Posts Tagged: scholarships

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.

 

 

Three scholarships to study agriculture offered, nominations due May 18

Three scholarships are being offered to college students majoring in agriculture by the University of California's Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The scholarships will be awarded for the fall 2018 semester or quarter. The deadline to apply or nominate for the scholarships is May 18, 2018.

KNOWLES A. RYERSON AWARD IN AGRICULTURE

Amount:  $2500 – two awarded each year, one each at UC Berkeley and UC Davis

The Knowles A. Ryerson Award in Agriculture is awarded annually to a foreign undergraduate student in a college of agriculture at UC Berkeley and UC Davis, in any curriculum, preferably after completion of the junior year. Students must be nominated by UC faculty or academic advisors. The $2,500 award is made on the basis of high scholarship, outstanding character and promise of leadership. One recipient will be selected from the Berkeley campus and one from the Davis campus.

HOWARD WALTON CLARK PRIZE IN PLANT BREEDING AND SOIL BUILDING

Amount:  $5,000 – one awarded each year

The Howard Walton Clark Prize in Plant Breeding and Soil Building is given to a senior student in a college of agriculture at UC Berkeley, UC Davis or UC Riverside who seems to show the greatest promise. Students must be a senior at some point during the 2018-19 academic year and nominated by UC faculty or academic advisors. Selection for the $5,000 scholarship is based on high scholastic achievement, talent for independent research and other characteristics, with particular reference to either plant breeding (leading to new/improved crops and new/improved varieties using appropriate tools) or soil building (leading to improving soil quality related to soil productivity and sustainability as a resource).

BILL AND JANE FISCHER VEGETATION MANAGEMENT SCHOLARSHIP

Amount: $1,000 – one awarded each year

The $1,000 Bill and Jane Fischer Vegetation Management Scholarship will be given to promising students with demonstrated interest in vegetation management (weed control) careers. Students from any accredited California university are eligible, with preference given to graduate students. The recipient will have an academic major and emphasis in one of the following areas (listed in order of preference): 

• Vegetation management in agricultural crop production;
• Plant science with emphasis on vegetation management in horticultural crops, agronomic or vegetable crops;
• Soils and plant nutrition with emphasis on field, vegetable crop relationships;
• Agricultural engineering with emphasis on developing tools for vegetation management;
• Agricultural botany with emphasis on weed biology and weed ecology;
• Plant pathology with emphasis on integrated vegetation management;
• Plant protection and pest management with emphasis on field, vegetable, or horticultural crop relationships; or
• Agricultural economics with emphasis on vegetation management in field, vegetable or horticultural crops.

For more information about the scholarships and nomination and application processes, visit http://ucanr.edu/Development_services/Awards_and_scholarships.

 

UC ANR Staff Assembly offers scholarships for staff

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.

This year's award dates are for courses taken between May 1, 2017, and April 15, 2018. Deadline for applications is close of business April 15, 2018. Late applications will not be accepted. Courses taken after April 15, 2018, will be eligible for reimbursement on the next scholarship cycle of April 16, 2018, to Nov. 30, 2018.  

Scholarship criteria:

• Funding up to $499, dependent on amount of eligible applications received. 
• Training activities must occur between May 1, 2017 and April 15, 2018.
• Scholarship allocation will be considered only for successfully completed training activities. Proof of completion with a passing grade must accompany applications for courses or seminars (i.e. grade report, transcript, certificate, etc.)
• Applications must be submitted by close of business April 15, 2018. Late applications will not be accepted.
• Receipts for all eligible expenses are required for reimbursement and must be submitted with application.
• Applications received incomplete or without required documentation will not be considered.
• The UC ANR Staff Assembly Council will review applications within 30 days of application close date. Award recipients will be notified within 60 days and receive reimbursement checks when notified.

For more information, please visit the Staff Assembly website http://staffassembly.ucanr.edu/Scholarships.

UC ANR Staff Assembly scholarships now available

The UC ANR Staff Assembly Council is pleased to announce the 2017-18 Scholarship program.

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.

This year's award dates are for courses taken between May 1, 2017, and April 15, 2018. Deadline for applications is close of business April 15, 2018. Late applications will not be accepted. Courses taken after April 15, 2018, will be eligible for reimbursement on the next scholarship cycle of April 16, 2018, to Nov. 30, 2018.  

For complete details please go to the UC ANR Staff Assembly website: http://staffassembly.ucanr.edu/News.

Last year's scholarship recipients were Jerry Harris, office manager for UCCE San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, and Ria Debiase, pest management guidelines coordinator for the UC IPM Program in Davis.  Here's what they have to say about their experience:  

1. Tell us about yourself – Where do you work, what do you do, are you a county-paid or UC-paid employee?

Jerry Harris: My name is Jerry Harris. I am a county-paid employee and work for San Luis Obispo County. My position is the administrative services officer II, which can be translated as office manager. I handle all the administrative functions of the office and many other tasks as needed.

