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Posts Tagged: regents
Regent Estolano, Senator Caballero tour UCCE Fresno
“UC ANR touches the lives of thousands of people in rural communities and urban centers alike,” said state Senator Anna Caballero, after meeting UC Cooperative Extension staff and stakeholders in Fresno County. Caballero joined UC Regent Cecilia Estolano for a tour Sept. 25 to see results of ANR's work with small-scale farmers, 4-H youth and UC Master Gardener volunteers.
“On my tour, I saw how ANR is a valuable partner across generations and communities for Californians who grow our food, and green our neighborhoods,” Estolano said. “From urban 4-H chapters to Master Gardeners to culturally connected crop advisors and nutritional instructors, ANR is keeping California on the leading edge of agriculture, health and healing.”
Joined by Vice Provost Mark Bell, UCCE Fresno County Director Karmjot Randhawa, and Anne Megaro, government and community relations director, Caballero and Estolano began the tour with a visit to the Thao family farm, where they learned about specialty crops – such as jujubes and moringa – grown in the area by Southeast Asian farmers. UCCE farm advisor Ruth Dahlquist-Willard described growing and marketing moringa and her work to help bring resources to disadvantaged farmers to help improve their prosperity. Michael Yang, UCCE Hmong agricultural assistant, talked about delivering UCCE information to farmers in Hmong via his radio program.
Next, they visited Street Saints, a program of the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission, and learned how they created an afterschool program to keep low-resource youth in Southwest Fresno safe. The Street Saints, who partnered with 4-H, described for the senator and regent how they promote healthy choices to deter young people from engaging in gang activity in their urban setting. Using 4-H's evidence-based curricula, Street Saints offers a safe place for youth after school where participating youth develop employment skills through 4-H activities such as sewing classes, STEM Teen Teachers, “Mindful Me” to improve physical and emotional health, and working in a community garden.
“It was exciting to see the interaction between the senator and regent with the UCCE stakeholders,” Randhawa said. “Both seemed really engaged in the work and asked questions. It's vital for them to see how we engage with the community and how the community amplifies the research and support we provide. They met small farmers and 4-H members who have built businesses based on their work with 4-H and Cooperative Extension. They met with Master Gardeners. It was fantastic for them to experience, rather than be told, how we deliver ANR's mission.”
Megaro got the impression Caballero and Estolano enjoyed meeting some of the Californians who have bettered their lives by participating in ANR programs.
“I think they both knew us mostly for our rural agricultural work, but this tour really showed them how we're active and present in urban communities to effect change and how we partner with community-based organizations to further our reach.” Megaro said. “We also talked about how the sites we visited were just one example of the programs and services we provide throughout the state, and how we are looking to increase resources so we can build out our programs to serve more people.”
Regent: ‘What ANR does and its reach is really exciting to me’
“I just wanted to say how excited I am to hear your presentation. ANR is a part of UC I know the least about and just to get a taste of what ANR does and its reach is really exciting to me,” Regent Lark Park said to VP Glenda Humiston.
Humiston delivered an overview of UC ANR to the UC Board of Regents during their July 18 meeting at the UCSF–Mission Bay Conference Center.
The regents appeared inspired by the description of Californians throughout the state benefiting from UC ANR research and outreach. Following her presentation, Humiston answered questions and offered to give interested regents tours of ANR activities. She immediately received requests.
“You do so many valuable things, not only in the agricultural community, but as you highlighted, a lot of times in the urban areas,” Regent Richard Leib said to Humiston.
Turning to his fellow regents, Leib asked, “How do we get this message out to the policymakers, to the legislators who are funding these projects? Because it's such a valuable thing that the organization is doing, but unless you've been touched by it, you might not know it's UC.”
Chair John Perez agreed, saying, “I think your frame is the right one. There are counties where we don't have a campus, but we have a presence.”
Park requested an ANR tour, saying, “You really opened my eyes to the importance of ANR to our overall mission and all the public policy problems facing the state. I'm really excited to learn more and advocate more for this.”
Anne Megaro, government and community relations director, is working with leadership to plan tours for regents in Fresno, the Napa-Sonoma area and Southern California.
Watch a 30-minute video of Humiston's presentation and the UC regents' comments following her presentation at https://youtu.be/0sdYykYgakI.
UC Merced chancellor, 4-H’er and VP discuss community outreach with regents
UC VP Glenda Humiston, 4-H member Melina Granados of Riverside County and UC Merced Chancellor Dorothy Leland gave the UC regents a presentation about UC ANR's community outreach and impact. The Public Engagement & Development Committee meeting was held at the UCSF–Mission Bay Conference Center on Jan. 24, 2018, in San Francisco.
