Posts Tagged: Advocacy

Legislators hear about UC ANR research, outreach to improve California

UC ANR held its annual advocacy day on April 10, meeting with state legislators to build awareness of how Californians are benefiting from its work across the state. The group, led by Vice President Glenda Humiston and Associate Vice President Brent Hales, met with Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, Assembly Agriculture Committee Chair Esmeralda Soria, Assemblymembers Vince Fong and Juan Alanis, and Senators John Laird, Bill Dodd and Anna Caballero.

They also met with the staff of President pro Tempore Mike McGuire, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, Senators Monica Limón, Steve Padilla, Roger Niello and Josh Becker, and Assemblymembers Bill Essayli, Cottie Petrie-Norris, Jesse Gabriel, Damon Connolly and Steve Bennett.

This year, Anne Megaro, government and community relations director, and Sheron Violini, associate director government and community relations, added a midday coffee break to showcase UC ANR's wildfire resiliency research and outreachand offer resources for legislative offices to share with their constituents in May, which is Wildfire Preparedness Month. Assemblymember Vince Fong sponsored the room in the Capitol for the briefing. Lenya Quinn-Davidson, Fire Network director, spoke about the importance of prescribed burns and forest management practices and associated job opportunities. Missy Gable, director of UC Master Gardener Program, described how UC ANR is helping communities become more resilient and prepared.

“Our knowledge and prepared outreach materials could be used by offices to help their constituents mitigate wildfire risk,” said Violini. “We garnered great interest from representatives of several caucuses and offices and we are already working with them to share information.”

In meetings with legislators and their staff, the UC ANR representatives shared a one-pager that included the new Luna UCR avocado, reducing food insecurity, and pest management in urban communities as well as on farms.

Humiston and Gabe Youtsey, chief innovation officer, discussed the merits of CropManage, an app used by growers to reduce water and fertilizer inputs while harvesting the same crop yields. The decision-support tool developed by Michael Cahn, UCCE irrigation and water resources advisor, will be showcased at the UC Innovation Fair at the state Capitol on May 8.

Cindy Chen, UC Cooperative Extension woody biomass and forest products advisor in the Central Sierra, and  Haris Gilani UCCE biomass and bioenergy advisor in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, described UC ANR's role in ARCHES, California's initiative to accelerate renewable hydrogen projects and the necessary infrastructure. The scientists are identifying ways to use biomass to provide energy and consumer products while creating job opportunities in rural areas.

To continue the learning relationship, they invited the legislators and staff to attend UC ANR events in their respective districts.

From left, Brent Hales, Assemblymember Juan Alanis, Lenya Quinn-Davidson, Haris Gilani and Anne Megaro.

Assemblymember Megan Dahle gave the group a tour of the Assembly Chamber.

UC goes to Washington

Vice President Glenda Humiston and Associate Vice President Brent Hales were joined by 19 UC ANR representatives for the Council for Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching and Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities Board on Agriculture Assembly joint conference Feb. 26-29 in Washington D.C.  

Collectively the UC group met with Rep. John Garamendi, staff representing 29 other congressional offices plus Josh Stull of USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. 

They visited the staff for Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler, both Senate and House agriculture committees, members on the House Agriculture Committee and Appropriations Committee, and members whose districts include UC ANR locations, AES campuses and research and extension centers. They urged support for scientists, research, infrastructure and nutrition education, showing examples of the impact with a two-page handout.  

“We shared specific examples of the high return on investment of federal dollars to UC ANR and the AES campuses,” said Anne Megaro, government and community relations director. “From new avocado varieties to 4-H benefits to youth, to our work on wildfire and hunger, and the vast network of volunteers, we could clearly point to UC's presence in every district.” 

Bill Frost, former UC ANR associate vice president and emeritus UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor, and Ish Herrera, interim California Forward CEO and executive director of the California Stewardship Network, volunteered their time to serve as UC ANR's CARET delegates to advocate on behalf of UC.

