- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
Zalom receives DPR Lifetime IPM Achievement Award
Frank Zalom, UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus and former director of the UC Statewide IPM Program, recently received the Lifetime IPM Achievement Award from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation.
At CDPR's IPM Achievement Awards virtual ceremony on Feb. 29, Zalom, who retired in 2018 from the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, was praised for “advancing IPM practices in California specialty crops as a preeminent researcher, practitioner and champion of sustainable pest management.”
“Dr. Zalom's work has contributed greatly to advancing safe, effective, and sustainable IPM practices in specialty crops such as almonds, strawberries, tomatoes and olives,” a CDPR spokesman said. “Through hundreds of presentations and publications, Dr. Zalom has contributed to broad adoption of IPM practices for numerous agricultural pests, resulting in less insecticide use and reduced run-off impacts and high-risk pesticide exposures.”
State Sen. Bill Dodd issued a proclamation stating, “Dr. Zalom's distinguished 40-plus year career as a leading researcher, practitioner and advocate for integrated pest management has significantly propelled advancements in this crucial field. The state formally recognizes this remarkable accomplishment and extends gratitude to Dr. Zalom for his exceptional contributions to the welfare of both California and the global community.”
- Full Ceremony: https://youtu.be/XEMKD04bDT4
- Video honoring Frank Zalom: https://youtu.be/oXc8OcQivLI
- Remarks from Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry: https://youtu.be/o4xnXyPn7e8
Read more at https://entomology.ucdavis.edu/news/frank-zalom-lifetime-ipm-achievement-award-california-department-pesticide-regulation.
Long, Mueller and Smith honored for career achievements
On Feb. 6, the California Chapter of the America Society of Agronomy recognized the career achievements of three emeritus farm advisors: Rachael Long, Shannon Mueller, and Richard Smith.
“It is incredibly rare for the Chapter to honor three UC members in one year, let alone three Cooperative Extension advisors,” said Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, California ASA past president and UCCE Delta crops resource management advisor for San Joaquin, Sacramento, Yolo, Solano and Contra Costa counties.
Long retired as a UCCE farm advisor in 2023, after 37 years of doing research on crop production, pollination and pest control in collaboration with farmers, starting in Sonoma County, then San Joaquin County and the last 32 years in Solano, Sacramento and Yolo counties.
Mueller, who retired from her 31-year career in 2019, was a UCCE advisor in Fresno County and director of the UCCE Fresno/Madera Multi-County Partnership. Her work with alfalfa seed and pollination resulted in current practices.
Smith, who retired in 2023 from his 36-year career as a UCCE farm advisor, mostly for San Benito, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, continues to contribute his vegetable crops and weed science expertise.
Read more at https://ucanr.edu/News/?routeName=newsstory&postnum=59008
Alameda County thanks Blackburn for partnering on nutrition and health
Mary Blackburn, UC Cooperative Extension health and nutrition advisor for Alameda County, received a certificate of recognition from Alameda County
“The certificate award is to recognize you as a partner for having done so much to support the work of Nutrition Services and the Alameda County Nutrition Action Partnership (CNAP),” Annette Laverty, interim associate director of Alameda County Nutrition Services, said to Blackburn.
“Your name was raised up to the AC Public Health Department's Community Health Services' Division Director and staff as someone who has maintained high standards of service, in partnership, to the community,” Laverty continued. “You have been so instrumental in collaborating with the ACPHD and AC Area on Aging over the years to develop actionable, integrated work plans and helping to put the plans into action. Your talents in writing and editing have been an incredible help, especially when deadlines have loomed.”
Laverty credited the prestigious awards the CNAP has received to Blackburn's attention to grant and award opportunities.
“You were instrumental in applying for these awards, which made it possible for our collaborative to be recognized,” Laverty said. “You're an inspiration to me and many other professionals in our field!”
UC ANR recruits UC Davis students
The Human Resources and Business Operations Center teams partnered to table at the UC Davis Internship and Career Center Winter Career Fair on Feb. 21. They engaged more than 100 students as they promoted job opportunities offered by UC ANR.
“Students expressed interest in several facets of UC ANR's work, from business and IT in agriculture, to economic development, to soil and water science,” said Elizabeth Bezark, customer service and projects analyst.
To entice students to talk with them, ANR staff brought a prize wheel that students could spin to win ANR logo items.
“An economics and agriculture double-major in her second year of a bachelor's program won an ANR drawstring bag and took a BOC flyer,” said Bezark. “'An environmental science major won an Environmental Stewards Program patch for their denim jacket and grabbed an ANR Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program brochure.”
Serena Rae Brady, Anna Lee and David White from Human Resources worked the table along with BOC's Kathy Hanke, Alexa Ocegueda and Bezark. Katie Kilbane worked with them to prepare for the event.
