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Posts Tagged: travel expenses
IRS lowers mileage reimbursement rates
Effective Jan. 1, 2020, the university's mileage reimbursement rates for expenses incurred in connection with the business use of a private automobile will decrease in accordance with the Internal Revenue Service standard mileage rates published in IRS Notice 2019-215.
- The reimbursement rate for the use of a private automobile for university business travel will decrease from 58 cents per mile to 57. 5 cents per mile.
- The reimbursement rate for driving an automobile in connection with a move or relocation will decrease from 20 cents per mile to 17 cents per mile.
The mileage calculator in AggieTravel has been adjusted to reflect the new rate.
Delivering hope in the midst of loss
Between the Camp Fire in Butte County and the Woolsey Fire in Southern California in November, most ANR members have been affected in some way by the devastating wildfires. Several have experienced major personal losses that they are still dealing with.
While the Camp Fire was still raging on Nov. 14, Emily Symmes, director of UCCE in Butte County, wrote:
“As you can imagine, due to the destruction of nearly the entire town of Paradise and other ridge communities, all of our employees have numerous friends, family, and loved ones who have lost their homes and all of their belongings, as evacuations were so sudden and urgent that most left with only what they could grab in minutes. As such, all have been affected to varying degrees. We have two direct staff members, Alexandra Falk (nutrition education specialist) and John Klepps (Honey Bee Tech Transfer Team) who lived in Paradise. Both have received confirmation that their homes were among those destroyed. They and their families and pets are now safe and have found temporary housing. Many in our extended network of 4-H and Master Gardener program participants and volunteers resided in Paradise have also been heavily impacted, losing everything.”
Among the Master Gardener volunteers in Paradise who lost their houses is Bob DiPietro and his wife, parents of Damon DiPetro of ANR's IT team. Damon's sister and her family also lost their house.
Colleagues have asked how to help.
Emergency resources for UC employees
In response to queries, the Staff Assembly has posted information on their website about the impact of the Camp Fire on our ANR employees and their families at http://staffassembly.ucanr.edu/Resources_/Emergency_Resources_/. Earlier in the year, they posted similar information for those impacted by the Mendocino fires and have committed to maintain Emergency Services information on their website whenever any UC ANR employees are impacted.
Emergency support is also available to UC employees from the university's benefit plans https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/2018/11/emergency-support-from-ucs-benefit-plans.html.
UC ANR assists Camp Fire survivors
In the midst of their own losses, UCCE staff in Butte County and neighboring counties have been reaching out to assist community members. For example, Ryan Cleland, 4-H representative, has been working with the 4-H community since Nov. 8, the day the Camp Fire erupted, to coordinate assistance and volunteerism. He is providing vetted and frequently updated information on where evacuated and displaced people can find help and how other community members can volunteer, donate and contribute.
The UCCE nutrition education team has been assisting with meal preparation at shelters, and also with volunteering at indoor youth activities available through the shelters and the local area recreation district.
Other UCCE staff and advisors have been volunteering where needed – helping gather and deliver supplies, volunteering at human shelters and animal shelters, helping out at the numerous meal centers that have popped up.
UC Master Gardener volunteers have been reaching out to fellow Master Gardeners who have lost their homes or remain evacuated to offer housing and other support.
Tracy Schohr, UCCE livestock and natural resource advisor in Plumas and Sierra counties, has been helping care for large animals in the evacuation zone.
The forestry, fire and natural resource advisors have ongoing fire safety research and education programs, coordinating with fire safe councils, and working with other agencies to assist in recovery and become better prepared for natural disasters.
UC ANR raises $121,000 on Giving Tuesday
Thanks to everyone who participated, UC ANR's #GivingTuesday campaign was a resounding success.
“We surpassed our stretch goal of $100,000,” Emily Delk, director of Annual Giving and Donor Stewardship, announced jubilantly before 5 p.m. on Giving Tuesday, as she rang a bell and the Development Services team and other ANR staff members cheered.
As of 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 27, #GivingTuesday 2018 donors had contributed $121,000 to UC ANR, including approximately $81,000 for the California 4-H Youth Development Program.
“Our team is still tallying numbers,” Delk said, “However, we are confident to report that we raised over $121,000 for the UC ANR network. This is a phenomenal response of generosity from 342 donors.”
With generous contributions from the President's Advisory Commission, staff and donors, the first $10,000 of donations to UC ANR were doubled. The 4-H Foundation had $25,000 in matching funds.
“A huge congratulations is in order for the Development Services team, all of the Statewide Program Leaders, county directors, the many, many donors and everyone else involved in making the day a success!” wrote Wendy Powers, associate vice president, in her ANR Adventures blog.
In addition to raising money, the #GivingTuesday social media campaign helps raise the visibility of ANR programs and awareness that programs such as the 4-H Youth Development Program are part of the University of California.
“Giving days are driven by social media and the rise of crowd funding is a powerful way to invite new donors to support our work,” Delk said.
The UC Master Gardener Program team made a video of the “unselfies” posted on social media by their supporters: https://youtu.be/PI-rKJikTD0.
Via video, VP Glenda Humiston thanked donors for supporting UC ANR: https://youtu.be/x3Z1LFhx5pc
The staff engagement in the campaign was bigger and better than ever before thanks in part to fun incentives. As a token of appreciation, members of Development Services delivered balloons to donors in the ANR building in Davis.
As an added incentive, UC IPM Director Jim Farrar committed to eating a pest if at least 20 people made a donation of $10 or more to UC IPM. On Wednesday, Nov. 28, all UC IPM donors were invited to participate in the special pest-eating event in the UC ANR building, where Farrar talked about and consumed corn smut, a roasted grasshopper and a live meal worm.
