- Author: Wendy Powers
Here we are to Thursday and this is my first post for the week. I continue to work my way through reviewing the merit and promotion packages – some really good stuff in the dossiers! We seem to have a large number of last names beginning with ‘D','M', and ‘S'. Not as many ‘R's' as I would have expected. While the reviews seem to take, on average, about 60 min each it's a great way for me to learn what everyone is doing. I still have a goal of getting to every county office at least once every other year, but, until I make my way around the state at least once, these dossiers are helping me get to know everyone. Though truth be told, I really thought I would be more familiar with everyone's work and know the name and program area of every advisor by now. When I left high school, knowing at least the name and something about all 750 of my classmates, I assumed I would do the same at Cornell. I'd say I eventually knew everyone in my major but perhaps my goal of knowing everyone in my graduating class was a bit ambitious. And perhaps my current goals are a bit ambitious, but given the importance of individuals to UC ANR, I'd say it's a worthy aspiration. So if I haven't been to your county yet, please give Kathryn Stein a call and she will work on arranging a visit to you and some neighboring counties. Scheduling fall visits to the campuses is underway right now so it's a good time to fill the calendar.
Next week is my 1 year anniversary! Despite DMV's best efforts I do now have a CA driver's license and am now eligible for all the benefits of living in California. My anniversary falls on the same day as the Town Hall webinar to update everyone on plans and processes for Goal 5 of the strategic plan:
- Tuesday, June 20, 2017, from 2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
- Join by Zoom at https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/369866693
- Join audio by phone at +1 408 638 0968 | Meeting ID: 369 866 693
Following, there will be a series of information sessions held around the state. These meetings aren't just for academics – everyone is encouraged to attend but please register so there is an accurate head count and sufficient chairs. The webinar next week will be just an hour long with very brief Q&A. The information sessions, however, will include open conversation time after lunch with Mark Bell and I. As busy as summer is, I hope we have a good turn out and insightful conversation at the information sessions.
We will share the Public Value Statements in their current form during the information sessions. But here's a preview. Note I have done some minor wordsmithing from what the groups actually developed, not changing intent but phrasing them consistently. We will work on these more at the workshop in late August for program team, strategic initiative, institute, and statewide program leaders.
UC ANR Public Value Statements – as of June 15, 2017
- UC ANR helps enable Californians to pride themselves on a culture of innovation and willingness to adapt
- UC ANR contributes to sufficient, safe, healthy food for all Californians
- UC ANR Contributes to safe and healthy environments
- UC ANR develops a qualified workforce for California
- UC ANR ensures a safe and healthy California for all people and communities
- UC ANR helps meet California's climate goals and build communities resilient to extreme weather
- UC ANR contributes to reduced racial and ethnic inequality
- Author: Wendy Powers
This week flew by and I wasn't even traveling (much). I flew back to CA on the holiday and headed to the Davis office Tuesday morning. That day ended with participation at the Annual UC Davis Specialist meeting. I was asked to talk about efforts to cultivate the strategic initiatives. Because this ties into Goal 5, I shared the graphic that I have used to illustrate the process (below).
At the UCD Specialist meeting, I provided an update on the Public Value Statement workshop held a couple of weeks ago and some thoughts about workgroups, program teams, statewide programs and institutes, and the strategic initiatives similar to those I shared in a previous blog. My thoughts continue to evolve (see graphic below) over time and with continued discussion that is welcomed. I recognize there are very different perspectives across UC ANR of the value of the different groups. Personally, they are all mission-critical. I wonder if there isn't a need to better define the role and responsibilities of each group just for clarification purposes so that we are all using the same language and understand how each group contributes to the overarching mission. As I made my way over to the UCD Specialist meeting I had Ruth Wallace, a professor from Charles Darwin University as my passenger and it was obvious that while the impact of UC ANR is well recognized, it is a bit of a challenge to describe how we are organized. At the end of the day, it is the work that is paramount; but it doesn't hurt to have a common means of describing the organization and its structure as well as its function.
