Vice President Glenda Humiston announced on May 24 the approval of new University of California Cooperative Extension Advisor and Specialist positions for recruitment in 2024-25. The list includes 29 UC Cooperative Extension advisor positions and 20 UCCE specialist positions.
The new positions are listed below.
UCCE Advisors:
Discipline/Specialty |
Counties Served |
Office Location |
4-H Youth Development: College and Career Readiness |
Lake and Mendocino |
TBD |
4-H Youth Development: College and Career Readiness |
Alameda and Contra Costa |
Alameda
|
4-H Youth Development: College and Career Readiness |
San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura |
TBD |
4-H Youth Development: Leadership and Civic Engagement |
Modoc, Lassen, Plumas, and Sierra |
Lassen |
Agricultural Workforce Development |
San Joaquin Valley |
TBD |
Agronomy |
Sacramento, Solano, and Yolo |
Yolo |
Avocado, Citrus, and Subtropical Fruits |
Riverside and San Diego |
San Diego |
Citrus and Pistachio |
Kern, Kings, and Tulare |
Tulare |
Commensal Rodents & Urban Wildlife Integrated Pest Management |
Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, San Francisco, and Santa Clara |
Santa Clara |
Disaster Preparedness, Response, and Resiliency |
Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz |
TBD |
Environmental Horticulture |
Riverside and San Bernardino |
TBD |
Environmental Horticulture & Controlled Environment Agriculture |
Monterey, San Benito, San Mateo, and Santa Cruz |
TBD |
Field and Vegetable Crops Integrated Pest Management |
Fresno, Kings, Madera, and Tulare |
West Side REC |
Food Systems |
Los Angeles and Ventura |
Ventura |
Fruit Postharvest Handling |
Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, and Tulare |
Lindcove REC |
Horticulture and Small Farms |
Nevada and Placer |
Placer |
Livestock and Natural Resources |
Lake and Mendocino |
Mendocino |
Livestock and Natural Resources |
Marin and Sonoma |
Sonoma |
Livestock and Natural Resources |
Shasta and Trinity |
Shasta |
Low Desert Weed Management |
Imperial and Riverside |
Imperial |
Nutrient Management & Forage Systems |
Merced, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus |
Stanislaus |
One Health Integrated Produce Safety |
Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz |
TBD |
Orchard Systems: Almond, Apricots, Peaches, and Pistachio |
San Joaquin and Stanislaus |
Stanislaus |
Orchard Systems: Apples, Cherries, Olives, and Walnuts |
San Joaquin and Stanislaus |
San Joaquin |
Outdoor Recreation/Connected Communities |
Lassen, Plumas, and Sierra |
Plumas |
Vegetable Crops |
Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Sutter, and Yuba |
Colusa |
Vegetable Crop and Weed Science |
Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz |
Monterey |
Viticulture and Tree Fruit |
Sacramento, Solano, and Yolo |
Sacramento |
Weed Science |
Marin, Napa, and Sonoma |
Sonoma |
Specialists:
Discipline/Specialty |
Host / Location |
Agricultural Acarologist |
UC Riverside Dept. of Entomology / Kearney REC |
Agricultural Economics: Small Farms and Rural Economic Development |
UC Santa Cruz Department of Economics; Center for Agroecology |
Agricultural, Food and Natural Resources Computational Data Science |
UC San Diego Supercomputer Center |
Agricultural Waste Management and Bioenergy Production |
UC Merced Dept. of Mechanical Engineering |
Agricultural Policy |
UC ANR / California Dept. of Food and Agriculture |
Agricultural Technology Workforce Development |
UC ANR / TBD |
Beef Cattle Production Systems |
UC Davis Dept. of Animal Science |
Climate Resilient Orchard Systems |
UC Davis Dept. of Plant Sciences |
Climate Resilient Rural Community Development |
UC Berkeley ESPM |
Coastal Hydrology Agriculture and Water Resilience |
UC Santa Cruz Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences; Center for Agroecology |
Coastal Produce Safety Systems |
UC ANR / USDA ARS Salinas |
Field Trials and Testbeds Design and Operation |
UC ANR VINE / Kearney and Westside RECs |
Food Safety/Drones/Remote Sensing |
UC Santa Cruz / Monterey Bay Education, Science and Technology Center (MBEST) |
Groundwater Quantity and Quality |
UC Merced Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering / West Side REC |
Mental and Emotional Health in Youth Families and Communities |
UC Davis Dept. of Human Ecology |
Oak Woodland Management and Conservation |
UC ANR / Hopland REC |
Organic Production: ANR OAI Academic Director |
