I suppose it seems like I am on vacation this week given my lack of posts until now. But, no, it's been super busy and I am way behind on responding to emails. Any trace of a summer slowdown is clearly behind me. I'm hoping to be caught up on email by the end of the weekend and have some projects with strong progress by this time next week.

I had a chance to visit with the Stanislaus office and the Santa Clara office this week – more on some specifics from those visits later. In Santa Clara, I had the chance to meet Lucy Diekmann. Lucy is a CE Advisor in Urban Agriculture and Food Systems, based in San Jose, CA, with programmatic responsibilities in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties. Lucy has been in the Bay area for a few years so I have no doubt she will be off to a fast start. If you get a chance, please welcome Lucy to UC ANR!

One of the topics that's been floating around in my head lately is the UC ANR logo. In part this is because there have been discussions about getting branded clothing. Admittedly, I need to enhance my own UC ANR wardrobe a bit. From what I hear, there's a place in Davis where you can order just about anything and have it embroidered. They have the logos on file and have a number of items to try on. I'm sure someone out there can remind me of the name of the place.

The other aspect of the topic is the use of ‘UC ANR' versus ‘UCCE'. I've always considered CE as an important component of all that UC ANR is. Maybe it's the result of my experience in other states but county offices across California are far more than CE. The office in Stanislaus County, for example, has a fabulous lab space and Daniel, a Staff Research Associate. This isn't uncommon in CA yet is rare, if not unheard of, in other states. In addition, UC ANR includes statewide programs that are not found in other states (IGIS, SAREP, IPM, NPI, Water, AIC). And then there are the RECs. While other states have similar facilities that are associated with departments and colleges, the 9 RECs are a key component of UC ANR. So here's how, in my mind, it all adds up:

CE + applied research + Statewide programs and institutes + RECs = UC ANR

This is what makes UC ANR all that it is, and it is exceptional. So why not own it all?