- Author: Wendy Powers
This week was the Regent's meeting where UC ANR had a chance to educate the Regents about who we are and the value we bring to California. I missed the first public day of the meeting because the Program Council was also this week. But I was to be there yesterday which was the scheduled day for Glenda's UC ANR presentation. The group was behind schedule by 9 AM. They ended up so far behind schedule that the UC ANR presentation was rescheduled to the May meeting.
The topic that put the agenda so far behind schedule? Student tuition. The proposal centered on a 2.6% increase to non-resident fees that would equate to just under $800 per year. Regents raised concerns that, while $800 may not seem like much, in some countries it is a month's wages. Additional concerns regarded DACA students who failed to meet the requirements for in-state tuition and the fact that they would be impacted by the $800. Those against the increase argued that the cost of running UC is not the financial responsibility of non-resident students. Those in favor countered that while they, too didn't like the idea of increasing costs to students, there is a $30M gap in the budget, state funding does not keep up with rising costs, and 2.6% is less than a cost-of-living adjustment. In the end, the decision was to undertake further analysis and make a decision at the next meeting (hopefully after the UC ANR presentation). I happened to be sitting near a large group of students who declared ‘victory.' By the way, did you know that snapping fingers have replaced clapping (less disruptive)?
I'm not sure who won what. Acceptance letters need to go out, and they will state that the non-resident fees may increase by 2.6%. That then turned into a discussion about the need for students to be able to know, in advance, what their education will cost without changing those costs mid-stream. If the increase goes forward, should it only then apply to incoming students? Then next year's acceptance letters would include the 4-year cost for the class entering in fall 2020, and so on. The commitment would only be made for four years, thus, promoting an increase in 4-yr graduation rates.
While tuition doesn't relate to UC ANR directly, I found the principles relevant. One could replace the word ‘tuition' with ‘REC research costs' and have the same conversations. In fact, I've had these same conversations. It all comes back to ‘who pays when the taxpayers don't?' Unfortunately, the Lt. Governor did not offer to help make a push for UC ANR like she did with state support for UC, in general, but perhaps that will come.
I'm still digesting the Program Council conversations, but in the meantime, I need to start working on my weekly quota for reviewing merit and promotion packages. So far, I am 0% complete for the week.
- Author: Wendy Powers
Between a group of us, we visited 32+ California Congresspeople and Senators. I found many supporters during my visits. The staffers asked great questions about our programs and the local impacts of our programs. While I didn't have all of the answers at hand, I will be doing follow-ups this week. Glenda and I were accompanied by some of our superstars, including Bill Frost, Lenya Quinn-Davidson, Monique Rivera, Darren Haver, Mark Lagrimini, and Teal Cody as well as David Ackerly and Government Affairs staff from UCD, UCB, and UCR. They all did a fantastic job talking about the details of their programs as well as the value of those efforts for the greater CA. The March trip to DC isn't particularly something I look forward to each year, but I think we all had good visits and I would say it has been the best of my three years thus far. Sometimes it is difficult to hold the attention of the staffers. You can't blame them; they pretty much spend the entire month of March visiting with teams of constituents armed with details about their cause. Even the meeting that precedes the Hill visits was better than it has been. Perhaps I am acclimating.
While in DC, we ran into Susie Kocher who was making visits of her own with forestry colleagues and program leaders. Doug Parker was in DC the week before us to talk about the water programs; another vital topic to CA and the US, as a whole.
I heard on 60 Minutes this evening that a record number of Americans have fallen behind on car payments; 7 million. My take away from that is that while our own ‘central funding' competes with many other important causes, the need for our work has never been stronger. That's why our elected officials welcome our visits and ask for invitations to see our work firsthand.
I am not making progress on my review of merit and promotion packages that I had hoped at this point. My goal is to be through all of the packets by June 1 so that I can then go through and review the Peer Review Committee and ad hoc reviewer comments before making decisions by June 15. I can't attribute my lack of progress to Daylight Saving Time. What I can say is that for the packets I have reviewed, I continue to be impressed by the work of the UC ANR team. All should proudly take the opportunity to show off their efforts and impacts with our elected officials.
- Author: Wendy Powers
I spent Friday with the Vice Chancellors of Research. We met on the UC Irvine campus, my first visit to that campus. We talked a bit about an effort to aggregate all of the patents across UC and, using artificial intelligence, identify expired or abandoned patents with potential for revival. What I learned is that UC holds more patents than any other public institution. Given that UC is comprised of 10 campuses, 3 National labs, and UC ANR it makes perfect sense.
Eric Rignot, a professor at UC Irvine and ‘glaciologist,' talked to us about ice sheet melt and what it means. His presentation was fascinating. We learned that while the current rate of sea level rise is 1 meter/century, it could go as high as 4 meters/century due to the impact of ice sheets. Note that if sea level were to rise 4 meters, most of the airports on both U.S. coasts would be under water. I had heard some years ago that much of Greenland is now cultivated due to glacial loss. Dr. Rignot shared data indicating that the melt rate of Antarctica and mountain glaciers are only a bit less than that of Greenland and all rates are increasing. As the only continent I have not visited, I was unaware of how different western Antarctica is from the eastern side of Antarctica. The western side has extensive glacial loss. The eastern side, not long ago inaccessible, now shows signs of ‘warming.' The Totten Glacier, in eastern Antarctica, alone would cause a 3.9-meter increase in sea level should it melt. As a result, there is close attention paid to eastern Antarctica to monitor where the melt rate is relative to a ‘tipping point.' Dr. Rignot's comment that "every day that passes by with inaction will penalize us down the road" has stuck with me and seems to apply in many situations.
