- Author: Wendy Powers
Grateful for things both big and small
Amidst the meetings and phone calls, and errands, and everyday life interruptions, this is the week we reflect on those things for which we are thankful.
Nobody ever said life was always easy. All around us are challenging circumstances, whether it be in the office or with the greater organization, or at home. I gave a presentation at the Davis ANR staff meeting several months back and shared that I have led a charmed life. It's true. I've never known real hunger. I've always had a roof over my head and a window to look out from. I've never lived with war right outside my window. I don't suffer from any debilitating or life-threatening disease. So I don't really know what ‘hard' is. If things at work are crazy hectic, it is largely of my own choosing.
UC ANR truly is amazing. In a meeting just yesterday, we learned from Kathy Eftekari, a facilitator from UCOP who lead us through the development of our strategic plan and is now leading us through an annual review of it, that other units in UCOP really like our big goal: UC ANR will be recognized by every Californian for having made a positive difference in their lives. At first, it appears to be, perhaps, lofty and focused on getting credit for what we do. However, the impetus behind the wording is that we have such a positive impact that people take notice and seek us out. What's not to like about that? What makes UC ANR amazing isn't that we have the goal but that we can achieve it because of the people all across the state doing all kinds of things from research, to program delivery, to program development, to administration and support of the programs and people. UC ANR is the umbrella for UCCE, AES and the RECs and it is that composite of entities that sets us apart from other state and provides the platform to reach our goal. I see it in the work around the state and I hear it in the conversations, even those tackling tough topics about practices and processes. The people of UC ANR are great thinkers and exceptional achievers.
I'm thankful:
- For the amazing experiences I have had at UC ANR
- My immediate family is now here in California
- For the hospitality shown by the offices and facilities I have visited over the last year
- That UC ANR is full of outstanding talent in every aspect of the Division and that talent is committed to the mission and vision
- That the Pepsi machine in the ANR Davis building also vends Diet Coke (a nice collaboration)
- For the opportunity to work with people I like and live with people I love
- For 2 weeks without significant travel
- That we all have a few days of R&R, knowing that, more likely than not, we will all be back on Monday
Enjoy your time away from work and with family and friends. We have so much for which to be grateful.
- Author: Wendy Powers
My mind is full. The result of taking on some additional responsibilities while we try to fill some vacancies is that my calendar is running me. Last week was packed. From arriving in DC on Saturday and all-day meetings Sunday and Monday, to flying back on Tuesday just in time for a few brief minutes at the New Administrator Orientation followed by a 3+-hour meeting with R&E Council that was idea-rich, to the night drive to Visalia so I could meet with the REC directors, business officers, and superintendents all day Thursday into the evening then half-day Friday before driving back, I didn't have a chance to sort thoughts and even now haven't fully processed things.
In between there have been conversations about moving forward with the Public Value Statements now that Condition Changes are complete, and reviewing documents to prepare for both Strategic Plan updates and accountability against our goals as well as documents and talking points to prepare for a deep dive on UC ANR's budget.
All of these things position us for continued success, as success rarely just happens. However, I could use a timeout to provide some quiet time so that I can process everything. I'm sure most of us have taken a Myers-Briggs Type Instrument assessment. Surprisingly, and following an expanded version of the assessment tool, I learned that I land close to the middle in all categories but one. But because the intent is to type each participant, I am typed as an INTJ. {For reference, it is the “T” (vs “F”) where I am clearly a “T”.} Perhaps the commute this upcoming week will give me some time to work through what I heard, saw, and learned last week.
UC ANR welcomes a number of new faces, including Mary Bonaparte- Saller who is a Youth Development Advisor in Orange County. Mary started October 9th and I have had the opportunity to meet her at the New Employee Orientation last month. I haven't had a chance to meet either of the 2 Advisors who joined UC ANR most recently. Please welcome Kari Arnold, Advisor in Area Orchard and Vineyard Systems, based in Modesto with programmatic responsibilities in Stanislaus and San Joaquin Counties and Michael Rethwisch, Advisor in Crop Production and Entomology, headquartered in Blythe (Palo Verde Valley), with programmatic responsibilities in Riverside County. Michael has returned to UC ANR, to the same office where he was located previously. We are pleased to have Mary, Kari and Michael on board!
