- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Eight more UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) advisor positions have been released for recruitment by Glenda Humiston, University of California vice president for agriculture and natural resources.
The UCCE job titles are followed by the counties they will serve:
- Central Sierra local food systems advisor; Amador, Calaveras, Tuolumne and El Dorado counties
- Vertebrate pest management advisor; Napa, Lake and Solano counties
- Specialty crops advisor; Sonoma, Marin and Napa counties
- Viticulture advisor; San Joaquin, Sacramento and Stanislaus counties
- Integrated pest management advisor; San Diego County
- 4-H youth development advisor; Placer and Nevada counties
- Environmental Horticulture Advisor; Los Angeles County
- Fire Advisor; San Benito, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties
Including those listed above, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources has released 28 UCCE positions for recruitment over the past three months and Humiston plans to announce additional UCCE positions in November. The recruitments are being released in stages to avoid overwhelming the Human Resources team.
“This hiring is made possible by the state's historic investment in UC ANR's mission to bring the power of UC to all 58 California counties and improve the lives of all Californian,” said Humiston.
In 2022, Humiston plans to hire 70 more UCCE specialists and advisors to help Californians better address issues including climate change, wildfires, food security and pest management.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources is releasing 10 more UC Cooperative Extension academic positions for recruitment.
“These positions are made possible by the historic 2021-22 state budget increase Governor Newsom approved in July,” said Glenda Humiston, UC vice president for agriculture and natural resources. “We are grateful that the governor and so many California legislators recognize the benefits of reinvesting in UC ANR research and extension to address critical needs across our state.”
The newly released positions include:
- Orchard Systems Area Advisor, Tehama County
- Nut Crops Advisor, Merced County
- Invasive Weed & Restoration Ecology Specialist, UC Davis
- Water Justice Policy and Planning Specialist, UC Berkeley
- Nutrition, Family, and Consumer Science Advisor, Central Sierra Multicounty Partnership
- Nutrition, Family, and Consumer Sciences Advisor, Tulare County supporting the lower San Joaquin Valley region
- Fire Advisor, Mariposa County
- Environmental Horticulture Advisor, Capitol Corridor Multicounty Partnership, serving the Sacramento Valley region
- Agricultural Engineer Advisor, Intermountain Research and Extension Center
- Integrated Pest Management Area Advisor, Butte County
The locations listed after the titles are where the individuals will be headquartered; UCCE Advisor positions serve multiple counties.
In May 2021, UC ANR Program Council identified 15 UCCE Advisor and five UCCE Specialist positions as critically urgent to fill from a list of the remaining positions from the 2018 position call process (updated in 2019) and more recent personnel departures and priorities. To avoid overwhelming UC ANR's Human Resources staff, 10 positions were released in July and this second set of 10 is being released now.
“We look forward to releasing additional positions for recruitment – both academic and program support members – throughout the next several months,” Humiston said.
Humiston encourages everyone to share the announcement with their social networks to “help us find and recruit outstanding candidates.”
To see a list of UC ANR job openings, visit https://ucanr.edu/About/Jobs
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
After three years of limited hiring due to budget constraints, the University of California's Agriculture and Natural Resources has announced it will release 10 UC Cooperative Extension positions for recruitment.
UC ANR is home to the county-based UC Cooperative Extension, Integrated Pest Management, Master Gardener and 4-H Youth Development and other programs.
The new UC Cooperative Extension positions include:
- Plant Pathology Area Advisor, Santa Cruz County
- Soils and Irrigation Advisor, Kern County
- Urban Agriculture/Small Farms Area Advisor, San Bernardino County
- Community Nutrition & Innovative Technologies Specialist, UC Davis
- Forest and Fuels Management Specialist, UC Berkeley
- Subtropical Crops Pathology Specialist, UC Riverside
- Diversified Agricultural Systems Area Advisor, Lake County
- Forestry and Natural Resources Area Advisor, Sutter-Yuba counties
- 4-H Youth Development Advisor, San Mateo-San Francisco counties
- Integrated Vineyard Systems Area Advisor, Hopland Research and Extension Center
The county listed beside the advisor title is where the office for the employee will be located. All of the UC Cooperative Extension Advisor positions will serve multiple counties.