Ruth is a Fullbright Fellow studying the US Extension system. I found it interesting to learn that the tagline for Charles Darwin University is ‘Change Your World'. As many know, Cooperative Extension is recognized around the world for the impact it has had in connecting science to citizens. Many countries seek to emulate what we have here in the US; Glenda spent time in China back in March as part of a team that is working with the Chinese government to share how Cooperative Extension works. Similarly, there is new effort in Mexico to strengthen the role of universities in extension and economic development programs and those states that are border states have an opportunity to showcase, strengthen, and build upon our current efforts across the border. Initial planning is underway for a conference (fall 2017) between several universities in Mexico and border state Cooperative Extension programs to talk about common issues and how we might work together. Having seen, during my visit to Imperial UCCE and DREC, how important the cross border relationships are I think people within UC ANR could make strong contributions to the event. As the event develops I will keep everyone informed.
Next week is Program Council. I am certain I will leave the meeting with many things to think about.
- Author: Wendy Powers
I hope everyone had an enjoyable long weekend. Summer seems to have kicked off with nice temps throughout CA – not too hot; not too cold. This week is a bit of a slow week for me. Tuesday is pretty full with meetings, including a meeting with Specialists at UC Davis. I don't think I've met with the Specialists there since the fall so I am long overdue. I am hoping to spend more time on the campuses now that Mark Bell is on board but with the information sessions throughout the summer and a host of other things already on the calendar, it looks like it will be fall before I can act on that goal. But I suspect most Specialists will be in the field or trying to take some much deserved R&R before students head back and campuses are in full swing again in the fall. The rest of the week will be used for preparing for next week's Program Council meeting and a few other things that will be occurring throughout June. Not to mention I need to put aside a fair bit of time to read through merit and promotion packages. I plan to get started on that yet this week.
The June Program Council meeting has a full agenda. One item is to talk about the Position Call process that will begin in early 2018. Though I haven't been through a complete process yet, it sounds like each round has been considered by many as an improvement over previous calls. That's certainly the goal for the upcoming round – identify where we can make improvements to the process to thereby improving the outcome. I am l to looking forward to the Program Council discussion to hear how those who have been involved for a few cycles perceive the present process and hear their thoughts on moving forward. The Strategic Initiative Leaders will be meeting before Program Council meets and I believe one item of discussion will be rotation of SI Leaders. The two topics certainly aren't independent of each other given the time commitment the SI Leaders provide to Program Council and associated activities such as the review process for the various grant programs with their panels. My understanding is that the position call process and the grants program shifted to alternate years in order to make the time commitment for the two activities more manageable. It's not unusual to run into a new challenge as a result of removing a different barrier. One challenge I see with an every other year position call process is that laying out 2 years of positions to be filled presents little flexibility in addressing those unexpected vacancies. Perhaps we will find a way to address this.
Later this month UC ANR has its annual review meeting with the President. This gives us the opportunity to provide an update on strategic plan progress. Once those materials are prepared, they will be shared on the website for all to see. The meeting with President Napolitano is late June so be sure to check the website at the end of the month. Updates on Goal 5 should appear before then, now that there are Public Value Statements available as a first cut. These will continue to evolve, another example of improving as we go through the process.
- Author: Wendy Powers
We are starting to see some progress on implementation of the strategic plan. This weekend I need to spend some time updating status of the 3 goals that I ‘own'. The ownership is really a misnomer for each of these goals (#1, 2, and 5) because they each are so heavily dependent on everyone in UC ANR if we are to achieve them. The exciting part about it is that if we do accomplish what has been laid out in the plan, we will be able to look back and say “Wow!” What's more, and what's even more exciting – our clientele will say the same!
Did you know that there's a website now where you can check in for updates on the strategic plan progress? It's new, and an outcome of recommendations from the VP Council (great idea Council members!). I will be loading some recent happenings in the next couple of weeks; I need to get caught up on some things in the Inbox first.
