or external customers.
Everyone has experienced superb customer service as well as difficult interactions both as a customer receiving service and as an employee dealing with unhappy customers. In addition to fun and informative learning activities, through this course you will gain insights, tips and skills for dealing with difficult customer situations. You will then apply those skills to specific workplace scenarios. This interactive course is for anyone interested in maximizing the essentials of customer service in their organization. This course's individual and team activities will stimulate interest and reinforce key concepts that participants can apply immediately to their work.
Upon completion of this course, participants will be better prepared to:
- Understand what customer service skills are essential to any job
- Anticipate and meet customer expectations
Apply appropriate strategies for dealing with customers in a variety of situations.
Moving Your Training Online (part of the Train-the-Trainer series – UC Davis)
Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021
9 a.m. - Noon
Click here to register.
Are you tasked with moving your training online? Are Google searches leaving you overwhelmed with too much information? In this interactive course, you will decipher the language and the best practices for virtual training. See the options you have for engagement, practice and learner involvement through your own involvement in practical, repeatable activities. You'll leave class with templates, resources and experience.
If this class is filled, express your interest on the wait-list in the UC Learning Center portal.
Designing a Presentation (LinkedIn Learning)
Click here for course.
Perhaps the most essential skill for all knowledge workers is the ability to design compelling presentations. Whether you're reporting performance metrics, delivering a training or pitching a big idea, you need a presentation to support you and illuminate your speech. In this course, designer Tony Harmer takes you through the essentials of presentation design to give you the tools you'll find most useful in thinking about, designing and building successful presentations. Tony covers a variety of key topics, including moodboards, outlines, layout, type and text, color considerations, graphics, video, charts, transitions and animations. He concludes with some useful advice on finishing touches and follow-ups for your presentation.
This course was created by the American Negotiation Institute. We are pleased to offer this training in our library. To request your LinkedIn Learning account email ANR IT at help@ucanr.edu.
How to Be Both Assertive and Likeable (LinkedIn Learning)
Click here for course.
Managing the inherent tension between the friendliness that encourages rapport and the assertiveness that is required to be effective can be tricky. In this course, adapted from the American Negotiation Institute podcast Negotiate Anything, Kwame Christian discusses with Hamilton Chan how to build rapport, stand your ground, and manage the flow of information. Hamilton is the head of executive education and visiting professor of business and technology at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles and CEO of Coaching for Startups LLC. He explains why rapport is so powerful and provides tips to stay strong at the negotiation table. Plus, learn why it's so important to understand your options before you start difficult conversations.
This course was created by the American Negotiation Institute. We are pleased to offer this training in our library. To request your LinkedIn Learning account email ANR IT at help@ucanr.edu.
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BUILDING SUPPORT
Cost Sharing Basics (video) Slide deck, Kathy Nolan, Kimberly Lamar
Workflow Automation Application (Activiti & 800 Form), Kathy Nolan
Building Relationships with Reporters (video) - Slide Deck (PDF) Pam Kan-Rice
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
The UC ANR LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group is planning to celebrate National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11. We will be creating a video compilation of ANR employees sharing messages in recognition of coming out. The video will be shared with ANR colleagues.
There are two options for participating. You can record a 1-2 minute video on your own or, in early to mid-September, Ricardo Vela can film your responses to one or more of the following prompts:
- What was coming out like for you?
- What do you wish you had known as you were coming out?
- What would you say to colleagues who are considering coming out this year?
- If you came out by choice, what was the reason you decided to come out?
If you are interested in creating a message, please reach out to Katherine Soule at kesoule@ucanr.edu by Sept. 3. Once your participation is confirmed, she will share the formatting requirements for filming your own statement or set up a time for you to work with Vela.
Finally, if you are interested in joining the LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group, please email Rebecca Ozeran at rkozeran@ucanr.edu.
You can learn more about the group at https://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/About_Us_705/Employee_Resource_Groups/#LGBTQ.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
It is that time of the year again, to celebrate the contributions of Latinos in the United States.
