ANR Employees
University of California
ANR Employees

ANR Update

Register for President Drake’s Feb. 19 Town Hall

On Wednesday, Feb. 19, President Drake will participate in his final UC systemwide town hall. Hosted by Jen Bowser, chair of the Council of UC Staff Assemblies (CUCSA), with Dennis McIver, past CUCSA chair, this virtual event will give all UC staff an opportunity to hear from President Drake in advance of his retirement.

Questions for President Drake will be accepted through Friday, Jan. 31.

Register at https://ucop.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SDHBltf2RRCX2aQ4UuqAJQ#/registration. On the registration form is an opportunity to submit questions for President Drake. If you aren't sure what to ask now, you can submit questions through the RSVP form later. 

Join us

  • What: Council of UC Staff Assemblies Systemwide Town Hall Featuring UC President Michael V. Drake, M.D.
  • When: Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, from 11 a.m. – noon. (PT)
  • Where: Virtual Register here to receive Zoom information.
Posted on Friday, January 24, 2025 at 12:32 PM

Catastrophic leave support available for staff, donations needed

With wildfires burning in Southern California, we want to remind UC ANR staff employees of our Catastrophic Leave Program. Staff members may request leave time from this benefit. 

Staff Catastrophic Leave Support

Understanding our options for self-care and support may make a significant improvement in our health and well-being, especially during times of high stress and emergencies such as the current wildfires in Los Angeles. One option UC ANR has available is the Catastrophic Leave Program, which provides temporary salary and benefit continuation for staff employees who accrue vacation and have exhausted applicable paid leave accruals to address a personal disaster such as:

  • The employee's catastrophic illness or injury
  • Care of a catastrophically ill or injured family member
  • Death of a family or household member
  • A catastrophic loss suffered due to, for example, a terrorist attack, fire or natural disaster including severe damage or destruction to an employee's primary residence

Donations Needed to Support Employees: Catastrophic Leave Sharing Bank Program

UC ANR is requesting your participation in the UC ANR Catastrophic Leave Sharing Bank Program. If you are interested in donating hours, please see the details below and how to donate.

  • All donations are entirely confidential so that no peer pressure may be applied in any form.
  • The minimum donation is 8 hours; donations above the minimum must be in whole-hour increments. The maximum donation is 80.00 hours per calendar year. 
  • Leave donations are limited to vacation only.
  • Once processed, donations are irrevocable.
  • Employees at or above their vacation accrual maximums are encouraged to donate.  
  • Please use only your ucanr.edu e-mail address (not a personal e-mail account) to donate.
  • Catastrophic Leave Program – This program permits temporary salary and benefit continuation for eligible employees who have exhausted all paid leave credits as a result of a catastrophic illness or injury of an employee or family member, death of a family member, casualty loss suffered due to terrorist attack, fire or natural disaster.

If you have had an emergency or are interested in donating time (donation form) and would like to discuss catastrophic leave sharing, please contact Jodi Rosenbaum at jrosenbaum@ucanr.edu.   

 

Posted on Friday, January 24, 2025 at 10:03 AM
  • Author: Bethanie Brown

Employee Comment: APM-036, Employment

The University invites comments on proposed revisions to Section 036 of the Academic Personnel Manual:

  • APM - 036, Employment

Summarized below are the proposed key policy revisions that are being distributed for systemwide review.  

The policy revisions respond to a new bill signed into California state law that adds section 66284 to the California Education Code, effective January 1, 2025 (reference AB 1905 “Public postsecondary education: employment: settlements, informal resolutions, and retreat rights”), and requires the University to adopt a written policy regarding official letters of recommendation, among other requirements, as a condition of receiving state funding. The proposed technical revisions are intended to bring the University into compliance with section 66284 of the California Education Code by incorporating the following changes: 

  • Revise title of policy to “Academic Employment” to clarify that the policy applies to academic employment and to remove the interim status of the policy
  • Add section APM - 036-0 e. Official Letters of Recommendation
    • This section prohibits academic appointees from providing Official Letters of Recommendation prior to consulting with the appropriate campus entities to determine if the employee is a respondent in a sexual harassment complaint filed with the University.
    • Official Letters of Recommendation is defined in the policy and excludes other forms of recommendations, such as surveys and phone calls, from the definition of Official Letters of Recommendation. 
    • Administrator or Supervisor is defined in this section.
  • Add section APM - 036-0 f. Personal References and Personal Letters of Recommendation
    • This section expressly permits academic appointees to provide references or letters in a personal capacity, and the academic appointee is not required to consult with the appropriate entities to determine if the current or former employee is a respondent in a sexual harassment complaint filed with the University. Examples of other letters of recommendation excluded from the definition of Official Letters of Recommendation are provided.
    • This section provides sample language to be included in personal references and letters of recommendation for employment.

