- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
UC President Michael V. Drake held a systemwide UC Town Hall on Feb. 24.
In conversation with Priya Lakireddy, staff advisor, and Jo Mackness, staff advisor-designate to the UC Regents, Drake opened with his journey from UC student to UC San Francisco professor, to vice president for health affairs for the UC system to UC Irvine chancellor and finally, president of the UC system.
Drake discussed the values that guide him – respect, intellectual curiosity, integrity, commitment, empathy, appreciation and fun. “That's respect for yourself and respect for others,” he said, “intellectual curiosity, the interest in learning and teaching and discovering; integrity, making sure that you mean what you say and you say what you mean. I think that's really important to be committed, that's an important value to me, that your sleeves are rolled and you're leaning into the things that you're doing.”
As a physician, he said, “Empathy has always been an extraordinarily important value to me, to make sure to see it from the other person's point of view.”
For the university, appreciation for different life circumstances and points of view is important, he said.
He also encouraged fun. “The idea of the values is to do all of them at the same time,” Drake said. “To be all those things all the time, and to make sure you're having fun as you're doing it.”
Drake answered questions submitted by UC staff on budget, compensation equity, COVID-19, diversity, accountability, community safety, climate crisis, tuition and affirmative action.
On the pandemic, he noted with pride that UC employees have fewer hospitalizations, ICU admissions and fatalities due to COVID-19 than the average U.S. community.
In response to a question about remote work, he noted policies are designed to be flexible and supportive of colleagues. “There are differences in the way this is applied given the different circumstances that people live and work in across our system, and that's true and appropriate. We have agricultural and natural resources where you could be working on a farm, you could be working in a lab.”
A recording of the town hall is on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/live/YJjawZG36YY?feature=share.
- Author: Luca Carmignani
- Author: Katie Low
By taking a brief survey, you can help UC ANR colleagues on the fire team to better understand the wildfire-related needs of Californians. While taking the survey, you'll also learn tips for protecting your home from wildfire.
The new group of Cooperative Extension fire professionals is interested in learning about the concerns of the communities and professionals already working to address these issues. Results from this survey will enhance our ability to partner with residents, landowners, agencies, academics, and other organizations to reduce California's vulnerability to wildfires.
They are asking adult residents and natural resource professionals in California to complete this survey (https://bit.ly/UCCE_Fire_Survey) by March 31.
By filling out this survey, you will help the team develop educational resources and workshops about wildfire preparedness and guide scientific research aimed at helping communities and professionals deal with wildfire risks and impacts.
This survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. Your participation in the survey is voluntary and your answers are anonymous. If you share your contact information in the survey, it will not be connected to your answers unless you wish to be contacted for a follow-up interview.
By participating in this study, you will have the option to enter a drawing to win one of fifty $20 VISA gift cards. Your contact information will not be linked to your answers.
This research is being led by a collaboration of UCCE Advisors and Academic Coordinator. If you have any questions about this survey, please contact your nearest fire or forestry professional involved in this survey effort:
- Luca Carmignani, fire advisor, UCCE Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Diego counties, carmignani@ucanr.edu
- Alison Deak, fire advisor, UCCE Fresno, Madera, and Mariposa counties, aldeak@ucanr.edu
- Katie Low, fire academic coordinator, UCCE Nevada and Placer counties, katlow@ucanr.edu
- Barb Satink Wolfson, fire advisor, UCCE Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties, bsatinkwolfson@ucanr.edu
- Ryan Tompkins, forestry advisor, UCCE Plumas, Sierra, and Lassen counties, rethompkins@ucanr.edu
Feel free to share the survey link with friends and clientele: https://bit.ly/UCCE_Fire_Survey.
For more information about wildfire-related programming from University of California Cooperative Extension, please visit the fire website at https://ucanr.edu/fire or the UC ANR fire Facebook page at https://bit.ly/fireSolutions.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
4-H youth development advisors JoLynn Miller, Nicole Marshall-Wheeler, Marianne Bird and fellow 4-H colleagues have started a new blog titled “Youth Development Insights” to share ideas, strategies and research from the field of positive youth development.
Bird wrote about the 4-H club experience: “What is the Club experience about? It's about independence and discovering who you are. It's about decision making and planning and recognizing the importance of following through on commitments.”
Public speaking is a skill 4-H club members will exercise frequently. In a recent blog post, Marshall-Wheeler shares tips for building youths' public speaking confidence.
Check out “Youth Development Insights” and subscribe at https://ucanr.edu/blogs/YouthDevelopmentInsights.
To see the latest on all ANR blogs, visit https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/blogroll.cfm or click on “Blogroll” in the ANR portal.
- Author: Emma Tribble
The Office of Pesticide Information and Coordination (OPIC) has opened online registration for its annual UC ANR Pesticide Policy Update Trainings. These trainings are intended for campus, research and extension center, and county-based UC ANR personnel that apply experimental pesticides either on UC property or on cooperators' land. It is important for all personnel handling pesticides in research and demonstration settings to attend this training.
All scheduled UC ANR Pesticide Policy Update Trainings will be conducted via Zoom webinar:
- Friday, April 7, 1-4 p.m.
- Monday, May 8, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
- Tuesday, June 6, 1-4 p.m.
About a week before the training, OPIC will send registered participants an email containing instructions for connecting to the webinar, including the webinar link, password and an electronic copy of the handouts.
Registration is online only: www.ucanr.edu/opic2023.
Deadline for registration is one week prior to the training. There are no fees for these sessions. Three hours of Laws and Regulations Continuing Education (CE) units will be offered for UC Pesticide Policy Training. If you have any questions, please email OPIC at OPIC@ucanr.edu.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
ANR Human Resources will review the staff evaluation process and discuss available support tools during webinars in March.
The annual performance evaluation is an opportunity for staff and supervisors to recognize accomplishments, identify opportunities to build skills, and align individual efforts to high-level unit and division goals. The evaluation review period runs from April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023.
Employee are encouraged to attend a webinar Wednesday, March 8, 1:30-2:30 p.m.to learn the ins and outs of the process and the ePerformance system. Supervisors need only attend Webinar #2 on Tuesday, March 21, 2-3 p.m. See links below.
The webinars will be recorded and available on the HR website for those unable to attend the live session.
More information about the annual process, including timelines, guidelines and Performance Appraisal Tools are available on the ANR Human Resources website.
Note: ANR staff based at the Office of the President will follow the UCOP-HR performance process with separate trainings, timelines and forms.
Webinar #1: Employee's Role
Wednesday, March 8, 1:30-2:30 PM
Zoom Link: https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/98254179807?pwd=eG9QaGJsOTZ0Q1l1VG5hRTY5eHpDUT09
Meeting ID: 982 5417 9807
Passcode: 225897
Dial: +1 669 900 6833
Webinar #2: Supervisor's Role
Tuesday, March 21, 2-3 PM
Zoom Link: https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/97437608380?pwd=eDUveExPOGs4QWNZM0pmdURtNWhqZz09
Meeting ID: 974 3760 8380
Passcode: 201637
Dial: +1 669 900 6833
If you have questions regarding the appraisal process, please email humanresources@ucanr.edu. For webinar logistics, contact ANR Program Support, (530) 750-1361 (messages only)