New faces are exciting for UC ANR! At a time when there are many changes going on, welcoming new colleagues/friends/peers is one of perhaps few ‘changes' that is always welcome. There seems to be no shortage of change going on, from policies, to reports and training needs, to budget accommodations, and insufficient hands on deck, change is challenging and a source for stress. I think many could use a time out right now. Fortunately we have a bit of a break coming up – time to renew and refresh our outlook.
- Author: Wendy Powers
It turns out I had two consecutive hours of unscheduled time on Tuesday. I was at a loss what to do – first I wondered if I was in some sort of time warp and actually late for a meeting. Then I thought I had misread my calendar. This progressed to wondering if I had been fired or perhaps it was Saturday and there were just a lot of people working the weekend in the Davis building. After about 4 minutes of this I embraced the time and got some work done! Before I knew it, it was time to go to Program Council for the rest of the day. Overall, last week was a series of ups and downs; of time that was rather fun and then times of not-so-fun. Good meetings, not-so-fun travel, now holding out hope that the APLU meeting breaks the cycle.
While the drive up to Tulelake was not ideal, the daylight drive back lead to spotting a few ring-necked pheasant, a species I have missed and was really excited to see alongside the road. Growing up in New York State, there was a field across the street from our house that was owned by the Naval Reserve and there were always pheasant there. Then I moved to Florida and didn't see any. From there I move to Iowa where they were quite abundant, followed by Michigan where I never saw a single one. So it seems I have cycled back to a state where the ring-necked pheasant calls home. Thinking about this cycle had me wondering about the CA population of pheasants because in Iowa there is a lot of talk about the bird and projected populations. So I did some digging and learned a few things, including the fact that I grew up in New York when populations were at their peak and they are actually difficult to find now. And apparently I was fortunate to see a few in CA last week. So it seems the Midwest (sans Michigan) is where most are now found, due to habitat and grain fields.
At the APLU meeting, one of the speakers talked about Project DrawDown which emphasizes 12 steps to carbon neutrality. I may need to look up the site but I'm not sure there is much life cycle assessment data available for some of the strategies. The speaker also referenced a Nature article by Jonathan Foley, who I mentioned in a recent post, that is focused on food footprints.
In the meantime, I need to get VP Humiston the grant recommendations that came from Program Council and tackle a few other items that have deadlines on them. Fortunately I have some flight time to use towards 2 manuscripts I need to edit and send back to a graduate student who is trying to wind down his program.
Still not bored.
- Author: Wendy Powers
Did you make good use of your extra hour this weekend? I spent some time looking for sandhill cranes, using it as an excuse to board a boat and cruise the delta. That was certainly time well spent. Yard work appears endless and definitely the downside of year-round good weather. Otherwise, I spent far more time than I care to admit writing updates on a few of the strategic plan goals. While I'm committed to the plan itself, like many, I would be just fine not having paperwork to do. And of course there were the ANR Grant Reviews to complete this weekend. It's clear some tough decisions are in store for Program Council this week.
Thanks to Debbie, a Master Gardener in Santa Cruz County, I have a new succulent. Almost a week in and it is still alive! Things look promising thanks to the growers guide she provided me. Perhaps some of my exposure to UC ANR academics with horticulture expertise is rubbing off.
Last week I learned about some of the research Steven Tjosvold and David Chambers are leading to use polyacrylamides (PAM) as a means of binding sediment, nutrients, and, potentially, some pesticides used in the greenhouse industry – fascinating. I worked with PAM years ago to flocculate phosphorus from dilute manure streams. The good news is that the practice appears economically feasible for greenhouse users.