“Giving Tuesday gives us an opportunity to talk about our research and outreach to enhance food systems and create thriving communities, as well as all the other positive things everyone in ANR is doing to make life better for Californians,” Humiston said.
“We appreciate everyone's cooperation in this fundraising effort as we work to build a healthy culture of philanthropy,” Delk said.
UC ANR rolls out UCPath training tools
With UC ANR's go-live date of UC Path approaching in March/April 2019, ANR's Change Network Committee has been compiling useful resources for you. In addition to offering monthly webinars, these resources are meant to familiarize you with the new systemwide HR and payroll-reporting system that will serve all UC employees.
UCPath training and other resources are being developed and will be available for ANR HR and payroll processors, unit managers and supervisors, fiscal officers/business managers and other employees at ANR's UCPath website: http://ucpath.ucanr.edu/training_resources.
Resources on the website will include a glossary, job aids, e-learning videos, instructor-led training, user simulations and Zoom webinars.
Employees may view a short video summary of the new employee self-service portal that will be available to employees when UCPath goes live at UCPath Employee Self Service.
Managers can view a short video summary of the new self-service portal that will be available to managers and supervisors when UCPath goes live. UCPath Manager Self Service.
Please note that the most expedient method for receiving pay on established UC pay dates will be via UC's direct deposit process. Verify your home address and paycheck delivery method in UC At Your Service Online (AYSO) at https://atyourserviceonline.ucop.edu.
After UCPath goes live, employees who are signed up to receive paper checks will receive checks sent to home addresses through U.S. Postal Service mail from a check distribution center in Arizona. Paychecks may take several days to arrive in the mail after the UC pay date. We encourage all employees to register in advance for direct deposit, if possible, at the following website: http://directdeposit.ucdavis.edu. It may take up to two pay periods for direct deposit to take effect.
For more information on UCPath, check the UC ANR UCPath website http://ucpath.ucanr.edu.
If you have questions or comments about UCPath or training, please post them on https://ucanr.edu/UCPath/ or send the ANR UCPath team an email at ucpath@ucanr.edu.
Names in the News
Schilder named director for UCCE Ventura and Hansen REC
Annemiek Schilder joined ANR on Aug. 1, 2018, as director of UCCE Ventura County and Hansen Agricultural Research and Extension Center. She hails from the Netherlands, where she grew up in an extended family of dairy and field crop farmers. Her grandfather, who farmed well into his 90s, inspired her to follow a career in agriculture.
Schilder studies small fruit pathology, mycology, applied virology, plant disease diagnostics, integrated pest management and organic and sustainable disease management.
She joins UC ANR from Michigan State University, where she was associate professor from 2006 to 2018 and an assistant professor from 1998 to 2005 in the Department of Plant Pathology and Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences. At MSU, Schilder was responsible for research, extension and teaching of sustainable disease management in small fruit crops, such as grapes, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and cranberries. She studied the diagnosis, epidemiology and integrated control methods for major fungal and viral diseases of these crops, and worked closely with entomologists, horticulturists, plant breeders, agricultural economists, extension educators, and growers to develop a holistic approach to plant health. Schilder also holds an adjunct faculty appointment in the Department of Plant, Food and Environmental Sciences at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada.
From 1994 to 1997, Schilder was a postdoctoral fellow at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan, Nigeria, researching legume and cassava diseases, seed health, and plant quarantine issues, and gaining an appreciation for the challenges faced by African farmers.
Schilder earned a Ph.D. and M.S. in plant pathology (cereal diseases) from Cornell University and a B.S. in agronomy from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She also studied plant sciences for a year at Wageningen Agricultural University in The Netherlands.
Schilder is based in Ventura and can be reached at (805) 662-6943 and amschilder@ucanr.edu.
Humiston named 2018 California Steward Leader
“I was really involved in the 1990s in trying to figure out how agriculture and environmental interests find common ground, as well as building bridges between rural and urban sectors," Humiston said. "In the 2000s, I started focusing on economic development and sustainability. In my current job, I'm bringing all of those together around the reality that sustainability truly has to be a triple bottom line. We've got to develop ways for people, the planet and prosperity to all thrive and enhance the synergies between them."
In nominating Humiston for the award, Sonoma County Supervisor James Gore wrote, “Glenda is a powerful and relentless advocate for triple bottom line prosperity. She has championed and delivered in every position I have seen her in. As one of the co-chairs/Steering Committee for the Economic Summit, she has ensured that working landscapes remains a driver for rural prosperity.”
“Glenda embodies what CA Forward and the California Stewardship Network are all about: empowering regional hubs to own their own future,” added Gore, who served with Humiston at the U.S. Department of Agriculture as presidential appointees under President Obama.
As co-chair of Elevate Rural California, Humiston is working on three main areas: biomass, rural broadband and water infrastructure. “We identified those issues at last year's summit and worked this year to identify where the opportunities were as well as options to pursue,” she said. “We're bringing that information to the summit this year to get people to really rally around those three issues and move forward working on implementation.”
CAPCA honors Koike
Steve Koike, emeritus UCCE advisor in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties and current lab director of TriCal Diagnostics, has been awarded the 2018 Outstanding Contribution to Agriculture Award from the California Association of Pest Control Advisers (CAPCA).
CAPCA gives the prestigious award to people who have made a meaningful difference in support of California agriculture.
“This honor recognizes the plant pathology research and problem-solving expertise that Steve provides to growers, PCAs and others in the agricultural industry,” said Mike Stanghellini, TriCal research director. “Steve's priorities, previously with UC Cooperative Extension and now with TriCal Diagnostics, are to be scientifically and technically correct in the lab as well as practical and useful in the field. He is pleased to continue to provide diagnostic services to the agricultural industry in California and other states, and he remains engaged in plant pathology research and investigations.”