Now I am in Washington, D.C. again, attending the CARET/APLU meeting. Barry Dunn, President at South Dakota State University, quoted C.S. Lewis during his comments. The quote was “You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” That sentiment certainly applies to climate change. Dunn, a former Extension Specialist who happened to start as a professor in Animal Science at SDSU the same year I started as a professor and Extension Specialist at Iowa State, also in Animal Science, also talked about his fascination with kaleidoscopes because you can change the lens slightly and the view changes tremendously. I found that an interesting thought.
Following the meeting sessions, we headed to our UC-DC office to plan for the rest of the week. Afterward, Dean David Ackerly, from UC Berkeley, met with alum and gave a talk about his work, also related to climate change. It is shaping up to be both a busy and interesting week.
- Author: Wendy Powers
Someone asked me why I write a blog. The fact that I do surprises me, too, mainly because it is similar to homework. But here's why I do it:
- I am fortunate enough to work with amazing people, all across UC ANR. The people I have met and the work they have shared with me inspires me. Those people include academics, program staff, researchers, office managers, attorneys, superintendents. I could list probably every title code we have in UC ANR. I use the blog to share my experiences with you.
o California is such a big state, so it would be impossible to know all of the outstanding programs and people that are dispersed throughout the state.
o By sharing, perhaps some readers gain ideas or prospective partners for their efforts.
- I leave meetings with many, many thoughts in my head. It takes me a while to process all of it. As part of the process, I find that putting things on paper helps me sort it all out and think through what I can do to contribute to solutions.
o I attended the County Director meeting today. While many of the County Directors have more on their plates than they believe they can handle, the meeting was upbeat and full of great ideas and plans of actions. The County Directors shared impressive successes they have had in their roles as Directors, many of which were the result of ‘lifting' (Yana's words) the longstanding UCCE-County partnership.
o Last night I was part of a meeting with a small group of the County Directors where we had more time to delve into more detail on topics, including the stress that County Directors, Advisors, and Community Educators feel as well as the need to better understand the expectations in each role.
- I receive great feedback from readers.
o Already I have someone bringing me a copy of the Six Thinking Hats!
o Your feedback contributes to my thought process as I think through solutions.
- I spent much of my career wondering what administrators do – admit it, you've had the same thought. Perhaps we each have a bit better idea now.
o While I don't discuss every meeting or project and I don't share anything in detail, the scope of topics and people encountered in any given week is more than I would ever have imagined before holding the position.
- Honestly, I have a hard time remembering where I've been and what I've done. This phenomenon is unrelated to age; I am sure. ‘Journaling' provides me an opportunity to go back and recall things that have happened.
o I use the tags to help me find when I visited different programs and recall the details.
o I put the hyperlinks in as much for my benefit as for readers.
I had a conversation with Rose the other day, and we speculated that within UC ANR there are likely hundreds of blogs and social media accounts. For those who either have blogs or contribute to the UC ANR blogs, I hope you get as much out it as I do!
- Author: Wendy Powers
It's time, again, to start the weekend yard work routine. I spent a small part of the time this weekend weeding but didn't come close to catching up with all that somehow grew since Thanksgiving. And now, with more rain on the way and next weekend already committed for a trip to DC with our CARET representatives, I imagine the weeds will be far ahead of me by the time I get back to yard work again. That's just how it goes.
I'm reviewing my calendar and weeding out things that just might have to go on hold while I work through the merit and promotion documents (79 total, I hear, with all of them left to review by early June). Also, there are many, many meetings to attend some of which are standing meetings while others are somewhat new to the calendar. I need to decide where things fit in my Focus Funnel. I suspect some of the things I really enjoy (county visits) may slide. I need, also, to determine which activities present themselves as competing commitments and, as a result, deter my efforts to achieve my stated goals for the good of the Division.
If I need some inspiration to stay focused and avoid competing commitments all I need to do is look at this morning's UCOP Daily News Clip. There was a great call out to work in Fresno County. Take a look; the work is inspiring!
I'm looking forward to seeing the County Directors and the REC Directors this week. Both groups are meeting in Davis. The Research and Extension Council meets Tuesday evening, followed by the County Director meeting all day Wednesday. The REC meeting, on Thursday, is an ‘all-hands' meeting so Business Officers and Superintendents will be in attendance. Each of the meeting agendas is quite full. I expect I will learn a lot and later need to weed through all of the information to separate out action items from ideas for future use. It already appears that the weather may make travel challenging for some, but hopefully, travel disruptions are minimal. My week should be hassle-free as far as travels go; just a quick trip to Irvine on Friday. Then I head East again over the weekend, so plenty of opportunities to traverse the airports at that point.
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