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4-H & Families
Chinese scientists tour California agriculture with UC ANR
To promote the exchange and sharing of agricultural extension information, several U.S. Land Grant institutions have formed an alliance with 10 Chinese agricultural universities. From June 17 to 22, UC ANR took a group of scientists from Chinese agricultural universities on a tour of agriculture in Northern California.
“The Chinese face many of the same issues that we do here in the U.S.,” said VP Glenda Humiston. “The Chinese universities want to improve rural economic development to lift up the quality of life for people in rural communities. They are also responding to global climate change, drought and pests while trying to improve food security and water use efficiency. They see UC Cooperative Extension as an effective research model; we hope that scientific collaborations will accelerate solutions and help maintain relations for California agriculture with China.”
The Chinese Extension Alliance Delegation included Song Hui, vice dean of the New Rural Development Research Institute of Northeast Agricultural University; Sun Wenpeng, professional extension personnel of Northeast Agricultural University; Luo Jian, associate professor of business at Hunan Agricultural University; He Minghui, associate professor of business at Hunan Agricultural University; and Li Peng, director of the Office of Invigorating Agriculture with Science and Education in the Department of Science and Technology.
The group toured Oregon agriculture with Oregon State University representatives, then drove from Klamath Falls with Humiston and Greg Gibbs and Rob Broadhurst of Development Services to begin the California tour at UC ANR's Intermountain Research and Extension Center in Tulelake. Rob Wilson, Intermountain REC director, showed them research being conducted on potatoes and mint breeding. From there, the group headed out to tour Shasta Dam.
In Redding, Larry Forero, UCCE director in Shasta County, and Rick Satomi, UCCE forest advisor, told the Chinese delegates about local research and outreach, then introduced them to 4-H youth and families at the Shasta District Fair, where 4-H members were bringing livestock for show.
UCCE advisors Josh Davy and Allan Fulton discussed orchards and water in Tehama County.
In Yuba City, UCCE director Janine Hasey and her staff gave the guests an overview of UCCE programs in Yuba and Sutter counties and plans for celebrating the office's 100th anniversary on Aug. 24. They met with UCCE pomology advisors, who gave them a tour of Sierra Gold Nurseries orchards and walnut rootstock research sites and discussed collaborations with growers.
Stephanie Larson, UCCE director in Sonoma County, drove the group around areas in Santa Rosa that burned in October and discussed UCCE's fire research and outreach to the community. The group also met with UCCE staff in Sonoma County to discuss food access, 4-H youth development, natural resources and wine grapes.
For a view of UC Cooperative Extension from the campus perspective, Mark Bell, vice provost of Strategic Initiatives and Statewide Programs, introduced the group to colleagues in the College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences at UC Davis. They met with Mimi Rose, program coordinator for international programs; Martin Smith, UCCE specialist in the Department of Human Ecology; Ron Tjeerdema, associate dean for Environmental Sciences; Bruce Linquist, UCCE rice specialist; Jim Hill, emeritus UCCE specialist; and Louise Ferguson, UCCE specialist and founder of the Fruit and Nut Research and Information Center.
Anne Megaro, director of governmental and community relations, introduced the group to Gail Feenstra, deputy director and food systems coordinator of UC ANR's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, and Sonja Brodt, academic coordinator. Then they toured the Russell Ranch Sustainable Agriculture Facility with soil science post-doc Daoyuan Wang and the UC Davis Student Farm with its director Katharina Ullmann.
“They have extension in China, but it is not like ours,” said Megaro. “They are looking to strengthen their advisor positions and develop a mechanism for career advancement, similar to what we have in the U.S.”
The Chinese Extension Alliance Delegation wrapped up their tour at UC ANR's offices in Davis to learn about UC ANR's statewide programs. Jim Farrar discussed the Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program, Missy Gable described the Master Gardener Program, Shannon Horrillo talked about the 4-H youth development program, Greg Ira explained California Naturalist; and Katie Panarella covered the Nutrition, Family and Consumer Sciences, Expanded Food Nutrition Education (EFNEP) and Master Food Preserver programs.
Humiston, who met with the China-US University-based Agricultural Extension Alliance in China in March of 2017, said, “We look forward to collaborating with our agricultural extension colleagues in China.”
See more photos of the tour at https://www.flickr.com/gp/151501801@N07/YVBqk6.
Join the July 19 UC ANR staff meeting
As part of an ongoing effort to share information across the whole UC ANR family, we will trial share (using Zoom) the monthly ANR Second Street staff meeting.
Employees outside the UC ANR Davis building will be welcome to join via Zoom (details below).
ANR staff meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. and have three elements
1. "UC ANR in action" – stories from the field and staff,
2. Updates from staff and leadership, and
3. "Learning" - such as health and safety training, etc.
The sessions are brief and to the point. Send suggestions for this or future meetings to Staff Assembly through your Staff Assembly Ambassadors.
The next meeting is July 19 at 1:30 p.m. Join by Zoom:
https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/124983401
(669) 900-6833 or (646) 558-8656
Webinar ID: 124 983 401
Learning and Development opportunities
Join us on Thursday, July 19, for “Communicating Science, Creating Trust” with UC Davis News Media and Relations Specialist Katherine Kerlin:
- Acquire an understanding of communication skills that can help build trust.
- Learn communication techniques adaptable to a variety of audiences.
- Learn approaches to discussing climate change with more and less receptive audiences.
https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/963167636
(646) 558-8656 or (669) 900-6833
Webinar ID: 963 167 636
Pilot mentoring program for staff coming to ANR soon!
Did you know that one of the goals of the ANR Strategic Plan 2016-20 was to establish mentoring partnerships for ANR employees? Yes, and planning is underway. Because of some differences between academic and staff mentoring objectives, Staff Human Resources and ANR Learning & Development is working on a staff mentoring program for now.