The highlight of updates related to Goal 5 is that I spent the last 2 days in a workshop with the Statewide Program and Institute Directors and Strategic Initiative Leaders to develop a set of Public Value Statements. We were led by two facilitators, Nancy Franz who has worked in this area with Extension for over 15 years and Raj Kapur who worked with UC ANR when the division first moved into the Davis building. Raj will be with us through the next few months of Goal 5 so if you haven't met him, you will have a chance at the Goal 5 information sessions throughout the summer. The workshop was tiring and inspiring at the same time. I can't tell you how impressed I am at how well the group worked together towards a common goal despite the skepticism, in trepidation, and curiosity that came with the participants. If you've ever pulled together a group of people that came from different perspectives and had never worked together to achieve a defined outcome in a short period of time, you know how difficult it can be. But while personalities and perspectives were evident, overall the group seemed comfortable with the outcome. Nancy did tell us that the group was perhaps the most critical thinkers she had encountered. We took her a bit out of her experience by doing this at a division level rather than a program level, adding to the complexity of the process. But I knew that if any land grant institution could do this, it's UC ANR. Similarly, I firmly believe that if any Cooperative Extension system can impact the lives of every person in the state, it's UCCE.
The public value statements, in their current state, will be posted on the strategic plan website by Memorial Day – I will likely be the hold up in getting them posted. Be sure to check back on the website but also talk with any of the participants and your colleagues to determine if we've missed anything that is critical to achieving the 2025 Vision.
In late August we will be inviting in the same participants plus a leader from each of the Program Teams to develop condition changes associated with the public value statements – now would be a good time to refresh ourselves on the logic model with learning (short) , behavior (medium) and condition (long term) changes? I need to get that invitation out as well - a weekend task.
The peer review committee met this week. I didn't get in to say hello but I ran into Mark, Jim and Ben in the parking lot. It sounds like the meeting (2 ½ days) went well and Chris and Kim kept things moving along such that all 70+ portfolios were reviewed and recommendations developed on schedule. Thanks to everyone who reviewed merit and promotion packages, wrote letters for packages, or helped colleagues pull their materials together. It's a ton of work but the process contributes to the caliber of the people and the division.
I have more meetings today. I realize now that I need to do a few things that generate some nice photos to break up all the text in these posts. Perhaps there will be more bees in Davis to result in a photo.
- Author: Wendy Powers
As always there are many great things going on at UC ANR. Last week was the Academic Assembly Council meeting. This was the first time I attended the meeting in its entirety. Jim Farrar ran a great meeting. There were a large number of topics including a proposed salary plan for advisors, to accompany the plan that has been approved for staff. The advisor plan has yet to be finalized and approved but everyone agrees it is needed and now is the right time. We planned for the salary adjustment when we made position decisions at the end of 2016. And it is very much part of the thought process as we continue to review budget requests for the upcoming fiscal year. We will be reviewing budget requests again tomorrow and bringing final recommendations to Vice President Humiston the first week of June.
Last week we had a good meeting with County Directors. A guest speaker came in and gave us some tips on time management. As busy as the County Directors are with both administrative and academic responsibilities every tip helps. The CDs worked in small groups to develop some action items that followed a meeting in February, including strategies to ensure success of newer CDs in managing multiple priorities.
If you are looking for an interesting read, consider this article on research integrity that Kathy Nolan sent me. Mentoring of graduate students is a key theme throughout the article. Some of the points made had me remembering an exercise during our strategic planning meetings to identify values of UC ANR. Integrity was one that rose to the top and gained consensus of the group almost immediately. The article has me thinking that we need to work to keep integrity at the forefront of everything we do and not take for granted that it is inherent in our work. The article is a quick read and worth the time, regardless of how tight on time we all are.
The pollen in the air is driving me crazy to the extent that I look forward to a reprieve when I am in the concrete jungle (Oakland). But without the pollen there wouldn't be all the cherry stands in the Lodi area or the strawberry stands throughout the state. It seems strawberry season is in full swing. Congratulations to Surendra Dara and team for a successful strawberry field day. During the event the hosts were visited by a local news station. With over 160 attendees there is no doubt there will be strong outcomes from the event.
Ricky Satomi starts tomorrow as the new Forestry and Natural Resources advisor based in Redding with program responsibilities in Shasta, Trinity and Siskiyou counties. Like Larry and Steve, we are excited to have Ricky on board.
I am looking forward to seeing the Statewide Program and Institute Directors and the Strategic Initiative Leaders this week when we craft public value statements. I think these will have many uses, not just Goal 5. I will let you know how it goes.