I had a chance to tour the UCCE Monterey County facilities last week as well. Have you been there? They have great lab facilities. Strong relations between the County and UCCE are key to the success of our Extension and research programs and the facilities at UCCE Monterey County illustrate the benefits of solid relationships and strong support from surrounding stakeholders and clientele.
After Program Council this week, I am headed up to Intermountain REC before the long weekend. I'm not sure if winter has arrived up there or not but will be sure to check the weather forecast before I leave. Then it's a long weekend – sort of the start of that time of year when we have short work weeks. These shorter weeks may give me time to catch a few additional TED Talks. A couple on my list: 1) How to win in evolution and survive mass extinction by Lauren Sallan and 2) The other inconvenient truth by Jonathan Foley who has been recommended as a possible keynote speaker at the 2018 Statewide Conference. Thanks for the suggestion Maggi #IGIS @nmaggikelly. If you get a chance to look at Dr. Foley's talk, let me know what you think.
Be sure to thank a veteran this week (and every week)!
- Author: Wendy Powers
This week I've had an opportunity to learn a ton of things about fund development. On Tuesday I spent much of the day in interviews for the Executive Director position for the fund development team. The team is all quite new and part of a goal to increase gifts, endowments, and general funding for UC ANR. Each of the candidates brought much to a conversation and, fortunately, I think we ended in a place of recommending the candidates that best fit the needs to move forward – we weren't in a place where we were trying to identify a candidate to move forward to the next stage; it's a nice problem to have. A couple of things that were reinforced to me over the course of the day: 1) Gifts aren't a means of stabilizing existing fund sources. We all know that grantors are interested in shiny, new ideas and not in supporting what we have done for years. The same is (mostly) true for donors. I say mostly because I think we have a window where some of our prospect (alumni, retirees) may be very interested in funding what they remember as the critical functions of an organization. 2) You must have a plan and be able to clearly convey why you are seeking funding. This, too, is not much different from the granting world but I'm not sure we are at that place yet. Rather, I think we have many needs and ideas but perhaps without that 10,000 ft value proposition tied to a specific ask. That leads me to 3) You have to be ready to make the ask. Again, we may not quite be there yet (or maybe it is just me) but I know there are many conversations going on about needs and I wonder if some of the meetings in the near future aren't a good place to shore up the vision such that we don't share a list of what we've done but rather a compelling vision about where we want to go and what the specific funding needs are (shiny/new and traditional support) to get us there. The other key point that was reinforced is that there is a need for great clarity about who has what roles and responsibilities in the fund development process. Success doesn't lie solely with a team of 5 or 12 but with each and every one of us. A better understanding of this and what and how to go about achieving success is needed.
Mark Bell had a chance to do some 10,000 ft thinking when he was in Chile last week. It was a quick trip but it sounds like there were some interesting discussions about the Extension service in Chile and comparisons with the US Cooperative Extension system. It's easy to take for granted what we have here in the US and CA, in particular. We know we could do so much more if we had more but what Cooperative Extension has done for the US is nothing short of remarkable. And in UCCE, we are especially fortunate to have the RECs, 10 campuses generating new knowledge with active research in every county, tremendous partners and stakeholders, and resources in each county office that exceed what many in other states across the US could only dream of having.
Today I had the good fortune of spending the day in Santa Cruz County with Mark Bolda, Laura Tourte, and Steven Tjosvold. I'm embarrassed to admit that I hadn't met Laura or Steven before – one would think I would know every Advisor by now. We saw the Master Gardener's demonstration garden, some research to use polyacrylamides to floc sediment from the nursery, visited a few berry farms, and toured the UC Santa Cruz Student Organic Farm. A great day! The stop at UC Santa Cruz served to reinforce the messages about fund development and really showcased what can result when you have a strong message and value proposition.
Two UC ANR Competitive Grant proposals to read/review and off to Monterey and San Benito Counties tomorrow!