Vernard Lewis featured on KTVU's Voices for Change
For Black History Month, Vernard Lewis, UC Cooperative Extension urban entomology specialist emeritus based at UC Berkeley, spoke with Greg Lee on KTVU's Voices for Change on Feb. 25. His fascination with insects began while playing outdoors during the seven years he lived with his grandparents in Fresno.
Lewis recalled that his high school counselor in Minnesota told him he wasn't college material. Lewis took the insult and used it to fuel his ambition. He asked the counselor which was the best university in the country. “UC Berkeley,” the counselor replied. Lewis set his sights on UC Berkeley, where he earned his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees.
Lewis, who retired in 2017, became the first African American entomologist hired at UC Berkeley. The last 26 years of his 35-year career he was a UC Cooperative Extension specialist and he continues to work with UCCE specialists and advisors.
Throughout his career, Lewis promoted diversity in science, giving presentations at Oakland public schools to pique students' interest in science. He and his wife Lisa Kala continue to strive to create a more diverse and inclusive university environment by supporting the HBCU Environmental Scholars for Change Program, which provides visiting undergraduates from Historically Black Colleges and Universities an opportunity to conduct research with Rausser College faculty.
Lewis' interview on Voices for Change starts around 18:30 at https://www.ktvu.com/video/1416404.
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- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
To increase awareness of how UC ANR research and extension is improving life for Californians, Strategic Communications has been posting about UC Cooperative Extension activities across social media.
Inspired in 2022 by the state government boosting ANR's budget to allow the hiring of more than 100 academics and support staff, Doralicia Garay, social media strategist, wanted to show legislators and other Californians how they benefit from ANR.
“The ‘Improving Lives in California' campaign is designed to showcase ANR research as well as those who deliver it by featuring compelling content and UC Cooperative Extension advisors and specialists,” Garay said.
She targeted Californians who were interested in agriculture, pests, environment, wildfire, water, youth development, and nutrition with paid campaigns as well as regular posts on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn.
Between March 2022 and December 2023, UC ANR's “Improving Lives in California” campaign has reached more than 600,000 people and more than 21,000 people have engaged with the posts by sharing, liking or commenting across all platforms.
“The per-post engagement rate averaged 3.5% across all social media channels, which is almost twice the average rate per post,” Garay said.
Key elements of the campaign:
- Employee spotlights: Through a series of engaging profiles, we highlight our extension experts' unique journeys and expertise. By featuring their skills and contributions to research projects, we humanize our staff and inspire a sense of connection with our online community.
Examples:
tinyurl.com/23bjz4xr Brooke Latack
tinyurl.com/yxbmybp5 Ian Grettenberger
tinyurl.com/rndcn6uz AtefSwelam
- Short videos: Bite-sized videos featuring Cooperative Extension advisors are intended to simplify complex research projects and explain their relevance to all Californians. It's also a great opportunity for our audiences to get a sense of our researchers' personality.
Examples:
tinyurl.com/mr46w65s Srabani Das
tinyurl.com/bdf68sh5 Ramiro Lobo
Series of videos: instagram.com/ucanr/reels/?hl=en
- Social media takeovers: We take our audience on a virtual tour behind the scenes of our research facilities. Through carefully crafted multimedia content, we share what makes research and extension centers and county office locations unique, and how the infrastructure enables scientists to bring innovation to life.
Example:
tinyurl.com/272xh9h7 South Coast REC
- Research impact stories: We bring our research to life by illustrating its real-world impact on California communities. Through compelling narratives, we demonstrate how the dedication of UC ANR employees to research translates into positive change with advancements in agriculture, wildfire mitigation, water issues and more.
Examples:
tinyurl.com/5y2vn4rs Hamutahl Cohen
tinyurl.com/2e3bafh3 Houston Wilson, Jhalendra Rijal and David Haviland
- Interactive Q&A sessions: Live Q&A sessions on social media platforms encourage direct interaction between our experts and online audiences. Although social media reach has recently dipped for this type of content on Facebook, we successfully engaged with our Facebook audience in 2022 during a nutrition Q&A by retaining 80% of our live audience from start to finish.
Example:
tinyurl.com/52e7jy6s Mary Blackburn, JavierMiramontes andAba Ramirez
- Employee-generated content: Encouraging employees to share their own perspectives, experiences and insights on social media platforms promotes a sense of ownership and inclusivity. It also creates a vibrant online community that encourages our audiences to participate in conversations about research initiatives.
Example:
tinyurl.com/587jcxvf GerrySpinelli
- Hashtag campaign: "#ImprovingLivesinCA is a unique campaign hashtag that serves as a unifying element, allowing us to gather user-generated content and track the campaign's reach and engagement.