Why mentoring? Read an article How Mentoring Propelled My Career Forward posted in LinkedIn by UC President Janet Napolitano. She writes: “...find a good mentor. Look for someone who is genuinely interested in your long-term success and who will invest the time and energy to provide advice, guidance and feedback with candor.”
Stayed tuned for more on ANR's Staff Mentoring Program!
Call for applicants: Management Skills Assessment Program (MSAP)
Next program
October 8-11, 2018 @ the UCLA Lake Arrowhead Conference Center
How does this program work?
This program assesses the management skills of high potential, early career supervisors and managers for future leadership opportunities at the University of California. Discuss the program with supervisors and managers with 1-5 years of people management experience who exhibit potential for management development.
When are Applications due?
EXTENDED TO THURSDAY, July 5, 2018
Who is eligible?
Eligibility requirements include:
- Full-time career status with a current, satisfactory (or better) performance evaluation
- Career Tracks job classification as a supervisor or manager with 1-5 years' experience
Participants will be selected based on an evaluation of the applicant's (1) career goals in management, (2) level of skills essential for performing management functions, and (3) demonstrated career path and/or strong commitment to management skill development.
Who pays?
ANR Learning & Development pays (program cost $1350 PLUS transportation and other related travel costs)!
What to expect?
- A demanding program with assessees in activities from 8 am until 8 pm.
- No time to check email or attend to work responsibilities.
- Eat with other assessees and share small condos.
Application instructions and further information about the program are at http://msap.ucr.edu/. Choose UC ANR (not UC Davis) in the application.
A UC ANR committee will review all applications and make the final selection. Completed applications must be submitted online at http://msap.ucr.edu/ by EXTENDED TO THURSDAY, July 5, 2018
As supervisor, you will also have a required portion in the submission for application consideration and commit to participate in the required post-program activities.
For more information, contact Jodi Azulai, ANR Learning and Development Coordinator, at jlazulai@ucanr.edu.
Got Facilitation?
Have you ever participated in or led a meeting that was not effective or where it was not clear why you were meeting? That is where facilitation training comes in. An effective facilitator is a meeting architect who can help plan and/or lead a meeting so that desired goals are achieved.
Are you in need of a facilitator for your next meeting? Through various courses, ANR has graduated many people with training in facilitation. There are ANR Facilitators willing to help you with your next meeting.
In fact, in May a group of 17 ANR people participated in a Collaborative Facilitation Course instructed by Kim Ingram, Susie Kocher, and Linda Manton.
In this course participants learned how to
- Help a group free itself from internal obstacles so they may more effectively accomplish goals
- Guide a group to identify ways to respond to challenges, while maintaining safety and trust among the members
- Bring in processes to help the team achieve its charge
ANR Learning & Development hopes to support another Collaborative Facilitation course in FY18-19, so keep posted!
CNR welcomes David Ackerly as new dean
A skilled communicator and collaborator, Ackerly is an advocate for the notion that the university must cross traditional disciplines to better understand and address society's greatest challenges. His vision for CNR is to strengthen the links among its departments, to collaborate more closely with other academic leaders, and to partner with the campus and other deans to pursue major philanthropic funding opportunities. A devoted mentor himself, Ackerly has also expressed a strong desire to focus on enhancing the graduate and undergraduate student experience at CNR.
Trained as a plant ecologist and evolutionary biologist, Ackerly has most recently been working on programs that bring together multidisciplinary teams to explore broad research areas including the effects of climate change on biodiversity, the integration of phylogenetics and ecology, and novel approaches to conservation biology. In the past decade, as a senior fellow at the Berkeley Institute for Data Science and member of the Berkeley Initiative in Global Change Biology steering committee, he has been increasingly involved in data-intensive projects.
Ackerly received his B.A. in Biology from Yale University in 1984 and his doctorate from Harvard University in 1993. He is a fellow of the California Academy of Sciences and the Ecological Society of America, as well as a recipient of the Berkeley Graduate Division's Distinguished Faculty Mentor Award.
“I look forward to joining the community of innovative scientists, teachers, students, and staff at the College of Natural Resources,” said Ackerly. “CNR's interdisciplinary research and mission is helping to address the environmental and societal challenges facing our world, and I look forward to working with the College in the months and years ahead.”
In memoriam: Albert Paulus
Paulus was hired as an assistant Cooperative Extension agronomist in the Department of Plant Pathology (now Microbiology and Plant Pathology) at UC Riverside in 1954. Initially, he was one of only two CE plant pathologists in the entire state of California, retiring in 2001 at Full CE Step VIII.
Paulus performed applied research on the underlying mechanisms and control of plant diseases of strawberries, vegetables, ornamentals and subtropical crops. He was well-known for his broad knowledge and ability to tackle a wide range of diseases caused by fungi, oomycetes, viruses and bacteria. His booming voice, quick wit and self-deprecating manner were legendary in the department.
During his 47-year career, Paulus published 248 research and extension articles, book chapters, proceedings and reviews. He was a sought-after consultant, working with universities and governments on six continents. He received the Assembly Council Cooperative Extension Award, the UCR Chancellor's Founder's Award and the Hilgard Award from the Association of Farm Advisors and Specialists. He was also a Fellow of the American Phytopathological Society (APS) and served as President of the APS Pacific Division and as Director and Secretary of the APS Foundation. An APS student award bears his name.
Paulus is survived by his children, Lynda Ross, David Conrad, Diane Perkins and Karen Lake, 12 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
Read Paulus' full obituary at http://cnas.ucr.edu/2018-06-19_paulusobit.html.