Last week, the state restored UC ANR's budget to pre-COVID levels of FY 2019-20 and provided a 5% increase plus an additional $32 million in ongoing funding, bringing total state support to $107.9 million for the division. Over the past 20 years, UC ANR had seen its budget decrease by almost 50% when adjusted for inflation.
“This budget increase is transformational,” said Glenda Humiston, UC vice president for agriculture and natural resources. “It will allow us to rebuild UC Cooperative Extension's boots-on-the-ground to help Californians cope with wildfire, drought, climate adaptation and economic development among other issues.”
Twenty UC Cooperative Extension positions have been designated as critically urgent to fill. To avoid overwhelming UC ANR's Human Resources staff, the other 10 positions of the 20 will be released in late September as they ramp up hiring for future recruitment.
“We look forward to releasing additional positions for recruitment – both academic and program support members – throughout the next several months,” said Humiston.
“We are extremely grateful to Governor Newsom, the Legislature and especially Senator John Laird, who championed the budget increase, and look forward to working with our community partners to leverage these resources.”
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Six University of California Cooperative Extension advisor positions have been released for recruitment by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. Glenda Humiston, UC vice president for agriculture and natural resources, is thrilled to resume strengthening the UC ANR network to address California's current and emerging needs. Due to UC ANR's budget constraints, recruitment for positions identified in the 2018 Position Call had been on hold since July.
The new positions include:
- production horticulture advisor, San Diego County
- agronomy area advisor, Merced County
- livestock and natural resources advisor, Siskiyou County
- nutrition, family and consumer sciences area advisor, San Mateo-San Francisco counties
- vegetable crops and small farms advisor, Riverside County
- pomology and water/soils area advisor, Kings County
“These were difficult decisions to make because while we need the above positions, there are many more needs for both UC Cooperative Extension specialist and advisor positions that continue to wait for additional funding,” Humiston said. “Additionally, while we have grown the UCCE specialist numbers over the last several years, the number of UCCE advisors in the field has steadily declined. For this reason, we are focusing on recruitment of UCCE advisors at this time.”
The farming community lauded adding more county-based UCCE advisors to conduct research and work with farms of all sizes to improve water efficiency, soil health and many other issues.
“Farm advisors represent a vital link from University of California research sites to the state's fields and pastures,” California Farm Bureau Federation President Jamie Johansson said, “and filling these positions will help address a statewide shortage of advisors.
“Knowledge shared by farm advisors through the decades has helped California reach and retain its position as the nation's top producer of high-quality food and agricultural products, and we need to keep that resource alive.”
In January, UC ANR's Human Resources unit will begin recruitment planning for the newly released UCCE advisor positions, which will be posted at https://ucanr.edu/About/Jobs.
Currently they are working on recruitment for the following positions from previous calls:
- viticulture advisor for Kern County
- climate & agriculture project scientist
- human-wildlife conflict advisor for the San Mateo/San Francisco Bay Area
- 4-H STEM academic coordinator
- small farms and specialty crops assistant specialist for Fresno County
“I hope to release five or six more UCCE positions in the spring/summer,” Humiston said. “This is possible, in part, due to the advance notice provided by individuals planning to retire June 2020. In addition, we will complete recruitment of other academic positions currently advertised, including those that are funded through partnerships.”
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Public comments will be accepted until July 21.
“Filling critical academic positions is a top priority for UC ANR,” said Barbara Allen-Diaz, UC vice president for agriculture and natural resources. “We encourage our stakeholders – including commodity groups, cooperating programs, agency partners, community groups and others – to let us know what they see as priority needs for positions.”
To view the list of academic positions and to post a comment, visit http://ucanr.edu/callforpositions.