4-H & Families

NAS identifies scientific advances for agricultural system's sustainability

Science Breakthroughs to Advance Food and Agricultural Research by 2030, a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine was released July 18. The report identifies the most promising scientific breakthroughs that are possible to achieve in the next decade to increase the U.S. food and agriculture system's sustainability, competitiveness and resilience. 

“In the coming decade, the stresses on the U.S. food and agricultural enterprise won't be solved by business as usual – either in the field or in our current research efforts,” said Susan Wessler, the Neil and Rochelle Campbell Presidential Chair for Innovations in Science Education and distinguished professor of genetics at UC Riverside, who was a co-chair of this important new study.

Alison Van Eenennaam, UC Cooperative Extension specialist at UC Davis, served on the Committee on Science Breakthroughs 2030: A Strategy for Food and Agricultural Research, and other UC academics were involved in reviewing content for the 200-page book.

The urgent progress needed today, given challenges such as water scarcity, increased weather variability, floods and droughts, requires a convergent research approach that harnesses advances in data science, materials science, information technology, behavioral sciences, economics and many other fields.

The committee identified five breakthrough opportunities that take advantage of a convergent approach to research challenges and could potentially increase the capabilities of food and agricultural science dramatically:

1. A systems approach to understand the nature of interactions among the different elements of the food and agricultural system can be leveraged to increase overall system efficiency, resilience, and sustainability. 
2. The development and validation of highly sensitive, field-deployable sensors and biosensors will enable rapid detection and monitoring capabilities across various food and agricultural disciplines.
3. The application and integration of data sciences, software tools, and systems models will enable advanced analytics for managing the food and agricultural system.  
4. The ability to carry out routine gene editing of agriculturally important organisms will allow for precise and rapid improvement of traits important for productivity and quality. 
5. Understanding the relevance of the microbiome to agriculture and harnessing this knowledge will improve crop production, transform feed efficiency, and increase resilience to stress and disease. 

They include recommendations for a range of federal agencies, as well as federal and private funders and researchers.

“It is very gratifying to see a strong recommendation for enhanced support to the Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension systems as vitally important infrastructure!” VP Glenda Humiston said.

Humiston and other UC ANR leaders are considering how UC ANR might best use the ideas presented in the report.

The report is available for free download at https://www.nap.edu/catalog/25059/science-breakthroughs-to-advance-food-and-agricultural-research-by-2030.

 

 

Staff Assembly offers scholarships

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.

Scholarships may be used for

• Courses/tuition/registration fee for required certification(s).
• Courses/tuition/registration required for degree attainment if related to current position or career development.
• Registration fees for seminars and workshops (excluding travel).
• Books and materials for career development (as required by selected course/workshop etc.).

Up to $499 is available, depending on the amount of eligible applications received. Only successfully completed training activities will be approved. Applicants must provide proof of completion with a passing grade for courses or seminars.

This year's award dates are for courses taken between April 16, 2018, and Oct. 31, 2018. Deadline for applications is close of business Oct. 31, 2018.

For more information and the application form, visit http://staffassembly.ucanr.edu/Scholarships.

Scholarship recipients

During the last cycle, Staff Assembly doubled the number of scholarship awards offered – six people received scholarship reimbursements, ranging from $494-$499 each. The recipients were:

• Christina Becker, lab asst. 3, Nutrition Policy Institute
• Lea Corkidi, staff research associate 2, UCCE San Diego     
• Ria Debiase, Pest Management Guidelines coordinator, IPM Statewide Program
• Jerry Harris, administrative services officer, UCCE San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara
• Kim Ingram, HR analyst III, Academic Human Resources
• Rhett Woerly, facilities management specialist 3, UC ANR Facilities Planning and Management            

Here is what the scholarship recipients are saying about the program:

When Ria Debiase was asked if she would apply for a scholarship again she replied, “Yes. As I will be entering grad school while working as a UC employee, I appreciate any help I can get.”

Lea Corkidi heard about the program at an all-staff meeting in her office. She definitely plans on applying for funds again in the future and absolutely recommends the scholarship program to peers and colleagues!

Rhett Whoerly took courses related to his Construction Management Certificate and also plans on applying for scholarship funds in the future. 

