- Author: Wendy Powers
Somehow this week seems to be progressing slowly which is an odd occurrence. But perhaps it will translate to getting more accomplished. ‘Slow' is not to be confused with not having enough to do though at one point I did recall something my grandmother used to say “Idle hands are the devil's workshop”.
What's not moving as slow as one would like is huanglongbing. Confirmation of the citrus tree disease in Riverside County happened much sooner than anyone would hope to see and resulted in a flurry of activity within UC ANR and among our many partners with a stake in protecting the citrus industry. While many of the UC and UC ANR researchers have been focused on this disease and the associated Asian citrus psyllid and Master Gardener volunteers have been busy educating homeowners for quite some time, confirmation of the disease comes as quite a blow despite knowing it was a matter of time. Fortunately there has been considerable planning underway so folks were as prepared as anyone could be to move into action.
Yesterday, VP Council met in Oakland and had about 30 minutes with President Napolitano. She openly answered questions posed to her by the group and provided us some brief updates on what's new in the Office of the President. As important as our time with the President was an opportunity to hear what's going on with the unit leaders that sit on VP Council. We never seem to allocate enough time to have a good discussion about topics in common so perhaps we will do better in the future with the scheduling. But it was fun to hear about the programming going on around the state, the policy work underway, and plans in the works for the group. I foresee the new UC ANR Newsletter, Connected, as a great way to share our work not only with external partners and stakeholders but to better acquaint all of us internally with what goes on around us every day.
Today I spent time with a group that is working to formalize a partnership aimed at enhancing the on-the-ground work they have been engaged in for some time. The California On-Farm Demonstration Network has, through strong partnerships, been successful in demonstrating the benefits of soil health practices as a means of encouraging adoption of those practices across the state. By formalizing the partnership, the group seeks to take the next step in increasing its effectiveness and adoption. Having been part of groups that have initiated such partnerships, I think it is easy to underestimate the time and effort it takes to bring groups together and move in the same direction with a common understanding of roles and responsibilities. While perhaps painful at times, laying the groundwork now will payoff later. I see great opportunities with this group to secure increasing support to expand their efforts so a solid plan and agreement now will have tremendous payoff later.
Tomorrow it's off to Redding for the 4th of 5 information sessions. I haven't chartered a bus for this trip but still thinking about it for other excursions.
- Author: Wendy Powers
Last week I discovered that United Airlines now includes in its announcements that you are not allowed to consume alcohol you brought on board during the flight. I have friends that will find this change a bit of a hardship. While not a big deal for me, I'd love to know that back story that elevated this long-time policy to be addressed in the announcements.
Last week we conducted 3 information sessions around the state; we have two remaining at the end of this week. The information provided is largely around one of the goals in the strategic plan that intends to align our programs and services with work that needs to happen in order to fully bring the 2025 Strategic Vision to life. Overall participants see the value of describing our work in aggregate in a way that conveys the long term benefit of our work to the general public (the ‘why')and using individual stories to describe the ‘what' and ‘how'. I think there may be hesitancy by some to adjust the ‘what' perhaps because of academic freedom or loyalty to long-time efforts. This is understandable but we won't know what the future holds until we work through the condition changes and indicators late summer and into the fall. What I do know is that the talent throughout UC ANR is well positioned to pivot as needed to meet emerging programmatic needs while allowing the individual to find more balance in their schedules. Quite a bit of the conversation seems to center on the function of Strategic Initiatives, Program Teams, Work Groups and Statewide Programs. Participation in Program Teams and Work Groups by Community Education Specialists/Program Reps seems variable. No doubt the work of this staff group is imperative to UC ANR and regardless of participation in planning and curriculum development activities as part of Work Group and Program Team meetings we need to continue to ensure that we are capturing the efforts of staff and volunteers, alike.
Congratulations to the Hopland REC, directed by Kim Rodrigues! She and the team will receive the Exemplary Service award from the Redwood Empire Fair Board in recognition of their community service. A very nice honor for a great group.
Welcome to Vikram Koundinya, Assistant Specialist in Evaluation in the Department of Human Ecology at UC Davis. Dr. Koundinya starts on August 1st and will work in the area of evaluation (process and impact assessment) of programs, policies, institutions, community development processes, and other domains.
There's no Program Council this month. But Tuesday is a special VP Council meeting in Oakland. President Napolitano will attend for a portion of the meeting and VP Council submitted questions to be asked of the President during the limited amount of time she is able to participate. While obviously her schedule keeps her on the move, it is fortunate that VP Council will have an opportunity to hear from her.
- Author: Wendy Powers
What's the best part of my job? Getting out across the state and talking with those that make things happen in UC ANR. That doesn't mean that those in the Oakland and Davis offices aren't making things happen but the days in Oakland and Davis are full of meetings about logistics and details with little time to just talk to people. Today we finished the second of our 5 information sessions around the state. Not surprising, they have been really fun for me! Hopefully those attending have felt it was a good use of their time. The information has gone both ways. I learned about a Master Gardener coloring book project in San Diego that Scott is spearheading. I had a chance to meet with Scott and a couple of the volunteers when I was in San Diego this winter so it was nice to hear some of what the group has been up to since. Janet and Eta are planning a Desert Ag Day for late February in the Coachella Valley – sounds like a great opportunity for working with our many partners in the region. And I had a chance to meet Ali Montazar and Natalie Price, two of our new Advisors in Imperial and Orange Counties, respectively. Today's meeting in San Luis Obispo gave me an opportunity to meet staff that I wasn't able to meet when I was last in the office. A large team of them had just won a STAR team award and, not surprising, it wasn't the first STAR award for several of them. The team environment was quite evident and what a fun group! I had met one of the team leaders, Shannon, during Crucial Conversations training so it was nice to see her again and compare notes how we were putting our training to use. A Master Gardener volunteer from Leah's program in Ventura stopped in and had some great ideas how to increase our reach and enhance visibility of the tremendous resource information UC ANR has available. Her willingness to travel to be part of the meeting illustrates the commitment our volunteers have to our programs – heart warming! Leah has a tremendous program and it was nice to hear the compliments this volunteer had of Leah.
