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Posts Tagged: December 2016
DANRIS-X launches into Project Board with webinar trainings
DANRIS-X has been updated and will eventually be replaced with the newly created Project Board for UCCE specialists and advisors. When DANRIS-X opens for reporting, users will see a reduced number of data fields and an aesthetic refresh.
Project Board will open for 2018 reporting and will have an improved user experience and simplified data entry. Special thanks to the Project Board Academic Advisory Committee and Project Team for their continued involvement. More information can be found at http://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/Divisionwide_Planning/Program_Planning_and_Evaluation/DANRIS-X/.
Upcoming dates and action items:
CE Specialists
- DANRIS-X opens Jan. 9
- All CE specialists are invited to the Zoom webinar trainings offered on Jan. 20, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., or Jan. 24, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Topics include an overview of the reporting system, what and why we report, etc.
- Actions: Complete Annual Report for FY 2016 and Annual Plan for FY 2017 by March 6, 2017, at midnight.
CE Advisors
- DANRIS-X opens on Feb. 2
- All CE advisors are invited to the Zoom webinar trainings offered on Feb. 6, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., or Feb. 7, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. Topics include an overview of the reporting system, what and why we report, etc.
- Actions: Complete Annual Report & CASA for FY 2017 and Annual Plan for FY 2018 by Oct. 30, 2017, at midnight.
If you have questions or comments, please contact Kit Alviz, Program Planning and Evaluation, at kit.alviz@ucop.edu or (510) 987-0027.
Names in the News
Mary Maffly Ciricillo brings more than 20 years of professional experience to her new role as the director of Annual Giving for UC ANR. She comes to ANR from the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, where she was director of Development & Alumni Relations, steward of the Business Partnership Program and point person on building connections, community and involvement of the school's alumni.
Ciricillo has spent the last 10 years in diverse roles at UC Davis, creating and growing programs that help further university goals. She launched UC Davis goClub, the campus alternative and sustainable transportation program. To get goClub rolling, Ciricillo signed on sponsors, built new relationships across campus and the business community, and revved up the marketing plan to encourage campus commuting options, such as carpool, vanpool, bike, walk, bus and train.
Before joining UC Davis, Ciricillo was an account executive in the communications industry, developing branding and marketing solutions. Her clients included The Gap, Oracle, Knight Ridder Newspapers, the San Francisco Ballet and the Tech Museum of Innovation in Silicon Valley.
She earned a B.A. in history with a minor in business from San Francisco State University.
Based in Davis, Ciricillo can be reached at (530) 750-1302, cell (530) 219-1085 and mciricillo@ucanr.edu.
Karle and Lightle on team honored for conservation innovation
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and California Association of Resource Conservation Districts presented its prestigious Excellence in Innovation award to the Glenn County Soil Partnership, which includes the Glenn County Resource Conservation District, UC Cooperative Extension in Glenn County and the NRCS field office in Willows.
Betsy Karle, UCCE county director and dairy advisor, and Dani Lightle, UCCE orchard systems advisor, both based in Glenn County, are among the partners working together to promote and encourage healthy soils and greatly increased local interest among farmers. Their goal is to increase awareness of the importance of soil health and to create a forum for farmers to share information and learn from each other. To ensure a locally led process, the partners created a farmer-led Steering and Technical Advisory Committee made up of farmers and local experts.
“Dani Lightle was a key player in the process and she has taken the opportunity to tackle some very interesting questions about cover cropping in orchards,” said Karle. “UCCE specialist Jeff Mitchell has also been a key motivator and has logged hundreds of miles and countless hours to support the effort.”
“Your partnership is bringing back a focus on conservation planning, technical assistance and management change motivated by the desire to enhance the health of the soil resource,” said NRCS state conservationist Carlos Suarez, who presented the award.
“You wisely chose to root your leadership in local farmers and agencies, combining agency and university technical knowledge with private business skills and real world know-how. This makes your partnership credible and inspiring to local farmers who are open to improving the health of their soil.”
“This is the best way to engage our customers in conservation planning that results in regenerative agriculture and ecological benefits,” Suarez said.
The Soil Partnership received the award on Nov. 17 during the 71st annual California Association of Resource Conservation Districts' conference in Ontario.
UC Cooperative Extension natural resources advisor Sabrina Drill has been elected to the board of the Alliance of Natural Resource Outreach Service Programs (ANROSP). Drill is associate director of the UC California Naturalist Program.
ANROSP is the national organization in which master naturalist programs from around the country share methods and information to train naturalists, build local and statewide communities, and support their efforts to protect, enhance, understand, and teach the public about each state's unique natural history.