UC Merced Dept. of Life and Environmental Sciences |
Outdoor Recreation |
UC ANR / CA Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development |
Recycled Water Reuse and Brackish Water Desalination |
UC Davis Dept. of Land, Air and Water Resources; Biological and Agricultural Engineering |
Sustainable Dairy Cattle Nutrition |
UC Davis Dept. of Animal Science |
TheUCCEAdvisor positions will be released for recruitment in small batches over the next several months to facilitate engagement of various selection committees. TheUCCE Specialist positions will be released to campuses for recruitment upon completion of the Memorandums of Agreement (MOAs) currently being renewed between UC ANR and the campuses and host sites.
"We wish to thank the UC ANR program teams, county and REC directors, leadership from the UC campuses, the Program Council, and all of our collaborative partners who assisted with this position call, submissions and reviews," Humiston said. "We truly could not be successful without your engagement and expertise."
- Author: Saoimanu Sope
In late April, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources hosted its first regional meeting for UC Cooperative Extension advisors and specialists based in Southern California. The meeting, hosted by Daniel Obrist, vice provost, and Lynn Schmitt-McQuitty, director for county Cooperative Extension, brought together 50 participants over two days for networking and collaboration.
Based on feedback collected from ANR's Statewide Conference in April 2023, academics indicated a desire to meet more frequently opposed to waiting for the conference that occurs every five years. As a result, ANR is hosting regional meetings throughout California to provide an in-person opportunity for academics to discuss their research projects, interact with senior leadership, gain clarity related to merit and promotion, strengthen communication skills and network.
On the first day, academics had the option to attend an Impact and Outcome Writing Workshop presented by Martin Smith, Emeritus Professor of Cooperative Extension at UC Davis. The session also included an interactive segment, facilitated by Katherine Webb-Martinez, director of program planning and evaluation, and Christina Becker, program policy analyst for PPE, that broke down impact reporting into theory and application.
To end the day on a social note, attendees were invited to dinner where they could continue informal discussions and networking. During that time, academics got to interact with senior leaders, including Obrist and Schmitt-McQuitty, county and Research and Extension Center (REC) directors such as Rita Clemens for Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange counties, and Jairo Diaz of Desert REC, as well as statewide support staff like News and Information Outreach in Spanish (NOS).
“A key opportunity of these meetings is to build peer networks with colleagues and collaboration opportunities in the regions. So many of our academics are new to ANR, and the regional meetings allow us to welcome and onboard new colleagues and get to know each other,” Obrist said.
The meetings are also beneficial for those transitioning into a new academic role within ANR. Natalie Levy who currently works as a specialist for water resources at South Coast REC, participated in the meeting with her new position, soil health and organic materials management advisor, which begins June 3, in mind.
“It was helpful to have senior leadership present. I spoke to Lynn the most and she gave me good feedback about developing a new program and my research interests,” Levy said. “I also liked the session discussing merit and promotion because it gave me a framework to use as I step into a new role.”
The morning of the second day, academics participated in a poster session to share their research with colleagues. Attendees also engaged in discussions to understand and address regional needs, build new partnerships and engage senior leadership for support.
“I learned a lot about my colleagues from the poster session. I felt more connected to their work because I could visualize how we can collaborate,” said Ashley Hooper, urban community resiliency advisor for Los Angeles County. “It can be isolating for advisors who don't have counterparts in other counties or in ANR. Seeing how others are managing their programs during the poster session gave me reassurance that I'm on the right track in my position.”