Kim Ingram, who is working on a masters degree in education, adult education and training, says “I was able to apply methods learned in this class to a recent facilitation training I co-lead, and to other process situations I engage in as part of my job.” She said she also recommends this program to others and will apply again in the future.

The Staff Assembly Council and the Scholarship Award sub-committee congratulates all the recipients.

We are so happy to be able to provide these reimbursement scholarships and hope that more employees take advantage of this program.

 

 

UC issues annual whistleblower notification

The University of California is committed to maintaining the highest standards of conduct in the fulfillment of its education, research, public service and patient care mission. The University's Whistleblower Policy provides multiple avenues for employees to bring forward concerns of potential employee misconduct. Faculty and staff are encouraged to bring forward concerns about possible improper governmental activity directly to their supervisor, department head, Locally Designated Official (LDO) or other appropriate university offices or officials.

The university established a systemwide, independently operated whistleblower hotline to receive calls or web-based reporting from faculty, staff, students or members of the public. The hotline allows for anonymous reporting. The hotline relays the reported concerns to appropriate university officials for processing. This hotline is staffed seven days a week, 24 hours per day and is capable of receiving reports in a number of different languages.

The toll-free number is 1-800-403-4744. Web-based reports can be made by accessing http://universityofcalifornia.edu/hotline. More information about the whistleblower process can be found on the UC Whistleblower website and on posters displayed in various employee areas. The University's whistleblower poster identifies other channels for reporting improper governmental activity, including the California State Auditor, the California Attorney General and locations for reporting fraud and abuse involving federal programs.

The California Government Code requires every state agency, including the University of California, to annually distribute to its employees a message from the California State Auditor that provides an explanation of the California Whistleblower Protection Act. Please see the 2018 message below or in the brochure at http://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/files/286804.pdf.

California State Auditor Whistleblower Program

YOU CAN REPORT IMPROPER ACTS 

We are your confidential avenue for reporting improper activities by state agencies or employees. It is your responsibility, as a government employee, to report any type of fraud, waste or abuse, which ultimately protects scarce state resources. It is also your right to be free from retaliation for doing so. 

In 2017 alone, we received 2,147 allegations of wrongdoing, most of which concerned misuse of state property, improper travel expenditures, and time and attendance abuse. Whistleblower complaints through our office have triggered investigations revealing more than $576 million in wasteful spending, such as: 

• Four psychiatrists at a state facility worked significantly fewer than 40 hours per week during a one year period. The cost of their missed work hours totaled $296,000.
• A state official received $152,000 in improper travel expense reimbursements over a 37-month period.
• An administrator unwisely entered into two contracts that wasted $652,919 in state managed funds and did not comply with state contracting requirements.

WE INVESTIGATE COMPLAINTS 

We report substantiated allegations to the head of the employing agency, the Legislature and the Governor. In addition, we report some of the substantiated allegations to the general public, keeping confidential the identities of the state employees involved. You can view these reports on our website at www.auditor.ca.gov/reports/investigative. 

WHAT TO REPORT

Pursuant to Government Code section 8547.2, subdivision (c), improper acts by a state agency or employee that should be reported to the State Auditor include:

• Violations of state or federal law, including theft, fraud or conflict of interest;
• Noncompliance with an executive order, Rule of Court, the State Administrative Manual, or the State Contracting Manual;
• Misuse or waste of state resources, including property or employee time;
• Gross misconduct, incompetence or inefficiency.

WHAT WE CAN'T INVESTIGATE

We do not have the authority to investigate either violations of internal department policies or procedures or local government agencies and employees.

WE PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY

If you report an impropriety, you are protected by the Whistleblower Protection Act, which:

• Requires us to protect your identity (except from law enforcement);
• Prohibits intimidation, threats or coercion by state employees that could interfere with your right to disclose improper governmental activities.

If you believe that you have been retaliated against for disclosing an improper governmental activity, you should report this immediately to one of the following agencies:

State and Court Employees

State Personnel Board 

801 Capitol Mall, MS53 

Sacramento, CA 95814

California State University Employees

Vice Chancellor of Human Resources 

401 Golden Shore

Long Beach, CA 90802 

Or contact the appointed campus administrator.