“As a board member, the things I am most keen to work on are strengthening efforts to professionalize participatory citizen science, and build bonds with groups like the new Citizen Science Association and communities of practice like SciStarter,” Drill said. “In addition, I want to build on our individual efforts to increase the demographic diversity of naturalists.”
Drill's role in the national organization will support the continued growth and development of the California Naturalist program, which was established in 2012.
“Working across states, I think we'd like to again see how we might garner national support to grow our programs, and see where we can use nationally developed educational and evaluation tools,” Drill said. “For example, we recently published a paper in Conservation Biology with Virginia Master Naturalist looking at how our training programs enhanced individuals' experiences as citizen scientists, and the opportunity to compare programs was very enlightening. Being an active part of ANROSP leadership can enhance these efforts.”
ANROSP holds a national conference each year in September, where it presents awards in five categories: program of the year, outstanding educational materials, outstanding team, outstanding volunteer project and outstanding program evaluation. In 2015, the UC ANR California Naturalist program was named the “program of the year” by ANROSP
VP Humiston releases 26 UCCE positions for recruitment
VP Humiston announced on Dec. 14 the release of 26 new academic UC Cooperative Extension positions (see list below) for hiring over the next two years.
The positions from the 2016 process will be released for recruitment in phases as Human Resources continues recruiting for more than 25 specialist and advisor positions yet unfilled from the 2014 process.
“This new release continues our commitment for hiring to exceed projected turnover, thus achieving our goal of academic growth. And, as funding becomes available, we will consider additional positions,” Humiston said.
“At present, we are also exploring the opportunities to expand academic numbers using non-traditional funding models, such as sharing positions and leveraging resources with public and private partners,” she said. “Furthermore, given that needs change and new challenges emerge that must be addressed quickly, we are optimistic we have some flexibility to react to new needs.”
Humiston thanked Program Council, UC ANR academics, county and REC directors, program directors and ANR stakeholders for the time and effort they put into the 2016 positions process, identifying position needs for the future and helping to prioritize those needs.
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UC ANR Cooperative Extension positions approved for release FY2017-2018 (If more than one county is listed, the position is headquartered in the first county.) |
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Round 1 (Winter 2017) |
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CE Advisor - 4-H Youth Development: Orange County |
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CE Advisor - Area 4-H Youth Development: San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties |
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CE Advisor - Area Forestry/County Director: Mendocino, Lake and Sonoma counties |
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CE Advisor - Area IPM: Sonoma, Napa, Lake and Mendocino counties |
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CE Advisor - Nutrition, Family & Consumer Sciences: Kern County |
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CE Specialist - Antimicrobial Stewardship: UCD |
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CE Specialist - Pathology of Vines, Berries & Fruit Trees: UC Davis |
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CE Specialist - Small Scale Fruit and Vegetable Processing: UC Davis |
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CE Specialist - Subtropical Fruit Crop IPM:UC Riverside |
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Round 2 (Spring/Summer 2017) |
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CE Advisor - Area Agronomy and Weed Management: Merced and Madera counties |
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CE Advisor - Area Forestry/Natural Resources: Plumas, Sierra and Lassen counties |
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CE Specialist - Forest Ecology/Silviculture: UC Berkeley |
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CE Specialist - Soil-Plant-Water Relations/Deficit Irrigation: UC Davis |
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Round 3 (Fall 2017) |
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CE Advisor - Area Urban Forestry/Natural Resources: Los Angeles and Orange counties |
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CE Advisor - Area 4-H Youth Development: Shasta, Trinity and Tehama counties |
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CE Specialist - Water Resources Economics and Policy: UC Riverside |
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CE Specialist - Citrus Horticulture: UC Riverside/Lindcove REC |
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Round 4 (Winter 2018) |
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CE Advisor - Area Orchard Systems: San Joaquin County and Northern San Joaquin Valley |
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CE Advisor - Vegetable Crops: Kern County |
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CE Specialist - Orchard Systems, Southern San Joaquin Valley: UC Davis/Kearney REC |
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CE Specialist - Sheep and Goat Herd Health and Production: UC Davis |
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Round 5 (Spring/Summer 2018) |
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CE Advisor - Area Livestock/Natural Resources: Tuolumne, El Dorado, Amador and Calaveras counties |
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CE Advisor - Area Rice Farming Systems: Butte and Glenn counties |
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CE Advisor - Area Specialty Crops: Contra Costa, Alameda and west San Joaquin counties |
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CE Specialist - Feedlot Management: UC Davis/Desert REC |
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CE Specialist - Economics of Sustainable Agriculture Management: UC Davis |
Intermountain REC seeks research proposals
The Intermountain Research and Extension Center is a 140-acre research facility located at 4,000 feet elevation near the Oregon border. IREC specializes in the following crops: potato, small grain, onion, peppermint, forage grasses and alfalfa. However, most cool season field and vegetable crops can be accommodated and grown on the center. Research topics of interest include variety development, integrated pest management, irrigation management, plant nutrition and agriculture-wildlife interactions.