UC ANR joins the celebrations of Hispanic Heritage Month (HHM), starting Sept. 15 and ending Oct. 15, with a series of events aimed at creating awareness of the struggles of Latinos, and celebrating their contributions to the U.S. and the world.
As in previous years, UC ANR will hold several Zoom forums, with topics such as:
- How to stop the implicit bias towards Latinos and other ethnic groups
- What we need to know to better understand Latino communities
- Who are indigenous migrant workers; what are their most pressing needs; why have they been hit especially hard by COVID-19
All the webinar forums will be from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and moderated by Ricardo Vela, manager of News and Information Outreach in Spanish (NOS). On Sept. 29, we will celebrate three UC ANR professionals who were selected as HHM 2021 Honorees. The first three will be conducted in English and the community forums will be conducted in Spanish.
September 15 Zoom Forum
“One Size Does Not Fit All! – Myths, Stereotypes and Discrimination against Latinos”
Guest speaker: Victor Villegas, Oregon State University, Latino advocate
Testimonies from: Christian Gomez Wong, Beatriz Nobua-Behrmann and Bertha Teresa Felix-Simmons
September 22 Zoom Forum
“Indigenous Migrant Communities: The Forgotten Ones in the Age of COVID-19”
Guest speaker: Arcenio López, Executive Director, Mixtec Indígena Organization Project (MICOP)
September 29 Zoom Forum
“Meet the HHM 2021 Honorees”
Guest speakers: Katherine E. Soule introducing Liliana Vega, 4-H; Tuline Baykal introducing Leticia Christian, CalFresh Healthy Living, UC; Jairo Diaz and Gilberto Magallon introducing Gersain Lopez, Desert REC.
Under the slogan “Celebrating Together Hispanic Heritage Month,” we have partnered with volunteers from UC Master Gardeners, 4-H Youth advisors and CalFresh Healthy Living, UC educators to bring these programs to the Latino community. We have three Zoom forums with topics that we learned are relevant to Spanish-speaking Latinos.
October 6 Zoom Community Forum in Spanish
“Be Better Parents, How to Make Your Kid a Leader”
Guest speaker: Claudia Diaz, 4-H youth development advisor
October 13 Zoom Community Forum in Spanish
“How to Have a Successful Vegetable Garden”
Guest speakers: UC Master Gardener volunteers from UCCE Sonoma County
October 15 Zoom Community Forum in Spanish
“The Power of a Nutritional Meal”
Guest speaker: Susana Matias Medrano, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in nutritional science and toxicology, UC Berkeley
Those interested in attending the September forums should register here.
For the Spanish community forums, please register here.
For more information, Zoom backgrounds and phone wallpapers
Hispanic Heritage Month 2021 (Main page) http://ucanr.edu/hhm-2021
Hispanic Heritage Month 2021 (Recursos, Resources) http://ucanr.edu/hhm-2021-recursos_resources
Hispanic Heritage Month 2021 (Recetas) http://ucanr.edu/hhm-2021-recetas
UC ANR Honorees Page https://tinyurl.com/ycpcdufh
If you have any questions, please contact:
Ricardo Vela, rvela@ucanr.edu, (951) 660-9887
- Author: Richard M. Bostock, Cassandra Swett, and David M. Rizzo
Thomas R. Gordon, distinguished professor emeritus at UC Davis, died after an extended illness on June 27, 2021. Tom was born on Jan. 30, 1951, in Los Angeles to Hugh and Virginia Gordon. He was raised in Los Angeles and graduated from California State University – Northridge with degrees in biology (B.S., 1974) and botany (M.S., 1976). He received a Ph.D. in plant pathology in 1981 from UC Davis, where John Duniway mentored his doctoral research. He subsequently served as a postdoctoral researcher with Robert Webster at UC Davis, and then joined the UC Berkeley Plant Pathology Department in 1985 as an assistant professor. Following the college reorganization at Berkeley, Tom transferred to the Department of Plant Pathology at UC Davis in 1996, where he continued development of distinguished programs in teaching, research, administration and service.
