Posts Tagged: November 2018

Mural honoring Steve Orloff celebrated in Siskiyou County

A mural depicting a UC Cooperative Extension advisor talking with a farmer beside a crop field and stream, surrounded by cattle, potatoes and a 4-H member showing a prize-winning sheep, against the backdrop of the Siskiyou Mountains was dedicated Oct. 13, 2018, to Siskiyou County agriculture and the memory of Steve Orloff.

Orloff's Family, friends, clientele and colleagues gathered to remember and honor Orloff, who passed away Oct. 3, 2017, after serving 33 years as a UCCE advisor, the last 25 years of his career in Siskiyou County.

“It is a testament to the power of Steve's work and ANR impact in local communities,” said Glenn Nader, emeritus livestock and natural resources advisor. Local farmers and ranchers funded the Steve Orloff mural, which is painted on the south wall facing the parking area of the UC Cooperative Extension office in Yreka, making it visible to I-5 travelers.

“Many members of the community and Steve's family were on hand to celebrate the efforts of the community to create a tribute to the work done by Steve Orloff,” said Jacki Zediker, 4-H community education specialist and coordinator in Siskiyou County. 

The mural project was launched by local consultant Sari Sommarstrom, who served on several community organization boards with Orloff. 

“Sari and Steve began discussing the mural idea about a year or more before his passing, based on Sari noticing our exterior walls were very bland and could use some sprucing up,” said Carissa Koopmann Rivers, director of UC Cooperative Extension in Siskiyou County.

At the time, Orloff told Sommarstrom, “I can envision artwork with large cows and ranching depicted on one side transitioning to agricultural fields and mountains on the other side.  It would be a great tribute to ag in the county.”

Following Orloff's passing, Sommarstrom followed up on the mural design, fundraising and execution. She partnered with the local Farm Bureau to assist with the financial backing of the project. The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors approved the mural in April 2018, with the county contributing the first $2,000, kicking off the fundraising campaign and allowing the painting to begin in September.

“The mural would not have come to fruition without efforts from within the entire community, and the enthusiasm of artist Kim Solga,” said Rivers. “It is important to recognize one particular person, Jacki Zediker, who was at the forefront of the project ensuring the mural exemplified the Siskiyou County agriculture and the vision that Steve had. Jacki not only worked diligently behind the scenes to cross t's and dot i's, she was also physically responsible for all the wall prep work and finishing coat on the wall, as well as organizing the official revealing unveiling of the mural on October 13, 2018.”

The mural is located at 1655 South Main St. in Yreka.

 

 

UCCE positions recruitment hindered by budget constraints

Dear Colleagues,

Over the course of the past 11 months, UC ANR has undertaken a position call process to identify the priority UCCE advisor and UCCE specialist position needs to support the work of the division. After a great deal of work, 46 positions were identified by the UC ANR Program Council and divided into three categories (highest, high, and can wait). Although we will utilize this categorization to the degree possible, the reality is that we need each and every one of those positions to serve our mission – all 46 positions are high priority to me. Furthermore, there are additional positions needed that were not on the list of 46 positions but are important gaps that have arisen over the course of the year. This includes three CE advisor positions vacated within two years of hire and not re-opened for recruitment.

Despite that, and unlike past years, we will not be releasing a list of approved positions at this time. The current budget situation leaves us unable to recruit immediately for positions reviewed during the 2018 process. All positions will remain under consideration based on funding availability, including the opportunity to find funding partners to share position costs.

This difficult decision is part of a larger effort to manage a challenging financial situation that also includes reductions to statewide programs and less subsidy for research at our RECs. UC ANR has managed the past several years of budget cuts and unfunded obligations through judicious use of our reserves, increases to program fees, fundraising and excellent work by our academics to increase the capture of competitive grants. While those options allow us to maintain a strong program and continue to deliver our research and extension mission, sound fiscal management does not allow us to expand academic positions in the immediate future.

2019 recruitment depends on budget and partners

Having said that, it is my sincere intent to recruit for a small number of these 2018 positions during the 2019 calendar year. As the FY19/20 budget unfolds, we will closely watch retirement announcements, the impact of those retirements on critical gaps in service, and any other items that might affect the budget available for recruiting. In addition, we will actively seek opportunities to partner with various entities to jointly fund positions as a key strategy to maintain or, preferably, increase our academic numbers. As a result, the order of recruitments may vary from the categorized list provided to me and we may also need to re-evaluate whether priorities have changed along the way.

More 2016 positions to be filled

Our academic numbers remain steady, not growing at a rate we wish to see, but steady nonetheless. This is in large part because academic HR, search committees, vice provosts, and campus departments have worked very hard over the last two years to recruit talent and fill positions identified during the 2014 and 2016 position call processes. All of the positions approved during the 2014 call have been filled; you might recall that at the time that the 2016 positions were approved, 25 of the positions approved in 2014 were still vacant. All but three of the 26 positions approved in the 2016 position call process are filled or under recruitment. The remaining positions (two CE advisor and one CE specialist positions) will be released for recruitment very soon. Additionally, the three FTE that were reserved for partnership opportunities have resulted in six new academics: three CE advisor positions filled, one CE advisor position under recruitment, and two CE specialist positions under recruitment. This valuable tool allows us to jointly fund positions with external partners as well as other parts of the UC system; we will be exploring how best to expand and leverage this moving forward.