University of California (UC) Employees

Contact the locally designated official for the UC facility at which you are employed. Visit www.ucop.edu for more information.

HELPFUL TIPS WHEN FILING A COMPLAINT

Prepare Before Filing

Gather your thoughts before filing a complaint and prepare yourself to answer the following questions:

• What is the improper activity?
• Who acted improperly?
• Where does that person work? 
• How often and for how long has the activity been occurring?
• Why has it been allowed to continue?

Support What You Allege

We are unable to investigate allegations without support for your complaint. Therefore, please remember to include the following:

• Description of the evidence that proves what you are saying.
• Names and telephone numbers of knowledgeable witnesses.
• Copies of any documents you have in your possession that support your allegation. (Please do not submit original documents, as they cannot be returned.)

Consider Providing Contact Information

You have a right to file a complaint anonymously. However, we may not be able to investigate your complaint if we cannot talk to you to confirm the information you are providing or obtain additional information. Please remember that if you identify yourself to us, we cannot reveal your identity to anyone else without your permission, except to appropriate law enforcement personnel who are conducting a criminal investigation.

Keep Your Complaint Confidential

We investigate complaints as confidentially as possible to protect both your identity as a whistleblower and our ability to gather information without interference. To protect the confidentiality of your complaint, we encourage you not to tell anyone that you filed a complaint with us.

We refer substantiated violations of law to law enforcement agencies, as appropriate.

HOW TO REPORT 

You have three ways to report information to us confidentially:

Call the Whistleblower Hotline at: 

800-952-5665 

916-322-2603 (Fax) 

(Note: The hotline is staffed Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. However, callers may leave a brief recorded message during other hours.)

Mail information to: 

Investigations 

California State Auditor 

P.O. Box 1019 

Sacramento, CA 95812

Submit a complaint online to: 

http://www.auditor.ca.gov/hotline

To view an informational webinar hosted by CalHR, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WFYLhJDOss.

 

Budget update: State funding unchanged for ANR in 2018-19

On June 22, Governor Jerry Brown signed the state budget for fiscal year 2018-19, which contains a new line item for UC ANR within the UCOP budget. UC ANR will have the same amount of funding from the state for the upcoming year as we had this year. While we appreciate that ANR did not suffer additional cuts, we still need to deal with unfunded obligations of $4 million to $5 million. This results from the UC system getting an increase of 3 percent in the coming fiscal year, which will cause increases in salaries and benefits.

We are managing this $4 million to $5 million in unfunded obligations in three ways:

• We are slowing down hiring of UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) advisors & specialists throughout the state.
• Statewide programs are developing additional cuts to already reduced budgets.
• UC ANR Research and Extension Centers (RECs) are reducing the subsidy that has been provided for research projects at the RECs.

Our priority during this process is to keep UCCE advisors in the field and minimize harm to program delivery. We are fortunate that recent work on administrative efficiencies has provided some savings that we can utilize for our programs and UCCE mission.

Glenda Humiston
Vice President

Names in the News

Fulford joins UCCE as soil quality advisor

Anthony Fulford joined UCCE on June 18 as an area nutrient management/soil quality advisor in Stanislaus, Merced and San Joaquin counties.

Prior to joining UCCE, he studied on soil health testing and nutrient management practices for corn, soybeans, and wheat grown in Ohio as a postdoctoral researcher at The Ohio State University. Fulford studied soil fertility of rice cropping systems at the University of Arkansas where he evaluated nitrogen soil testing, nitrogen use efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions in the mid-South. His research has been focused on identifying rapid and affordable soil health measurements to better predict organic nitrogen supply to plants. He has worked closely with growers and extension educators to conduct research on nutrient management and soil health and has led demonstrations and discussions at soil health workshops.

Fulford received a Ph.D. in soil fertility from University of Arkansas, a M.S. in soil science from Southern Illinois University, and a B.S. in forestry from Colorado State University.

Fulford is based in Modesto and can be reached at (209) 525-6800 and amfulford@ucanr.edu.

Megaro named interim director of Strategic Communications

Anne Megaro has been appointed to serve as interim director of Strategic Communications in addition to her current role as director of government and community relations. She will assume this role until the Strategic Communications position is filled.