In the afternoon, academics heard from Vice President Glenda Humiston, who addressed ANR's budget and career pathways for academics. Niamh Quinn, human-wildlife interactions advisor for Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties, presented on the merit and promotion process to remind academics that “swallowing the eBook” (Guidelines for UC ANR Academics Preparing the Thematic Program Review Dossier) is the best way to learn how merit and promotions work within ANR.
Finally, Saoimanu Sope, digital communications specialist, showed academics how to leverage social media as an extension tool. Ricardo Vela, program manager for News and Information Outreach in Spanish, and Miguel Sanchez, broadcast communications specialist for NOS, described how to produce videos using a smartphone.
“It was useful to see colleagues from other counties, especially those who work in different disciplines,” said Quinn, who, like Hooper, is programmatically isolated given her program niche. As someone who uses social media for her program, Quinn described the social media presentation as informative. “I felt better educated and equipped to make improvements afterwards,” she said.
The regional meeting schedule is as follows:
Region 3: May 30-31, at UCCE San Joaquin County Building in Stockton
- Counties: San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Mariposa, Mono, Inyo, Madera, Fresno, Tulare, Kings and Kern
- RECs: Kearney, Westside and Lindcove
Region 5: June 10-11, at UC Santa Cruz
- Counties: Sonoma, Napa, Marin, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey
Region 2: Sept. 12-13, Central/Northern Sierras, specific location TBD
- Counties: Tehama, Glenn, Butte, Colusa, Sutter, Yuba, Nevada, Placer, El Dorado, Yolo, Solano, Sacramento, Amador, Calaveras and Tuolumne
- REC: Sierra Foothills
Region 1: Feb. 26-27, 2025, Redding, specific location TBD
- Counties: Del Norte, Siskiyou, Modoc, Humboldt, Trinity, Shasta, Lassen, Mendocino, Lake and Plumas-Sierra
- RECs: Intermountain and Hopland
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
I am pleased to announce the new 2023-24 Call for UC Cooperative Extension (CE) Advisor and Specialist positions. Building on the more than 100 CE positions released over the last couple of years, we continue to prioritize growing our academic footprint to provide the expertise needed to improve the lives of all Californians and address emerging and future needs. We plan to release 20 new priority CE Advisor positions and 10 new priority CE Specialist positions.
There are several phases with the same timeline for CE Advisor and CE Specialist positions:
- Identifying priority positions/connecting interested groups – until Dec. 18, 2023
- Proposal co-creation and submission – by Feb. 19, 2024
- Program Council reviews and develops recommendations – March 2024
- UC ANR Vice President makes final decision and releases positions – May/June 2024
Please see the 2023-24 CE Position Call webpage for more detailed process information and important documents, such as the required proposal template.
The processes for new CE Advisor and CE Specialist positions take a similar approach, but have different groups working together and submitting. As always, UC ANR strongly encourages engaging both internal and external stakeholders in identifying and developing proposals for priority positions. The process has been improved in response to feedback. The UC ANR Program Teams have an important role given they engage and represent the CE and AES (Agricultural Experiment Station) network including statewide programs and institutes.
- For CE Advisor positions, County Directors and the Research and Extension (REC) System will prioritize in their regional teams and work closely with UC ANR Program Teams.
- For CE Specialist positions, UC ANR Program Teams and the REC system will identity their top priority needs and campuses will select the position ideas that align with their academic planning. Working together, they will develop the proposals.
I look forward to seeing the proposals developed through this collaborative prioritization.