Recruitment and retention of top talent a priority

Recruitment and retention of top talent is a crucial strategic objective. Toward that end, I recently announced approval of year two of a four-year salary equity plan for CE advisors that will bring their salaries into market norms. Offering competitive salaries to our academics and staff is of highest priority to me and the entire UC ANR leadership. Despite our budget challenges, we are pleased to be able to continue with this extremely important plan to improve academic salaries that had failed to keep pace with increased cost of living and academic norms for many years.

While the current budget situation for UC ANR is reminiscent of similar scenarios in the past, it is a strong wake-up call on the need to find new ways to fund our mission. State and federal support for the land grant mission has decreased or, at best, remained flat for the past few decades. UC ANR, the national Cooperative Extension system, the Agriculture Experiment Station system, and public research institutions in general, are at a crossroads – we must develop better ways to fund our mission, deliver our programs and leverage partnerships. This will include deployment of different business models. UC ANR is actively doing just that, while adapting to change along the way. I am confident that by remaining mission-focused we will grow stronger, more impactful, and more relevant to California and beyond.

Sincerely,

Glenda Humiston
Vice President

To answer questions about the positions process, VP Humiston held a town hall on Nov. 29. A recording of the 30-minute town hall is at http://bit.ly/2BGvO73.

Integrating Climate Change in UCCE Programs Workshop set for Jan. 23-24

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing farmers, natural resource managers and communities in California.

On Jan. 23-24, the Climate Change Program Team will hold the Integrating Climate Change in California Cooperative Extension Programs Workshop at UC Merced.

“It's open to all ANR academics and program staff who are interested in the topic,” said Ted Grantham, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC Berkeley.

“This meeting will bring together ANR academics and programmatic staff to strengthen interdisciplinary collaborations and enhance the capacity of UC Cooperative Extension to advance climate-change mitigation and adaptation efforts in California,” he said. 

The day-and-a-half-long workshop will include updates on the latest science on climate impacts and sessions that focus on disaster preparedness and response, climate science communication, and climate-smart agriculture. The workshop will also include interactive dialog to identify priorities for enhancing the visibility, relevance and impact of ANR's climate-change research and extension programs.

In breakout sessions, participants will discuss wildfire hazard mitigation, environmental education and citizen science, building climate resilience with tribes and vulnerable communities, environmental horticulture and more.

To register and view the draft agenda, visit https://ucanr.edu/sites/CalClimateChange/2019_Workshop.

UC innovators sought for Entrepreneur Pitch Competition, apply by Dec. 12

Apply to the 3rd Annual UC Entrepreneur Pitch Competition and win a chance to pitch in front of more than 700 venture capitalists at the Global Corporate Venturing and Innovation Summit and $15,000 in prize money.

The event is a systemwide effort to connect veteran and new UC entrepreneurs with coaching, resources and exposure to a network of investors to advance and scale their startups.

The university's Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship is inviting startups with at least one UC student, staff, academic or alumnus founder to pitch their projects to investors and strategic partners by submitting a pitch video and an associated pitch deck to the competition website. Video submissions will be featured on the university's entrepreneur website, showcasing the impressive entrepreneurial activity and rich innovative spirit of the UC community.

There are two tracks in the competition: an early-stage track for startups in funding round pre-Series A, and a later-stage track for startups in Series A and beyond. A panel of distinguished corporate mentors will review and select a dozen finalists: six startups in the early-stage track and six startups in the later-stage track.

All finalists will receive individualized coaching from their mentors before their final presentations at the 4th Annual Global Corporate Venturing & Innovation Summit in Monterey on Jan. 30-31, 2019.

Finalists will then pitch their startups to more than 700 business leaders and venture capitalists. The winner in each of the two categories will take home a $15,000 prize for his or her company.

If you are interested in competing, submit your materials to the competition website by 11:59 p.m. PST, on Dec. 12, 2018. The 12 finalists will be announced in early January.

UC generates an average of five inventions per day and holds more patents than any other university in the country. In 2013, President Napolitano launched the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative to leverage the scale and diversity of the UC system to build an even more vibrant entrepreneurial culture.

Learn more at https://entrepreneurs.universityofcalifornia.edu.

Learning & Development: public issues leadership, transferable talent, supervisor networking

 

 

Café WebANR Thursday (first Thursday – Dec 6 – @ 10 am!)
Communicating Your Story: For Blogs and More

• Why you should blog
• Techniques and best practices to start OR get better
• Crafting catchy headlines and smart ledes
• Using images and videos to enhance your posts
• Using your blog on the ANR website and on other publishing platforms like LinkedIn
• Quick tips for effectively using SiteBuilder

Presenters:

Rose Hayden-Smith, Editor UC Food Observer
Cynthia Kintigh, Marketing Director CSIT

When: 10 a.m., Dec. 6, 2018

Where: https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/963167636 (different link than usual Café Webinars)
(646) 558-8656 or (669) 900-6833
Webinar ID: 963 167 636

Participants will also be provided access to a range of resources and tools to support their blogging efforts, including samples, tip and FAQ sheets, guidelines, and more. Join us https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/564553833. This webinar will be recorded and archived on the WebANR page.

