2021 Call for CE Positions

The 2021 CE Position Call was launched in August 2021 to identify UCCE Advisor and UCCE Specialist positions to be released over the next 12 months. The process has concluded.

The 2021-22 Release of UCCE Positions web page will list all the positions that have been released for recruitment as a result of this process. On March 14, 48 CE Advisor positions were released. CE Specialist positions will be announced in April 2022.  

Rebuilding the UC Cooperative Extension footprint, to address California's emerging and future needs, is made possible by the historic 2021-22 state budget increase. We are extremely grateful for the support and look forward to working with our partners to leverage these resources.

While this state budget increase will allow UC ANR to hire more people and achieve greater impact, we will continue seeking funding from additional sources to support the appropriate number of people with expertise needed to consistently and significantly improve the lives of all Californians. UC ANR continues to pursue non-traditionally funded positions as a complimentary strategy to grow the programmatic footprint. There are UC ANR resources on: how to develop co-funded positions and shared benefits of funding partnerships.

Process Information

Here is the link to the process flowchart with more details.

As in the past, we talked to our community partners and other stakeholders to identify the most pressing needs to prioritize the next rounds of hiring. We didn’t just refill past positions, instead we identified positions to address California’s emerging and future needs. Submittal groups, listed below, were expected to seek stakeholder input and work collaboratively across UC ANR units to make the best use of submission restrictions.

Review and consideration of UC ANR thematic cluster areas for hires was encouraged (see below) given building capacity in these areas is a priority to UC ANR.

Important Resources 

• CE Position Proposal Template (required)
• CE Position Template fillable PDF form (optional)

• CE Position Proposal Criteria

• UC ANR thematic cluster areas for hires: Fire Advisor Network; Food System Resilience Network; Health Resilience Network; Urban Community Development Network; Water Resiliency Network.
  
• 4-H Youth Development and Youth, Families and Communities Academic Position Guidance
• FAQs 

Those that submitted the position proposals:

• County Directors (1 position per county they oversee)
• Research and Extension Center Directors (1 position each Director)
• Statewide Program and Institute Directors (1 position each Director)
• Program Team Leaders (1 position each PT)
• UC Campus Provosts and/or Chancellors (# of positions varies, see link to process flowchart and details above)

For Advisor positions: The first four groups listed above submitted proposals, using the Universal Review System (URS) accessed from the ANR Portal. 

For Specialist positions: UC Campus Provosts or Chancellors emailed proposals to Wendy Powers. For any questions, please contact Wendy Powers or Mark Bell. For more information regarding how appointments will be handled between UC ANR and UC campuses other than UCB, UCD, and UCR, there is a Memorandum of Understanding and the APM guidelines. Program Team Leaders will submit their respective group's reviews through the URS. 

UCCE Programmatic Footprint Maps 

• Link to landing page with some helpful information
• Link to dashboard with maps
• These maps illustrate current positions for UCCE Advisors, UCCE Specialists, other UCCE Academics, and Community Educator Specialists. They also illustrate UCCE Advisor and Specialist positions under-recruitment.
• This information can illuminate gaps and needs to inform UCCE position proposal development and future hiring. 
• Google sheet for user questions & comments

For overall process questions, contact Katherine Webb-Martinez at katherine.webb-martinez@ucop.edu or (510) 987-0029.

For questions about using the Universal Review System (URS), contact Chris Hanson at christopher.hanson@ucop.edu.

This advisor position will provide weed management expertise for cropping systems and non-crop settings of the southern San Joaquin Valley, including Fresno, Kings, and Tulare counties. The position requires a minimum of a master’s degree in Weed Science, Agronomy, Horticulture, Crop Science, or a related field, along with weed research experience. A research and extension program will primarily focus on challenges with weeds and weed control practices face the region, ranging from invasive species, herbicide resistance, air and water quality issues related to weed control practices, and the need to develop weed control strategies with emerging mechanical technologies in conventional and organic production systems. The area Weed Ecology and Management Advisor will provide a regional weed science expert who can contribute to the Division’s statewide mission through applied research and extension program as well as participation and collaboration in applicable workgroups and Program Teams. There is ample opportunity and need for control of agronomic and invasive weeds as the region faces challenges with water security, shifting cropping systems, and as agronomic and natural systems adapt to a changing climate. An Area Weed Ecology and Management Advisor would complement current UC academics expertise in the region by filling a critical gap in knowledge of weed management.

