Posts Tagged: March 2018

Future of Agriculture discussed at California Water Policy Conference

VP Glenda Humiston moderated the closing plenary panel on March 23 at the California Water Policy Conference held at the UC Davis Conference Center. The panel discussed the Future of Agriculture in California.

“Assemblymember Anna Caballero, sixth-generation farmers Fritz Durst and Cannon Michael, and Jeff Payne of Friant Water Authority all offered promising ideas,” Humiston said. “Their projects, including Caballero's California Farm Bill, Durst's Sites Project, Michael's Bowles Farm and Payne's Friant Water Authority speak to sustainable solutions for agricultural economic development, which is tied to rural economic development. Also, it's great to see support for UCCE in Caballero's California Farm Bill.” 

ANR briefs California congressional members on ag research

VP Glenda Humiston, AVP Wendy Powers and several UC ANR representatives visited more than 30 congressional offices in March to brief lawmakers and staffers on the latest agriculture and natural resources research and outreach benefiting Californians.

On March 5-8, a UC ANR delegation attended the 36^th Annual Council on Agriculture Research, Extension and Teaching (CARET) meetings in Washington D.C. CARET is part of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). With the assistance of Julia Rowe and Marjorie Duske of UC Federal Governmental Relations, they also visited congressional offices to explain the importance of science and research to California.

Keith Nathaniel, UC Cooperative Extension director for Los Angeles County; Katie Panarella, director of nutrition, family and consumer sciences program & policy; and Mark Bell, vice provost of strategic initiatives and statewide programs; joined the deans Helene Dillard, Keith Gilless, Michael Lairmore and Kathryn Uhrich for the visits.

“We had a lot of great meetings with Congressional members and their staff, discussing the need for sustained investments in ag & natural resources programs, research and innovation,” said Anne Megaro, director of government and community relations.

The group split up into teams to visit the offices of Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, Representatives John Garamendi, Jim Costa, Jeff Denham, Barbara Lee, Ami Bera, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Jimmy Panetta, Raul Ruiz and several other California representatives.

“California CARET representatives Dina Moore, Mike Mellano and Jean-Mari Peltier shared their experiences of how UC ANR research drives innovation and helps California farmers and related businesses remain competitive in the global market,” Megaro said.

“Overall, I felt that the visits were high quality,” said Powers. “I don't envy the elected officials or the staffers that see a revolving door of people through their offices at this time of year.”

 

UC ANR Staff Assembly offers scholarships for staff

The UC ANR Staff Assembly has established a scholarship program that is available to all UC ANR staff employees and county-paid employees. The scholarship provides financial assistance to UC ANR staff to pursue career interests, develop new career paths, and address knowledge or skill gaps needed to reach professional development goals.

This year's award dates are for courses taken between May 1, 2017, and April 15, 2018. Deadline for applications is close of business April 15, 2018. Late applications will not be accepted. Courses taken after April 15, 2018, will be eligible for reimbursement on the next scholarship cycle of April 16, 2018, to Nov. 30, 2018.  

Scholarship criteria:

• Funding up to $499, dependent on amount of eligible applications received. 
• Training activities must occur between May 1, 2017 and April 15, 2018.
• Scholarship allocation will be considered only for successfully completed training activities. Proof of completion with a passing grade must accompany applications for courses or seminars (i.e. grade report, transcript, certificate, etc.)
• Applications must be submitted by close of business April 15, 2018. Late applications will not be accepted.
• Receipts for all eligible expenses are required for reimbursement and must be submitted with application.
• Applications received incomplete or without required documentation will not be considered.
• The UC ANR Staff Assembly Council will review applications within 30 days of application close date. Award recipients will be notified within 60 days and receive reimbursement checks when notified.

For more information, please visit the Staff Assembly website http://staffassembly.ucanr.edu/Scholarships.

ANR timeline for staff performance appraisals differs from campuses

On March 5, ANR Human Resources launched the 2017-18 Annual Staff Performance Appraisal Process. The UC Davis campus has also announced their annual “call” for staff performance appraisals. Please be aware that ANR has a separate process and timeline. Please do not use the UC Davis online system for submitting Summary of Accomplishments and Employee Performance Appraisals.