Helle Petersen, UC ANR regional director of Small Food and Farm Innovation; Dan Sanchez, UC Cooperative Extension specialist at UC Berkeley; Ricky Satomi, UCCE forestry and natural resources advisor for Sutter, Yuba, Placer, Nevada and Butte counties; and Laura Vollmer, UCCE community nutrition and health advisor in San Mateo, San Francisco and Santa Clara counties; served as subject matter experts.

Representatives from all five Agricultural Experiment Station campuses -- UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Riverside, UC Merced and UC Santa Cruz – also participated. 

For congressional staff who are working on reauthorizing the Farm Bill, the UC ANR delegates explained California's need for federal support for specialty crops, artificial intelligence, forestry, wildfire and nutrition programs. UC's Farm Bill priorities are outlined in a 16-page document. 

 

 

The UC ANR 2022 Annual Report is online

 

UC ANR's 2022 Annual Report is now live. The report highlights Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension projects that clearly contribute to UC ANR condition changes and public values, demonstrating the organization's vision to improve the lives of all 39 million residents in California.

“Kudos to all for giving us these impact stories,” Vice President Glenda Humiston said. “These are what capture stakeholders, lay audiences, legislators and policymakers at all levels. They want to know what's in it for them.”

The Program Planning and Evaluation unit collaborated with UC ANR academics, program staff, and Strategic Communications to compile more than 50 vignettes that highlight the impact of our organization statewide during 2022.

Feel free to publicize our efforts and impact by sharing the annual report via email or social media with friends, the public, policymakers and potential donors. The annual report is posted online on the UC ANR "About" page and the direct link is https://ucanr.edu/2022annualreport. A few printed copies of the annual report are available.

If you have any questions about the annual report, please contact Christina Becker at christina.becker@ucop.edu.  

 

Regents endorse proposed bond measure to fund investments in public K-12 and higher

The University of California Board of Regents endorsed Senate Bill 28 (SB 28), the Public Preschool, K–12, and College Health and Safety Bond Act of 2024, authored by State Sen. Steve Glazer (D-Orinda). 

If approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the bill would place a $15.5 billion general obligation bond on the state ballot in 2024 to provide capital support for public education, from preschool to college. 

Under the bill's provisions, the university would be allocated $2 billion, funds that would help it to enroll more California students, renovate teaching and research facilities, make needed seismic upgrades, and transition campuses to clean energy.  

“Thirty percent of all UC space is more than 50 years old,” UC President Michael V. Drake said in urging the Board of Regents to endorse the bill. “If approved, the GO [general obligation] bond would represent the biggest capital investment in the University of California in nearly 20 years. It would allow us to modernize classrooms and labs, make urgent seismic upgrades, and serve even more California students. This would be a much-needed investment in the safety and success of our students, our campuses, and the state.” 

UC campuses face significant fiscal challenges as they look to expand California student enrollment and renew aging facilities. UC's 2022-28 Capital Financial Plan, presented to the Board of Regents in Nov. 2022, identified $51 billion in unfunded capital needs for UC campuses and medical centers. A general obligation bond could help UC address those critical needs, UC leaders said. 

“Capital investments, like those envisioned by SB 28, are core to the university's success as a driver of economic growth and innovation across the state and they are also essential for creating unparalleled educational opportunities for California students,” said UC Regent Janet Reilly, who chairs the Regent's Public Engagement and Development Committee. “Investing in UC's future pays dividends to all Californians.” 

To appear on the ballot, general obligation bond bills, such as SB 28, must receive support from two-thirds of the state Legislature, and must then be signed by the governor. Once on the ballot, a simple majority of voters would decide whether to approve the bond. 

If SB 28 were to win voter approval, it would be UC's first general obligation bond since 2006. The legislation would offer important funding for campus-by-campus renewal efforts, such as renovation of existing classroom and lab space and construction of urgently needed housing for both graduate and undergraduate students.  