“By strategically highlighting our employees in the narrative of our research efforts, #ImprovingLivesinCA strengthens the UC ANR brand identity and positions our organization as a collaborative partner at the forefront of innovation,” Garay said. “This campaign represents a comprehensive approach to leveraging the power of social media to drive reach and engagement and serve our online community.”
You can follow UC ANR on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter),LinkedIn and YouTube.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Undergraduates from Historically Black Colleges and Universities visit UC for summer session
Na'Zyia Dowdy-Arnold and Destinee S. Whitaker, both of Spelman College, Christopher Bass of Morehouse College, and Carlos Jackson of Tuskegee University spent the summer getting research experience with UC Berkeley scientists. The four undergraduates from Historically Black Colleges and Universities were participating in the UC Berkeley Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management HBCU Environmental Scholars Program.
“The program aims to facilitate two-way learning while fostering preparedness and belonging for HBCU students interested in graduate school at UC Berkeley,” said co-founder Rosalie Zdzienicka Fanshel, UC Berkeley doctoral candidate.
Now in its second year, the program, was co-founded by UC Berkeley professor Tim Bowles who also co-directs the program with Fanshel in cooperation with Tuskegee University and Spelman College faculty members.
“After two years as a mentor in the ESPM/UCB HBCU summer research immersion program, I was thrilled to witness the transformation of students,” said Vernard Lewis, emeritus UC Cooperative Extension entomology specialist. “This transformation included doing high-level science and increasing the feeling of belonging. The current cohort of four HBCU students have immersed themselves in lab and field sciences that include campus and ANR units. The hope is to expand the program and to increase the talent pool of HBCU students for graduate programs and careers at UC and ANR.”
During their two-month program, the students toured the San Joaquin Valley with Fanshel and Kristin Dobbin, UCCE water justice policy and planning specialist at UC Berkeley. They visited Allensworth, a utopian agricultural community focused on self-reliance in Tulare County founded in 1908 by African Americans, and UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Parlier, where they met Houston Wilson, UCCE entomology specialist.
Near the end of their stay, Lewis and his wife, Lisa Kala, who held administrative, research and teaching positions in UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Education for over 40 years, hosted a backyard barbecue at their Hayward home for the students to meet Black UC faculty, administrators and alumni.
Lewis assembled African American friends Mary Blackburn, Gloria Burkhalter, Bill Stevens, Bilal Shabazz and his daughter Amani, Fred Logan, Ben Tucker, Elize Brown, Gregory Bradley, Vincent Duncan, Maria Shalita, Carol Chambers-Blockton, Jariel Arvin, Frank McPherson and Charles Clary – some retired and others still enjoying long careers – to meet the young scholars on July 24. Harry LeGrande, emeritus UC Berkeley vice chancellor of student affairs who served in higher education for 45 years, joined the group by Zoom.
McPherson, who retired from UC ANR as UCCE director for the Bay Area in February, cooked up hot links, seafood gumbo and black-eyed peas, served with salad and fresh fruit for the occasion.
“It's okay to be different,” Lewis, the first Black entomologist hired at UC Berkeley, told the students. “You're not alone. We're all with you,” he added, gesturing to the older guests, who had described their professional journeys and how they navigated sometimes unfriendly environments. Some had graduated from college amid the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
Blackburn recalled being offered one of four coveted spots in UC Berkeley's new Master of Public Health Nutrition – Dietetic Internship program after graduating from Tuskegee University in 1963. It didn't seem feasible to move since her husband owned his business in Atlanta and they had four young children. But when the Tuskegee University president said she had to go, Blackburn understood that opportunity was not just about her and three days later she boarded a plane to California. In 1968, Blackburn became one of the first Registered Dietitians in the U.S. and completed her Ph.D. in human nutrition and health planning and administration at UC Berkeley in 1974.
“Find your allies; find your advocates,” Blackburn, UC Cooperative Extension's community nutrition and health advisor for Alameda County for the past 33 years, advised the students.
After the barbecue, the students began collecting email addresses and making connections with their new allies on LinkedIn.
“During our feedback sessions with the students, they expressed their appreciation to all those in attendance, especially Vernard Lewis, who orchestrated the event,” said McPherson. “One of the most important takeaways from the event was their desire to have this type of event with accomplished Black administrators and professionals continue to be part of the programming while at Berkeley.
“They also suggest that these events take place earlier, so that they might take advantage of the knowledge and experience these Black professionals bring to the table, not only as they return to their individual institutions and career paths, but also have access to this network while in the Bay Area.”