Justification: Growers in the southern San Joaquin Valley produce a diversity of agricultural crops that includes permanent crops (trees and vines), agronomic crops (cereal grains, forage, and fiber crops), annual fruits and vegetables (carrot, melon, tomato, onion), and in-ground nursery production. Additionally, non-crop settings, including animal range and pasture land, border both the eastern and western portions of the valley. Together with animal agriculture, these crops contributed to a gross agricultural value of $24.9 billion in 2018. Weeds are a critical challenge to the productivity of all agricultural systems (including organic production) and account for a great deal of the production losses, management costs, and labor requirements each year. Growers, pest control industry personnel, and the UCCE network need a weed management CE advisor to provide locally-relevant expertise to address production efficiency, crop safety, and environmental issues related to economically and environmentally sustainable weed management in the production of annual and perennial crops in the region. Weeds not only reduce crop productivity, the practices used to control weeds (herbicides, fumigants, tillage, and labor) are among the key economic, environmental and social concerns in the region. This position will contribute directly to the UCANR Strategic Initiatives: Endemic and Invasive Pests and Diseases, Natural Systems, and Sustainable Food Systems.

Extension: The advisor in this position will be responsible for extending their research and education program through workshops, conferences, webinars, individual consultations, blogs, newsletters, trade magazines, social media and UCIPM publications. The Advisor will cooperate with other Advisors and campus-affiliated CE Specialists and Faculty to develop information that addresses weed management needs in the region. Primary stakeholder groups will include commodity-focused CE Advisors, farmers, commercial Pest Control Advisors (PCA), agricultural commodity boards, and government agencies.

Research: The Advisor’s applied research program will focus on methods that improve weed management outcomes in crop and non-crop settings and reduce negative impacts of weed management practices on the environment and society. This Advisor position could develop sustainable IPM approaches to weed management that utilize physical, cultural, chemical and emerging technologies. Although not limited to these, herbicide efficacy and crop safety, organic and sustainable weed control, mechanical and robotic weed control systems all are potentially fruitful areas of applied research for this position. Publication outlets for the research conducted by the weed advisor include UC ANR publications such as California Agriculture, extension bulletins, crop production manuals, newsletters, blogs, and Pest Management Guides. Peer-reviewed outlets for basic and applied weed science research include Weed Technology, HortTechnology, Weed Science, Pest Management Science, Agronomy Journal and other applied science journals.

ANR Network: Weed science is an under-represented discipline with UC ANR and a critical need. Currently, within the geographic area only two CE advisors (0.20 FTE total) include a weed management program component, which is limited to rangeland and home landscapes. This position fills a critical gap in weed management expertise in the intense agricultural systems of the southern San Joaquin Valley. Like other pest management Cooperative Extension personnel, this Advisor would be a primary point of contact for weed management issues in the region. The primary local UCCE collaborators would consist of crop-focused advisors or those with backgrounds in other pest management disciplines; a weed scientist would complement their expertise. This position will fit well connecting and collaborating on statewide weed research with campus specialist and other advisors with a focus in weed science throughout ANR. The San Joaquin Valley and large production area of this position’s coverage would fill a large gap and high need for weed management in the state of CA. Glyphosate resistance, invasive weeds, herbicide damage diagnosis and mitigating losses, and general improved management of weeds in both annual and perennial cropping systems are just some of the issues that could be covered with this position. This position tied for the #1 critical position need from the Pest Management Program Team.

Network External to ANR: This advisor will work closely with commodity groups (Almond, Pistachio, Citrus, Cotton, Tomato, Melon, etc), the local ag commissioners, the pesticide manufacturers and distributors, as well as state, regional, and local regulatory agencies that deal with pests, pesticides, and environmental concerns. Depending on the needs, this collaboration could range from simple sharing of information on the practical needs and limitations related to weed management options or to developing research and extension programs to specifically address local needs for the region.

Support: UCCE Tulare County will provide office space, administrative support, transportation, office and IT support for the position.

Other support: The Advisor will compete for research and extension support funding from relevant commodity commissions, internal UC-ANR grant programs, and external funding agencies such as USDA, CDFA, DPR, Western SARE, Western IPM, and the crop protection industry and ag technology companies. This position received high prioritization from the Pest Management Program team and Weed Workgroup.