The University of California is committed to maintaining and building the necessary facilities for its students, faculty, staff and researchers to study, live and work, and for surrounding campus communities to thrive. The $2 billion provided under SB 28 would be a crucial down payment to addressing its capital needs, while working with local, state and federal governments to secure more community partnerships and funding support to benefit every student, UC leaders said. 

BACKGROUND:

General obligation Bonds (“GO Bonds”) are issued by the state to finance large capital projects such as construction, modernization, or renovation of educational facilities.

In 2006, the Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act (Proposition 1D) provided approximately $345 million per year for 2006-07 and 2007-08 to the university for the basic state-funded capital program. Prior to 2006, other bond acts were approved for UC in 2002 and 2004, Propositions 47 and 55, which provided the University with approximately $345 million per year for four years. 

Learn more about how a general obligation bond could help UC meet its unmet capital needs: https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/get-involved/capital-needs.

 

UC ANR thanks legislators for supporting UC ANR research and extension

Representatives of UCANR visited the legislative building in Sacramento for UCANR Advocacy Day on April 18 and engaged with members of the Legislature and staff to advocate for UC's budget priorities. Attendees included Glenda Humiston, vice president; Deanne Meyer, interim associate vice president; Anne Megaro, director of government and community relations;Sheron Violini, associate director of government and community relations; and Lara Schröder, graduate student assistant. They were joined by UC Cooperative Extension advisors, statewide program representatives and two 4-H youth State Ambassadors .

The UC ANR team visited 16 legislative offices and were honored to meet directly with Assemblymember Vince Fong and Senator John Laird.

UC ANR representatives provided insights into how UC ANR delivers applicable research tools and knowledge and adds value to local communities. Zheng Wang, UCCE vegetable crops advisor, shared how farmers in Stanislaus County have been able to increase their profits by growing grafted watermelons using the same amount of water for a greater yield, while Susie Kocher, forestry and natural resources advisor, talked about her workshops for small forest landowners to prevent catastrophic wildfires and to help recover after a wildfire. 4-H State Ambassadors Megna and Sruthi told their stories of how the youth development leadership program has improved their personal skills and also how they engage with low-income schools and introduce STEM and agriculture to elementary school students.

Amira Resnick, statewide director of community nutrition and health, Stephanie Mar, associate organic waste management advisor, and Hanif Houston, associate director of communications and marketing for The VINE, also shared success stories and how UC ANR has made significant progress within the past year. 

Resnick and Mar explained how UC ANR's nutrition and organic waste management programs teach Californians about nutrient dense foods, food preservation and composting. Houston highlighted how robots and drones play an important role in agriculture production. The UC ANR representatives also invited the legislators and staff to visit UC ANR's Elkus Ranch Environmental Education Center and UC ANR Research and Extension Centers in members' districts.

This valuable work is achieved through supportive state funding. These visits underlined the importance of the 5% base budget increase as currently proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom for the upcoming fiscal year and asked staffers and members to support the proposal.

A special highlight of the day was a short tour of the State Capitol. Thanks to Sheron Violini, the group viewed the governors' portraits, peeked into the Senate Floor and learned the history of the Reagan statue. 

Several follow-up opportunities stemmed from these meetings, and Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris is already planning to visit South Coast REC, and Assemblymember Vince Fong doesn't want to wait for the December citrus tasting to visit Lindcove REC. The government and community relations team is looking forward to extending future invitations for members to visit UC facilities, and especially to a forest management and prescribed burning tour at the Blodgett Forest Research Station.

The UC ANR representatives also met with legislative staff for Senators Josh Becker, Nancy Skinner, Dave Min, Marie Alvarado-Gil, Anna Caballero, Melissa Hurtado and Steve Padilla, and Assemblymembers Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, Reginald Jones-Sawyer, Carlos Villapudua, Robert Rivas, Luz Rivas and Juan Alanis.

 

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