During the transition, Liz Sizensky and Pam Kan-Rice will share project management responsibilities and Cynthia Kintigh will oversee content migration to the new website design. For assistance with publicizing the impact of your work, you are welcome, as always, to contact Jeannette Warnert, Ricardo Vela or Kan-Rice directly.

Megaro can be reached at (530) 750-1218 and ammegaro@ucanr.edu. Strategic Communications staff contact information is listed at http://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/Administration/Associate_Vice_President_for_Academic_Programs_and_Strategic_Initiatives/csit/staff.

Gerry and Haviland honored by ESA

Alec Gerry, UC Cooperative Extension Specialist and UC Riverside Professor of Veterinary Entomology, and David Haviland, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Kern County, recently received awards from the Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America. 

Gerry, who created a website https://www.veterinaryentomology.org to help producers identify pests and search lists of pesticides registered for veterinary pests, received the 2018 Medical, Urban and Veterinary Entomology Award.

One person nominating Gerry wrote, “From the beginning of his career, Alec has demonstrated a consistent ability to balance scholarly investigations with providing solutions to practical pest management problems. These two spheres of endeavors have infused each other, resulting in a prodigious contribution to our knowledge of pests of livestock and poultry and the diseases they carry to humans and animals.”

Another wrote, “Alec has heavily influenced our Pacific region through his many collaborations with UC extension personnel (specialists and farm advisors in animal agriculture at the county level or up at UC Davis) and his research projects and meaningful interaction with vector control districts.”

Haviland, who delivers presentations in Spanish as well as English, received the 2018 Excellence in Extension award.

One nomination letter said, “Haviland uses his research outputs to drive his prodigious extension program. This includes 430 presentations, primarily to farmer and pest control advisor audiences, to total attendances of over 32,000 people.”

Another wrote, “In our opinion, Mr. Haviland has proven to be more intuitive, approachable, and accessible to the local agricultural industry than most. His presentations to growers and PCAs on the issues and outcome of his research have always been timely and on target and he continues to provide valuable information for our newsletters and other industry periodicals. We have experienced evidence of his hard work in getting all important findings, whether from his work or his peers, delivered to growers and PCA's quickly so that the information can be put to use. He has always been open to our pest management concerns, very creative in developing management strategies, available to answer questions, and provides leadership and outreach for new information and research findings.”

Other UC colleagues also received awards from ESA's Pacific Branch:

• Award for Excellence in Teaching- William Walton, UC Riverside 
• Distinction in Student Mentoring- Jay Rosenheim, UC Davis
• Student Leadership Award- Jessica Gillung, UC Davis 

The awards were presented June 12 at the Pacific Branch Entomological Society of America meeting in Reno. 

Zalom named new editor-in-chief of journal

Frank G. Zalom, distinguished professor in the Department of Entomology and Nematology at UC Davis, will be the next editor-in-chief of the Journal of Economic Entomology, the largest of the Entomological Society of America's family of scientific journals.

“Dr. Frank Zalom's career can be viewed as a model of applied entomology derived from an understanding of basic biology, and he is an ideal choice to be the new editor-in-chief of the Journal of Economic Entomology," said ESA President Michael Parrella. "His unparalleled and broad expertise will serve to continue the journal's growth as the publication of choice for applied entomological research and to build upon the legacy of Dr. John Trumble [professor of entomology at UC Riverside]."

Zalom brings the experience of a 40-year career at the intersection of entomological research, teaching, and application. He served for 16 years as director of the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program and is the only entomologist in the UC system to ever receive a simultaneous appointment in teaching, research, and extension. His primary research focus has been on integrated pest management of agricultural crops.

"My colleagues and I on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Economic Entomology are delighted to welcome Dr. Frank Zalom as the journal's next editor-in-chief. We could not have asked for a better candidate in terms of vision, dedication, reputation, experience, and integrity," says Xuguo Zhou, associate professor of entomology at the University of Kentucky and chair of the Journal of Economic Entomology Editorial Board

"And we also express our deep gratitude to Dr. John Trumble, whose tireless work ethic and unerring leadership have driven JEE to such great success for so long," said Zhou.

Zalom will take on a five-year term as editor-in-chief.

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