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 March 22, 2025. Please indicate “APM-036” in the subject line. 

Posted on Wednesday, January 22, 2025 at 1:22 PM
  • Author: Rachel Lloyd

USDA NIFA civil rights research compliance review of UC

UC ANR is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion and upholding the civil rights of our staff, academics, clients, partners and campus communities. As a recipient of federal funds through the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA), the University of California is required to follow federal civil rights laws, policies and regulations that prohibit discrimination. The USDA NIFA Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity conducts regular civil rights compliance reviews of every funded institution, focused either on research or extension activities, to ensure compliance with civil rights laws and policies in the use of these funds. The review seeks to gain compliance with federal civil rights and equal opportunity laws and regulations. All activities funded by USDA NIFA must comply with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VI, and its regulations. This includes nondiscrimination and equal opportunity provisions that prohibit exclusion based on race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability.

We are currently working with USDA NIFA to provide data on the University of California civil rights policies and processes related to research for our scheduled 2025 USDA NIFA civil rights compliance review for UC ANR, UC Davis Agriculture Experiment Station, UC Berkeley AES and UC Riverside AES. In early February 2025, USDA NIFA representatives will interview relevant leadership and staff, as well as randomly selected AES Principal Investigators and AES graduate students to capture a general overview of the funded research program. Later this year, USDA NIFA will share their findings and UC ANR will work with NIFA to develop and implement an improvement plan should they find any gaps in our civil rights compliance. 

I would like to take this opportunity to share the UC ANR Civil Rights Resources Guide, which compiles information from across our UC locations and from NIFA. It is important that we familiarize ourselves with the policies and available resources regarding civil rights, including non-discrimination, sexual harassment and sexual violence, disability and language access to support our colleagues to foster a safe, inclusive and welcoming community in which to conduct our critical work for California.

At UC ANR, we hold ourselves to a high standard in upholding civil rights and expect to have a successful review process with USDA NIFA. We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with their specialists to make any necessary improvements to our policies and practices, and to ensure that we are not only compliant, but upholding civil rights at the highest possible level.

If you have any questions about this process, please contact me at bdhales@ucanr.edu or Kathryn Stein at Kathryn.stein@ucop.edu.

Sincerely,

Brent Hales
Associate Vice President

Posted on Tuesday, January 21, 2025 at 1:01 AM

Report cybersecurity incidents to IT within 24 hours

Dear ANR Community,

As part of a directive from UC President Drake, UC ANR must report all significant cybersecurity incidents to the Office of the President. To meet this requirement, it is mandatory to report any cybersecurity incidents to the IT department within 24 hours of detection. Timely reporting ensures we can take swift action to mitigate risks and prevent further damage.

Examples of cybersecurity incidents include:

  • Lost or Stolen Devices: Immediately report any lost or stolen ANR laptops, ANR smartphones, or other ANR devices.
  • Unauthorized Access: If you suspect someone has gained access to your ANR accounts or devices.
  • Unusual Account Activity: Any unfamiliar transactions, changes in account settings, or activities that you didn't initiate.

Check our IT Security page for more examples.

Please contact IT immediately at help@ucanr.edu or call Help Desk at (530) 750-1212 if you encounter any of these incidents. By reporting incidents quickly, we uphold our shared responsibility in neutralizing security risks and protecting our organization.

Thank you for your cooperation and attention to this matter.

Jaki Hsieh Wojan
UC ANR Deputy Chief Information Officer
& Chief Information Security Officer

Posted on Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Tags: CISO (3), cybersecurity (18), incidents (1), IT (24), IT security (1), Jaki Hsieh Wojan (1), Office of the President (1), reporting (1), security (2), UCOP (2)

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