Call for Proposals for the PILD Conference due Dec. 8, 2018

The Public Issues Leadership Development Conference (PILD) is just around the corner. The deadline for proposals is Dec. 8, 2018. This is a great conference for advancing professional development, working across program areas and strengthening skills for working with those in public leadership.

For more information, review the website found at https://www.jcep.org/pild. If you have any questions contact:

Bob Ohlensehlen , JCEP Executive Director
Phone: 208-736-4495
Cell: 208-539-1279
Email: jcepoffice@jcep.org

 

Leadership Online For Today

University of Missouri Extension has developed an innovative online program with the focus on building better leaders. The session runs from Jan. 21 to April 8, 2019. The registration deadline is Jan. 7, 2019.

Leadership Online for Today was developed to prepare emerging leaders to affect positive community change. This innovative online program allows participants to develop leadership skills at their own convenience and helps prepare participants for other leadership opportunities within the community.

For more information about the program, contact Johanna Reed Adams, Ph.D., at LO@missouri.edu. Follow on Facebook at Leadership Online For Today.

 

SAVE THE DATE: UC ANR Programmatic Orientation April 23 - 25

Kearney Agricultural Research & Extension Center (KARE)
Parlier, CA

The UC ANR Programmatic Orientation will be April 23 - 25, 2019. The orientation is designed to help academics jump start their programs by focusing on program design and showcasing other ANR academics' successful projects.

The orientation is open to all early-career UC Cooperative Extension advisors, UC Cooperative Extension specialists, academic coordinators, academic administrators and Agricultural Experiment Station faculty who were unable to attend in the past.

 

 

 

Transferable Talent: Thinking Outside the Box

Wednesday, December 5, 2018 | 12 noon – 1 p.m.
Zoom access! https://zoom.us/j/439807305

Heitman Staff Learning Center or Zoom

Have you ever wondered if you could succeed in another role, department, or even another organization? Understanding how your transferable skills can be applied to another role is essential for today's savvy professionals. In this upbeat workshop, you will define transferable skills and acquire strategies for assessing them. This is your opportunity to think outside the box about your transferable talent.

Facilitator: Lisa Montanaro

https://zoom.us/j/439807305
(669) 900-6833 or (646) 876-9923 or
Meeting ID: 439 807 305#

 

 

 

 

Apply Now! UC People Manager Networking Cohort

If you are interested in being part of the ANR Supervisor Networking Cohort for 2019, please fill out this survey. 

Being an effective and professional people manager takes many skills and considerable development and the best people managers develop both their employees and themselves. 

One of the ways ANR people managers have been developing themselves is by completing UC People Management Series Certificate modules and participating in monthly facilitated networking calls to review what they've learned, ask other supervisors for advice, and share successes. Participants enjoy scenario-based role-playing, excellent tools, a fun and challenging group assignment, and networking.

A new cohort will form in January 2019. If you are interested, please fill out this survey. Supervisors who complete the series will be eligible to apply for the 2019 systemwide UC People Conference and preference will be given to networking cohort participants. For questions, contact jlazulai@ucanr.edu.

New implicit bias modules: UC People Management Certificate Series

Elevate your people-management skills by completing the UC Systemwide People Management Series and Certificate. This course is for all ANR people managers consisting of core and elective courses, which include local and systemwide programs and eCourses. Earning this certificate aligns you with ANR's Strategic Plan Goal for our People Managers.

The following topics are included in the People Management Series and Certificate: Performance Management, Managing Implicit Bias, Managing People, Administration & Operations, Change Management and Communications.

New for 2018 is the addition of the UC Managing Implicit Bias Series, which is made up of six self-paced, online interactive courses, ranging from 15 to 20 minutes in length. The series is designed to increase awareness of implicit bias, reduce its impact at the university, and further reinforce the university's commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. 

1. What is Implicit Bias?
2. The Impact of Implicit Bias
3. Managing the Influence of Implicit Bias: Awareness
4. Common Forms of Bias
5. Managing the Impact of Implicit Bias: Mindfulness and Conscious De-biasing
6. Managing Implicit Bias in the Hiring Process

These courses can be completed individually or together as a series to earn the UC Managing Implicit Bias Certificate. As a UC People Manager, being aware of implicit bias and how it impacts the way we work and interact with others is especially important. Therefore, this series is now a part of the 2018 UC People Management Series and Certificate core requirements.

If you are a formally designated supervisor/manager, completing the 2018 UC People Management Series and Certificate will make you eligible to attend the UC People Management Conference held later this year.

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Lynda.com will become LinkedIn Learning!
In the next 2-3 months, our Lynda.com account will be upgrading to LinkedIn Learning. Your Lynda.com records will transfer with this upgrade and you will have access to more tools! Stay-tuned!

 

Everyone can learn something new.

ANR Learning & Development

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