Opening the discussion, Humiston gave an overview of ANR, explaining that for 150 years ANR has been bringing the power of UC directly to the people in all California counties. Melina, who was born in Mexico, talked about her role as president of the Eastside Eagles 4-H club and what she has learned. Leland described joint projects between UC Merced and ANR in climate adaptation, nutrition and drone technology research.
Watch the 25-minute recording of the UC ANR presentation to the regents below, or visit https://youtu.be/ptFS8HwlsjE.
UC Irvine director of technology named next Staff Advisor-Designate to the Regents
Valdry will join Staff Advisor LaWana Richmond, a senior business analyst from UC San Diego, in bringing the voice and perspective of staff and non-Senate academic employees to Board of Regents deliberations. Staff Advisor Deidre Acker, a director of campus climate at UC Merced, completes her two-year appointment on June 30.
“Jason's longtime involvement in staff issues at Irvine, combined with his genuine passion for helping staff — and the university as a whole — be their best will be a great addition to our discussions,” President Janet Napolitano said. “I'm confident he'll be able to provide the staff perspective we need and I look forward to working with him.”
President Napolitano selected Valdry following a systemwide search. A selection committee, which included systemwide and campus leadership as well as current and former staff advisors, reviewed applications and selected finalists for the president's consideration.
Valdry earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from UC Irvine. His love of the campus's culture, sense of community and people prompted him to choose his alma mater as the place to build his career. After completing his undergraduate work 18 years ago, his first job on campus was a help desk administrator, before he became an assistant director of technology. Today, Valdry is director of technology services at UC Irvine's Claire Trevor School of the Arts.
Valdry volunteered on campus workgroups and committees, including a campus budget committee and a workgroup on strategic planning, to help tackle local challenges. He joined the UC Irvine Staff Assembly in 2011, serving as chair in 2013-14, and served on the Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Staff and as a delegate to the Council of UC Staff Assemblies.
“I realized there were things about the university that weren't perfect, and I felt I should take action, that I should try to help change things,” Valdry said.
Through these experiences, he learned that some inefficiencies are not limited to UC Irvine; instead, they affect multiple campuses or are systemwide. He decided to apply for the staff advisor role to try to better address these challenges on a broader scale.
As staff advisor-designate, Valdry said he looks forward to connecting with staff across the system to better understand their issues, concerns and ideas for potential solutions. He also plans to reach out to the university's many affinity groups to learn what is top of mind for them.
“There are over 140,000 people and I can't possibly know what they know so I'm excited about talking to staff to learn what their issues and ideas are,” Valdry said. “I want to find a way to bridge the gap between employees and the regents in a way that makes communication more effective, and that informs (the regents') discussions.”
As a champion of lifelong learning, Valdry also plans to advocate for increased professional development for staff, including supervisor training both for current supervisors and employees who want to be on the management track.
“Good supervisors can make you want to stay. Bad supervisors make you want to leave,” Valdry said. “I hope we can make progress with helping all managers be great supervisors. Just because you're a supervisor, the training doesn't stop there. You have to continue your education so you're prepared to deal with new issues.”
You can learn more about the role of the staff advisors, including how to contact Richmond and Valdry, on the Staff Advisor to the Regents website.
Application period for staff advisor to the Regents begins
The UC Office of the President has announced the opening of the application period for the next staff advisor-designate to the Regents. The position's term runs July 2015 through June 2017.
The staff advisor program allows for two staff or non-Senate academic employees to participate in open sessions of the Board of Regents as well as designated committees of the board. The staff advisors bring the voice and perspective of staff and non-Senate academic employees to board deliberations.
The current staff advisors to the regents are Donna Coyne, associate director of admissions at UC Santa Barbara, whose two-year term will expire in June, and, Deidre “De” Acker, ombuds at UC Merced, who began her term in July 2014.
“Serving as staff advisor is an opportunity to ensure staff input is considered in decision-making at the highest level,” Coyne said. “As a staff advisor, you can have a real impact in guiding UC forward.”
All employees are encouraged to learn more about the program at the staff advisor website. Questions about the staff advisor position or the application process should be directed to Juliann Martinez, UCOP Employee Relations, at (510) 287-3331 or Juliann.Martinez@ucop.edu. Applications will be accepted through March 6, 2015.
About staff advisors to the Regents
A continuing goal of the UC Regents is to foster two-way communication between UC staff and the board. In January 2007, the Regents voted unanimously to establish positions for two staff advisors to participate in their deliberative process and to provide a staff perspective on matters coming before the board.
One new staff advisor is selected each year for a two-year term. The staff advisors serve as non-voting advisors to designated Regents' committees; they attend and participate directly in committee and board meetings throughout their term of service, and visit many of the campuses to solicit input from staff. Staff interested in public policy, advocacy and understanding the future direction of the university are encouraged to apply.