Of course we've also talked about the intended topic for the meetings but the purpose is to have conversations. After the final meeting next week, I will have to digest all that I have heard. One thing I know is that I'd like to do this more often than once every strategic plan. I'm looking forward to Kearney tomorrow but admittedly I am acquiring a growing to-do list for the weekend.
Maybe we need a road trip – I'm thinking a bus load of people from the Davis and Oakland offices going out across the state together to see our work in action and see what I'm fortunate enough to have a chance to see. I don't know how this aligns with policy but it could certainly help ground us and recognize our individual connection to division-wide work.
- Author: Wendy Powers
I spoke with a UC ANR academic last week who was struggling to find time to work on a manuscript. I'm faced with the same challenge and have the same 2 manuscripts in my backpack that were there last week. I need a transcontinental flight (roundtrip) to work through them. These short Southwest flights don't seem to translate to getting any work done. In order to make progress on the manuscript I need to write, I first need time to think. Know the feeling? But it continues to amaze me how those across UC ANR do find time to publish their work. I received a new letter from the Journal of Extension congratulating the UC ANR authors published in the current issue. I say ‘new letter' because it seems we have authors in just about every issue – quite impressive!
When I arrived at the office this morning, I found a Western SARE newsletter. In it was a welcome to Jeff Stackhouse and Sonja Brodt, the new co-coordinators for the California SARE Professional Development Program, replacing Morgan Doran. Congratulations to both Sonja and Jeff and thanks to Morgan for all of his efforts in the role! The issue also contained a list of grants that were approved back in February. California received 6 of the 34 grants awarded, 2 of which went to UC Davis for a nice portion of the $2 million total award. Professional Development, Professional + Producer, and Farmer/Rancher grant programs are open if you have an idea that would fit the Western SARE program. Given the range of topics in the recent newsletter (medusahead, birds as pests on dairy farms, soil health, ag biodiversity, technical skill development of academics) many of our programs could be a good fit.
Today really seemed to focus on academic excellence. I spent much of the day in a workshop attended by administrators throughout the UC system (mostly Vice Chancellors for Research) to talk about how best to achieve collective excellence in undergraduate research. President Napolitano laid out the goal which is to engage every undergraduate student in the UC system in research. One of the quick themes to emerge was finite capacity to do this on the campuses because of student to faculty ratios. That's where UC ANR and other research units within UC but external to campuses can play a large role. Undergraduate students represent the future academics of UC ANR not to mention recipients of and advocates for our programs. It would be nice to see a greater portion of the UC undergraduate students familiar with what UC ANR does in their communities and there was strong interest at the meeting to develop some sort of formalized program across UC whereby UC ANR is involved in providing applied research experiences to undergraduate students. A summer internship program at my former institution proved a successful method of providing summer research support to projects around the state, for-credit research experiences for students needing those credits, paid employment for the students in their home areas and a cadre of Extension supporters, most of whom had never heard of it previously. A few even continued on to earn Master's degrees for future employment in Extension. I'd be curious to learn if there was interest in UC ANR in mentoring undergraduate students engaged in our research efforts.
Now it's off to San Diego for the first of the 5 information sessions. I believe this one has checked in full. I am looking forward to the conversations and meeting more of the people that make UC ANR all that it is.
- Author: Wendy Powers
Hopefully everyone in UC ANR is staying far out of the fire zone though it may be increasingly difficult to do. It sounds like SLO and Mariposa Counties are two of the worst areas at this point.
This week has been a week full of meetings. Program Council met to talk about the position call process. The process isn't finalized yet but we made good progress. The goal is to retain ample opportunity for input into high priority positions. We need to be realistic in how many positions can be moved forward and submit those representing the greatest needs making it easier for Program Council to make good decisions. There is an important role in the process for those submitting positions; that is to work in groups, perhaps across program teams to refine how many positions are submitted.
Plans for the April 2018 Statewide conference are coming along. The theme for the event is Innovation in Action with plans to showcase efforts across UC ANR through a lens that focuses on the creativity that happens every day. Be sure to start looking at the UC ANR website for program and agenda updates. In addition to a phenomenal learning opportunity, it will be motivating to see everyone in one place and meet some of the new faces. This includes the suite of gift officers who, while new to UC ANR, are already off and running to share the word about the great things happening across the division.
It feels like summer is starting to come to a close quickly. I didn't make it to any of my professional society meetings this year; a bit disappointing but too many conflicts during those weeks. I turned down 2 opportunities to manage peer review panels; one for NIFA and a second for an ARS program review but in both cases they really didn't give sufficient lead time so I'm not sure how successful the program managers were in recruiting a panel manager for their desired timeline. I also have two promotion packages in my Inbox for faculty seeking promotion to Full Professor at other institutions. And I am working on a couple of manuscripts so that keeps me tied a bit to the science. A new manuscript recently surfaced that will be interesting to co-author – it's addressing a general topic of sustainability metrics for food production.
Similar to other years, my ‘summer to-do list' doesn't have an appropriate number of items crossed off. I'll bet I'm not alone in feeling that way. Time to light a fire under my feet and get going on some of those items. Don't tell anyone but I seem to have a couple hours open tomorrow morning so now excuse to not being highly productive.