Tom's research focused on plant pathogenic fungi. His more than 160 publications reveal the exceptional quality and depth of his research, providing information germane to disease management while contributing to fundamental principles of plant pathology. He had a long-standing program on pitch canker of Monterey pine, caused by Fusarium circinatum, as well as projects on wilt diseases caused by Fusarium oxysporum and Verticillium dahliae. He was recognized nationally and internationally as an authority on these diseases and was especially regarded in the Fusarium research community. Gordon's leadership and international collaborations contributed to making pitch canker an important model for exotic pathogens.
The breadth of research topics associated with his lab included pathogen genetics and genomics, insect vectors, disease management, ecological implications of natural plant defenses, and many more. Especially noteworthy was his demonstration of systemic induced resistance (SIR), a first for a disease in a tree species, and the first documentation that SIR occurs in any plant species under natural conditions.
Tom and his colleagues also made important contributions to the biology and management of vascular wilt diseases in lettuce and strawberry, resulting in the development and deployment of disease resistant cultivars and information that filled gaps on disease etiology.
His ability to address fundamental questions and connect that information to production systems, and in a way accessible to stakeholder audiences, attested to his intellect, creativity and deep understanding of plant pathology principles. He mentored many students and postdocs who have gone on to have productive careers.
Tom's ability to share his knowledge also was reflected in his extraordinary contributions to plant pathology and mycology education. He was an innovative and popular teacher, and his classes reached diverse undergraduate and graduate student audiences. His “signature” course, Mushrooms, Molds and Society (Science and Society 30) was an undergraduate general education class that introduced fungi and their societal roles, and eventually grew to over 500 students per offering, along with smaller honors sections to further explore lecture concepts. The high regard students had for Tom was reflected in his stellar teaching evaluations and, in one offering, the applause he received as he entered the lecture hall on the first day of class. He was accessible to his students, and many undergraduates had an opportunity to work in his lab to gain hands-on scientific experience and stimulate their curiosity. In 2013, he was awarded the UC Davis Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award for Undergraduate Education, one of the most prestigious campus awards.
Tom often used alternative media to promote plant pathology, as well as bring good cheer to the department at various gatherings. His video, “The role of recognition in host‐parasite interaction,” illustrated central concepts in plant pathology, and received the 2010 Judge's Choice Award from American Phytopathological Society (APS) and a first prize in the international competition sponsored by Chlorofilms of the American Society of Plant Biologists. The film exemplifies his philosophy that analogies and humor can render otherwise obscure concepts interesting and easy to understand. Other videos Tom produced included humor, often with playful critique of campus politics or other current events.
Throughout his career, Tom was deeply committed to the department, university, the agricultural industry and his profession. He served as an unselfish and extremely effective chair of the Plant Pathology Department for eight years. He was remarkable in steering the department to meet new challenges in research, teaching and outreach. He worked tirelessly to build an interactive, collegial atmosphere within the department while improving infrastructure, personnel, resources and teaching. He was a leading force to double the department's engagement in undergraduate instruction, and contributed to numerous department, college, university, and statewide committees. He was elected American Phytopathological Society fellow in 2014 in recognition of his accomplishments in research, teaching and service.
Tom retired in 2019 and continued to remain active in research and writing papers until shortly before his death. He was very private about his illness and upon learning the news of his death, there was shock and an immediate outpouring from many of his colleagues who shared remembrances by email and other means. Tom was a beloved professor and colleague, and many spoke of his brilliance, creativity, and humor, and his thoughtful and caring manner.
Tom was predeceased by his parents and his wife, Beverly McFarland (Ph.D., UC Davis, 1981), who passed away in 2017. He is survived by his son Steven, his sisters Julie Monson and Beatrice Reay, and several nieces and nephews. A celebration of Tom's life and career was held at UC Davis on July 24, 2021.