ANR Update

Updates on UC campus climate efforts

Dear UC community,

As the 2024-25 academic year begins on our campuses over the next few days and weeks, I want to share a few updates about our work this summer to ensure a safe, inclusive campus climate that fosters a free exchange of ideas across the University of California.

Freedom to express diverse viewpoints is fundamental to the mission of the University, and lawful protests play a pivotal role in that process. The Free Speech Movement was born at the University of California. We are proud to uphold that tradition today. We make every effort to nurture free expression, and we provide countless opportunities and venues for our students, faculty, other academic appointees, and staff to safely and lawfully share their diverse viewpoints and beliefs. While the vast majority of protests held on our campuses are peaceful and nonviolent, some of the activities we saw this past year were not.

My office and campus leaders have spent the summer reflecting with students, faculty, staff, Regents, and others on the events of the past year. We have sought to identify ways we can strengthen and clarify our policies and procedures together. Clear communication and consistent application of policies and laws are key to achieving the delicate but essential balance between free speech rights and the need to protect the safety of our community and maintain critical University operations.

With these goals in mind, we will take several steps to facilitate more consistency across our locations, including:

• Clarifying and reinforcing requirements for policies impacting expressive activities, including policies that prohibit camping or encampments, unauthorized structures, restrictions on free movement, masking to conceal identity, and refusing to reveal one's identity when asked to do so by University personnel;

• Developing a framework for consistent implementation of our policies and for consistent responses to policy violations;
  
• Issuing guidance for notifications about campus climate resources and policies, in response to the California State Budget Bill; and
  
• Launching a UC Campus Climate Initiative to help all UC locations develop campus climate action plans for fall 2024 and beyond.

Some of this work has already begun, and you will hear more about it from your campus leadership in the coming weeks. Our ultimate goal is for all of our community members to feel supported in their ability to express themselves, and to pursue their studies, research, patient care, and other work on our campuses. We also want our community members to understand what's expected of them, including a clear understanding of the principles, policies, and laws that govern our behavior on campus.

We appreciate the input we've received from our students, faculty, and staff representatives and many others on these issues – it has informed our approach and will help us achieve an even more inclusive, engaged, and productive UC community. Thank you in advance for your participation in this effort, and we wish you an outstanding academic year.

Sincerely,

Michael V. Drake, M.D.
President, University of California

 

Employee Comment: PPSM-84 Employee Consultation (Accommodations for Nursing Mothers)

The University of California is proposing revisions to PPSM-84 (Accommodations for Nursing Mothers), which applies to staff employees in the Professional & Support Staff, Managers & Senior Professionals, and Senior Management Group personnel groups.

This draft of PPSM-84 has been updated with technical and clarifying edits for compliance with legal requirements. 

The proposed revisions are posted here: https://ucanr.edu/sites/PCPA/Revisions/.

If you have any questions or if you wish to comment on this policy revision, please contact Robin Sanchez at rgsanchez@ucanr.edu no later than Sept. 20, 2024. Please indicate “Employee Consultation Policy” in the subject line.

Travel support available for UCCE Specialists and AES faculty to work with UCCE Advisors and REC Directors

UC ANR will be making additional travel support available for UC Cooperative Extension Specialists to collaborate directly with CE Advisors and REC Directors in FY 2024/25. 

Each Specialist may apply for up to $2,000 for FY 2024/25 (travel reports must be submitted within 30 days of travel, and funds must be expended by June 30, 2025). These travel funds can only be used by CE Specialists and cannot be used for out-of-state travel. This funding is not provided for the purpose of presenting at or attending meetings. 

In recognition of the importance of the partnership between UC ANR academics and Agricultural Experiment Station (AES) faculty, 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 FY 2024/25 (funds must be expended by June 30, 2025). Additional support may be available through the campuses; AES faculty should consult their departments or colleges to determine if additional support is available. Travel funds must be used by the AES faculty member for their own travel to plan and execute research or present research findings at meetings hosted by UC ANR academics.

UCCE Specialists and AES faculty can apply for travel support funding by completing an application through this short survey: https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=37624.

There is no deadline for applications, but travel funds will be awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis and funding received must be expended in the Fiscal Year 2024/25. Any travel completed toward the end of the fiscal year must be submitted and approved within the fiscal year as no award will be carried forward.

Brent D. Hales
Associate Vice President

Employee Comment: Proposed Presidential Policy – Externally Supplied Medications in UC Outpatient and Clinic Settings

The University of California Office of the President invites comments on a proposed Presidential Policy Use of Externally Supplied Medications in UC Outpatient and Clinic Settings. The policy is proposed to be revised and includes the following key issues: 

• The Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) is a federal law that requires UC to be able to track and trace all medications given to patients. Currently, there are medications coming into our UC system that we can't track and trace because they are externally supplied by outside pharmacies. This policy would ban the use of medications that were externally supplied outside of our contracted distributors.
• UC has identified that externally supplied medications not only go against the DSCSA, but also lead to gaps in patient care and wastage of medication.
• Rare exceptions to this policy exist in cases of first-time patient education and in patient assistance programs.

The proposed revisions are posted here: https://ucanr.edu/sites/PCPA/Revisions/.

If you have any questions or if you wish to comment on this policy revision, please contact Robin Sanchez at rgsanchez@ucanr.edu, no later than Oct. 31, 2024. Please indicate “External Medications Policy” in the subject line.

Courtesy notice regarding annual systemwide payroll disclosure

Dear colleagues:

As part of the university's commitment to transparency and public accountability, including the way it compensates faculty and staff, UC is conducting its annual disclosure of systemwide employee compensation for calendar year 2023. This disclosure parallels last year's payroll disclosure and is consistent with similar practices at many other public institutions.

The 2023 payroll data, along with a summary analysis, is available online here. The data will also be available to news media upon request.

Because UC is a public institution, employee compensation is considered a public record under the California Public Records Act and is reflected in the staff personnel policy in Personnel Policies for Staff Members (PPSM 80(C):

“Information which is public information and which should be released upon request includes name, date of hire, current position title, current salary, organizational unit assignment, date of separation, office address and office telephone number, current job description, full-time or part-time, and appointment type.”

Academic personnel policy, Academic Personnel Manual (APM) 160-20(b)(4), also states that any “non-personal” information “is public information and is available upon request to any person or entity without limitation.” It defines “non-personal” academic personnel information as including name, date of hire or separation, current position title, and current rate of pay.

Questions about access to the payroll data may be directed to pra@ucop.edu.

Sincerely,

UCOP Office of Public Records
pra@ucop.edu

 

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