It is critical that all units meet the May 14 deadline for submitting proposed overall ratings.

This timeline is subject to change with prior notice:

March 1-23: Employee prepares Summary of Accomplishments. Supervisor option: Employee prepares Self-Assessment using the Performance Appraisal form.

March 23-May 11: Supervisor meets with employee to review Summary of Accomplishments. Supervisor drafts Employee Performance Appraisal. Supervisor confirms agreement on proposed rating with second-level supervisor. 

May 14: Proposed overall ratings and draft appraisals due to ANR Human Resources.

May 14-June 1: HR reviews proposed ratings for consistency, and confirms final ratings.

June 1-July 31: Supervisor meets with employee to communicate overall rating.

If you are uncertain about the process, please reach out to your supervisor or contact Mary Vlandis at (530) 750-1321 or maryvlandis@ucanr.edu.

Forms and more information regarding the ANR process are available on the Staff Human Resources webpage http://ucanr.edu/sites/ANRSPU/Supervisor_Resources/Performance_Management.

Learning & Development Update: WebANR Café Thursdays start May 17

SAVE THE DATE!
WebANR Café Thursdays: Starts May 17, 2018 

You'll need to bring your own beverage and food, but please join us for our first WebANR Café Thursday on May 17 at noon: “Planning Makes Perfect: Best Practices for Engaging Webinars”

During this webinar, Brook Gamble, community educator with the California Naturalist Program, and Steven Worker, 4-H advisor will help you

• Improve your understanding of the critical steps for preparation, implementation and post webinar follow-up.
• Introduce ZOOM capabilities.
• Introduce tricks of the trade to keeping webinar participants engaged and not checking their email.

Please join us with the following Zoom information:

https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/963167636

(646) 558-8656 or + (669) 900-6833

Webinar ID: 963 167 636

These sessions will be recorded and linked to the WebANR page in case you would like to access them at a later date.

New Employee Administrative Orientation Registration is Open!

You can register now for yourself or for a new employee who will be onboarding soon.

Who Should Attend: All UC ANR Employees (academics, staff and affiliated staff on campuses, counties and RECs) who have not participated in an administrative orientation. Priority will be given to those hired by ANR within the past year.

For more information, visit http://ucanr.edu/sites/orientations/Administrative_Orientations.  

Performance Appraisals: Empower yourself with career planning tools

Performance appraisal season can be stressful for many of us and receiving performance feedback can trigger negative feelings. Understanding that these feelings are normal, and preparing yourself in advance, whether you're a supervisor or an individual contributor, can help reduce the stress and make it a positive experience.

You have many tools available to guide you through the appraisal process, starting with the ANR Learning & Development Career Planning Tools page.

Use the Self-assessment Worksheet  to help you identify your strengths, skill gap areas, career goals, interests and values.  You can share it with your supervisor or use your responses to help draft your Individual development plan (IDP).  You can also find help from UC Davis with writing your Summary of Accomplishments.

If you struggle with feedback, here are some additional resources to empower you:

• UC Learning Center (UC Davis): Receiving Feedback and Criticism; for People Managers UC Performance Management: Giving and Receiving Feedback
• Corporate Executive Board Learning & Development Leadership Council (CEB register or reset a password): 3 Tricks Your Brain Plays When Receiving Feedback and Manager Guide: Improve Employee Performance through Informal Feedback
• TED Talk: How to use others' feedback to learn and grow, with Sheila Heen, Harvard University professor (19:28 minutes)

LYNDA FEATURES

Option B: Building Resilience

We have all experienced loss and grief. Even our ANR Report includes In Memoriam pieces to recognize the passing of our ANR colleagues and retirees. Psychologists state that when we experience a primary loss, we often experience secondary losses, including self-confidence at work. Maybe you, the reader, can identify with this. In this 2+ minute video The Importance of Resilience, Facebook COO and author Sheryl Sandberg explores this subject with Wharton psychologist Adam Grant. They share:

• How to talk to friends and colleagues who are hurting, when you're not sure what to do
• How to fight the idea that your hurting is permanent
• How to give yourself permission to experience happiness again

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 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 between 15 and 20 minutes each 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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