A week earlier, during a lunch with Blackburn and Lewis, the students had said they appreciated meeting the two accomplished Black scientists and wished they could meet more. That comment spurred Lewis and Blackburn to organize the barbecue. Despite the short notice, several of their Black colleagues attended. “They showed up because they care,” Lewis said.
They will continue to modify the program based on feedback from the students.
The first year of the program was funded by UC Berkeley's Berkeley Food Institute and Spelman College. The second year was funded by the UC Berkeley Office of Graduate Diversity; Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management; and donations from other campus programs and individuals. Each student receives a $5,000 stipend, room and board and travel.
Bowles and Fanshel have applied for a UC-HBCU initiative grant from UC Office of the President to continue the program for another three years.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
The Black and Allied Employees hosted a webinar on June 14 to celebrate Juneteenth, the day when the last people held hostage under chattel slavery learned of their freedom — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.
Mary Blackburn, Ph.D., UC Cooperative Extension family and consumer sciences health and nutrition advisor in Alameda County, and Keith Nathaniel, Ed.D., 4-H youth development advisor and director of UCCE in Los Angeles County, described their educational and career journeys in agriculture and extension.
The hour-long discussion was moderated by Chandra Richards, UCCE agricultural land acquisitions academic coordinator serving San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties, and organized by the Black and Allied Employees employee resource group.
Blackburn and Nathaniel related how their experiences shape their work and how their lives connect to current patterns of inequity.
Blackburn, who grew up in the Deep South and began her career in the turbulent 1960s, recalled being fired twice when Bay Area hospital administrators realized she was Black. But she found allies and advocates along her career path. After joining UC ANR in Alameda County in 1990, Dr. B, as she is affectionately called by colleagues, built a diverse team of educators – Black, Latino and Asian – who she credits for the success UCCE has had in accessing people in jail, transitional homes and public housing to provide education.
Nathaniel, who joined UC ANR in 1994, described some of the institutional challenges he has had to overcome as a 4-H advisor to serve Black youth. In Los Angeles County, members of the public don't understand that urban children can benefit from 4-H programs, he said. Nathaniel also pointed out that racism persists in subtle as well as overt ways. On search committees, he advises colleagues to be specific rather than describing a candidate as “not a good fit.”
Learn more about Blackburn and Nathaniel's experiences by viewing a recording of the Juneteenth webinar at https://youtu.be/yJ4Oo-VkgAE.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
UC ANR employees are invited to join the UCOP Black Staff & Faculty Organization for a Juneteenth week of events!
More information and an event flyer (PDF) can be found on the UCOP page.
The UC ANR Black and Allied Employees are also hosting a "Celebrating Juneteenth" event on June 14, from 10:30 a.m. to noon, featuring Dr. Mary Blackburn and Dr. Keith Nathaniel (see Zoom information in event listings below).
What's Juneteenth
Monday, June 12
Noon-1 p.m.
Come learn about the significance of Juneteenth.
David H. Anthony III, professor emeritus of African History at UC Santa Cruz, will delve into the significance and history of Juneteenth, exploring its roots and its importance in American culture.
Join via Zoom https://ucop.zoom.us/j/93634417310#success
936 3441 7310
Reparations Speaker
Tuesday, June 13
1-2 p.m.
Join Cheryl Grills, Ph.D., as she discusses the meaning and importance of reparations, including the history of reparations in America. She will also provide information on how to support tangible reparations for American Descendants of Slavery.
Join via Zoom https://ucop.zoom.us/j/98089055733#success
962 5244 6327
Celebrating Juneteenth
Wednesday, June 14
10:30 a.m.-Noon
Join UC ANR Black and Allied Employees as we learn about the lives of Dr. Keith Nathaniel and Dr. Mary Blackburn — including their journeys in agriculture and extension, how their experiences shape their work, and how their lives connect to present patterns of inequity that are commonly believed to be a thing of the past.
https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/99024484120?pwd=b3hkeXBiMEhRNWJ1a1VrOWhVdHZFdz09
Meeting ID: 990 2448 4120
Passcode: 092774
iPhone one-tap: +1669444917, 99024484120#, or +16699006833, 99024484120# US (San Jose)
Telephone (US): +1 669 900 6833
Voting Rights
Wednesday, June 14
Noon-1 p.m.
Kristin Nimmers from the California Black Power Network will speak about the importance of voting and voting rights.
Join via Zoom: https://ucop.zoom.us/j/98089055733#success
980 8905 5733
"Ferguson Rises" Film Screening
Thursday, June 15
3-5 p.m.
Join UC colleagues for a special movie screening of "Ferguson Rises," followed by a thought-provoking discussion with esteemed speakers who will explore the themes and issues presented in the film.
In-person at Broadway Conference Center in Oakland or join via Zoom:
https://ucop.zoom.us/j/91215595154#success
912 1559 5154