Available IREC facilities and equipment include a greenhouse, controlled postharvest facility, drying ovens, an automated potato grading line, a mini-still for essential oil extraction, specialized small plot irrigation equipment, research-adapted small plot planters and harvesters, and a full line of commercial farm equipment for field and vegetable crop production. Technical assistance is available for all farming practices, field instrumentation and data collection.
IREC's Research Advisory Committee will evaluate proposed research for scientific merit and regional need. Approved projects will be eligible for center-provided support—land, labor, technical assistance, equipment and facilities.
Questions about the research proposal process or about research opportunities at IREC should be directed to director Rob Wilson at rgwilson@ucanr.edu or center superintendent Darrin Culp at daculp@ucanr.edu or by phone at (530) 667-5117.
Proposals may be submitted into the REC Manage System via the IREC website beginning Dec. 20, 2016, and are due no later than Feb. 10, 2017.
Apply for UC Management Skills Assessment Program
Staff and academic people managers, are you ready for a leap in your management development? If yes, we encourage you to apply to the Management Skills Assessment Program (MSAP) by Wednesday, Jan. 18.
This program is designed to assess the management skills of high potential, early career supervisors and managers for future leadership opportunities at the University of California. The next MSAP will be April 17-20, 2017, at the UCLA Conference Center in Lake Arrowhead.
Two seats for the spring 2017 MSAP program are available for UC ANR employees.
Eligibility requirements include
- Full-time career status with a current, satisfactory (or better) performance evaluation
- Career Tracks job classification as a supervisor or manager
Participants will be selected based on an evaluation of the applicant's career goals in management, level of skills essential for performing management functions, and demonstrated career path and/or strong commitment to management skill development. The supervisor of the applicant is also required to complete a supporting statement as part of the application process and commit to participate in the required post-program activities.
The cost for the program is $1,095 (including all program materials and room and board for three days and two nights). This does not include transportation or other related travel costs. ANR will cover the cost of the program (including eligible travel expenses) for the successful applicants.
Participants can expect a demanding program of activities from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. each day, with no time in between to check email or attend to work responsibilities. Assessees also eat with other assessees and share small condos.
Application instructions and further information about the program are at http://msap.ucr.edu/. For affiliation, chooseUC ANR in the application. A UC ANR committee will review all applications and make the final selection. Completed applications must be submitted online at http://msap.ucr.edu by Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017. Supervisors also must complete a required section in the submission for application consideration.
For more information, contact Jodi Azulai, ANR learning and development coordinator, at jlazulai@ucanr.edu.
Comments from MSAP participants
Nutrition Education Program Manager, UCCE Sacramento
MSAP brought to awareness things right under the surface that I could not pinpoint. I received confirmation on things I already knew about myself and areas I was grappling and how to hone in on these areas to make modifications to get a better response. I found MSAP to be a unique experience that brings together its people and talents while creating a space for deeper reflection, awareness and collective synergy. I was reminded just how vast and wide our spectrum of experience and knowledge truly is. It was a wonderful experience.
County Director, UCCE Alameda
MSAP helped me with goal setting, prioritizing, communication skills and gradually increasing efficiency. It also provided a greater context of the Country Director's role from a leadership perspective in team building.
MSAP cannot take place without Assessors. A big THANK YOU to Tunyalee Martin, associate director for UC IPM Communications, who said:
Middle managers can become MSAP assessors
Assessors learn to observe and provide constructive feedback. They benefit in multiple ways:
- Receive intensive practice using a feedback method that promotes effective interaction with employees and sound management
- Contribute to the retention, growth, and development of University employees
- Expanded contact and collaboration with other University managers committed to professional excellence
- Develop greater self-awareness themselves
- Expand their own professional networks across UC beyond their individual location
- Learn better management practices from assessor training and from new colleague
Help UC ANR serve this systemwide initiative for upward mobility in the UC system. Academics may add the assessor service to their merit and promotion package. For information on how to become an assessor, contact Jodi Azulai at jlazulai@ucanr.edu.