Regards,
Glenda Humiston
Vice President
I am delighted to announce 16 UCCE Specialist positions will be recruited over the next 12 months. This is in addition to the five UCCE Specialist positions released last fall and two additional co-funded UCCE Specialist positions since May 2021 (one located at the Kearney REC in partnership with UC Merced and one position to be recruited in partnership with UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine). To date, 106 UCCE Specialist and Advisor positions have been released since this time in 2021 to grow the UCCE footprint, thanks to the increased 2021-22 state funding. We are positioned to make an even bigger difference in the lives of Californians by having so many more boots on the ground!
We currently have UCCE Specialists located on six campuses (UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz and UC Merced), RECs and in county offices. We are excited to strengthen partnerships with additional UC campuses by placing UCCE Specialists on the following campuses for the first time: UC Irvine and UCLA. We look forward to working with UCCE Specialist positions on these campuses to strengthen the UC ANR network and further our mission.
I want to commend our long-term campus partners at UC Berkeley, UC Davis and UC Riverside for helping departments on their campuses that are new to UC ANR understand the value of UC Specialists. We now have a position in UC Berkeley's School of Public Health. I also want to again thank the Program Teams for their review and input on the UCCE Specialist proposals. The Program Team prioritization and stakeholder engagement described in the proposals were critical to informing the release of these positions.
The positions below are organized in numerical order; clicking on the link will go to the full position description. Alterations to the original proposals are noted in parentheses, where applicable.
62 Climate Resilience and Labor Specialist, UC Berkeley School of Public Health
74 Nutrition and Health Equity Specialist, UC Davis CAES Department of Nutrition
76 Regenerative Agriculture Specialist, UC Merced Department of Life and Environmental Sciences
78 Soil Health Specialist, UC Davis CAES Department of Land, Air and Water Resources
85 Water Equity and Adaptation Policy Specialist, UC Los Angeles Luskin Center for Innovation
The full list UCCE positions released is posted on the 2021-22 Release of UCCE Positions web page. More about the process is available on the 2021 Call for Positions web page.
Thank you to all who have, or will, participate in the recruitment process! Information on all UC ANR jobs open for recruitment can be found at https://ucanr.edu/About/Jobs; please help us find great candidates for these positions! I look forward to meeting our new and recent hires, in person, as we emerge from this pandemic.
Glenda Humiston
Vice President
ANR will be making additional travel support available for UC Cooperative Extension specialists to collaborate with ANR academics off-campus, including UCCE advisors in the counties and ANR academics at the research and extension centers in FY 2017/18.
With the level of funds available, each specialist may apply for up to $2,500 for FY 2017/18 (travel reports must be submitted within 45 days of travel, and funds must be expended by June 30, 2018). These travel funds must be used by the UCCE specialists only and cannot be used for out-of-state travel.
UC ANR values the work of AES faculty across the three partner campuses. As the recognized lead for the California Agriculture Experiment Station, UC ANR receives federal Hatch funds to support the AES mission and distributes those funds to the three partner campuses to manage and support AES faculty. In recognition of the importance of the partnership between UC ANR academics and AES faculty, UC ANR is expanding the travel support program to include AES faculty as part of a pilot program. Upon completion of a request, UC ANR will support travel by AES faculty to meet and work with UC ANR county-based or REC-based academics. Support is limited to $1,000 per AES faculty member with a cap on the total pool of funds available set at $25,000 for FY17-18. Additional support may be available through the campuses; AES faculty should consult their departments or colleges to determine if additional support is available. Travel support must be used by the AES faculty member for his/her own travel to plan and execute research or present research findings at meetings hosted by UC ANR academics.
Completing a short online survey is the only step in accessing these funds.
A brief survey form is accessible from your ANR Portal. The survey asks
• Name and title of academic requesting support
• Project/Program name
• Brief project description (one paragraph)
• Collaborating advisors
While there is no deadline for applications for these travel funds, they must be expended in the current fiscal year.
"We are pleased that we are able to take this step to assist in meeting an identified need," said Wendy Powers, associate vice president.
UCCE specialists may apply for funds directly at http://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=18400.
View or leave comments for ANR Leadership at http://ucanr.edu/sites/ANRUpdate/Comments.
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.