Ria Debiase: I work for UC IPM in the ANR building on Second Street. I am the pest management guidelines coordinator.

2. How did you hear about the UC ANR Staff Assembly scholarship program?

Jerry Harris: One of the members of the Staff Assembly informed me of the program.

Ria Debiase: During an ANR Staff Meeting where Matt Baur presented.

3. What class did you take and how does it relate to your professional development goals?

Jerry Harris: I am taking several classes as I work towards earning my bachelor's degree in business with an emphasis on accounting. I earned my associates degree in accounting back in 2012.  The junior level classes that I have completed for this scholarship have been: public administration, team building and intro to organization behavior, which I passed with two Bs and one A. All three of those classes were taken at National University. These classes helped me in my progress in earning my degree and are all with the intent to work towards achieving advancement in my career.

Ria Debiase: I took an intermediate stats class, which helped me gain a better understanding of the statistical soundness of papers I use as research for the guidelines. 

4. Was it difficult to apply for the scholarship funds?

Jerry Harris: No, it was pretty straightforward process.

Ria Debiase: The main challenge was some glitchiness in turning in copies of my receipts through File Vault. The completed course requirement was also a challenge, in that there are some courses I would only consider if the scholarship money was approved ahead of time. Otherwise the process was fairly straightforward.

Note from Staff Assembly: For future application submissions, Staff Assembly Council now requests copies of receipts via email instead of through the file transfer process. 

5. Will you apply for scholarship funds in the future?

Jerry Harris: Absolutely.

Ria Debiase: Yes, definitely. 

6. Would you recommend the scholarship program to other employees? 

Jerry Harris: Yes, this program really helps to offset the expensive costs of higher education.

Ria Debiase: Yes!

UC ANR and AgStart receive $500,000 to cultivate the VINE

California is constantly being challenged by pest invasions, obesity, labor shortages, water scarcity, food insecurity, climate change and more. To accelerate the development and adoption of technologies that address these challenges and advance food, agriculture and natural resources in California, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources and AgStart will receive a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to cultivate the Verde Innovation Network for Entrepreneurship (the VINE).

Like a grapevine, the VINE will connect existing clusters of innovation across California and link entrepreneurs with mentors, advisors, collaborators, events, competitions, education and other services to turn good ideas into products and services people can use. 

“We want to make sure every Californian has the support system to take a novel idea and commercialize a new product or start a new business,” said VP Glenda Humiston. “They don't have to be a university inventor, they could be a farmer or a young person.”

AgStart itself was established with an EDA i6 Challenge grant to assist agriculture and food technology entrepreneurs in the Sacramento Valley region. Since 2012, AgStart has supported more than 58 entrepreneurs and their companies.

“In 2016, of the 16 entrepreneurial companies that AgStart assisted, eight resided outside our region, and leveraged AgStart's program to make connections into our Sacramento Valley region,” said John Selep, president of AgTech Innovation Alliance, AgStart's sponsor. 

“The VINE will expand this AgStart model of connecting entrepreneurs to the resources they need to be successful, to enable entrepreneurs residing anywhere in California to connect to the clusters of resources, contacts, mentors and potential partners that have emerged across the state,” said Selep.  

Gabriel Youtsey, UC ANR chief innovation officer, said the VINE won't recreate the wheel. 

 “There are many wonderful regional innovation hubs in food, agriculture and natural resources so we plan to bring value by amplifying their efforts, connecting regions and organizations into a more cohesive ecosystem, and bringing value-added resources that ultimately benefit all Californians through the innovations affecting our economic prosperity, food supply and environment,” Youtsey said.

UC Cooperative Extension specialists and advisors, who work in every county, can provide insight into real-world conditions that entrepreneurs should consider in the development stage. UC ANR's nine research and extension centers can provide locations to field-test products and demonstrate their effectiveness. For example, start-up Blue River is testing its technology by flying a drone over sorghum crops to collect data at the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Parlier.

“The VINE is really exciting because of its potential to unite all the regions of California in an innovation ecosystem for food, agriculture and natural resources,” said Youtsey. “Not only will it help bridge the Silicon Valley and Bay Area with California's food-producing valleys, but it will bring opportunities for our innovators and entrepreneurs in rural communities in every part of California to participate.”

For the last two years, UC ANR has hosted the Apps for Ag hackathon and has introduced the winners to mentors, tech industry advisors, farmers, funders and legal experts who can advise entrepreneurs on business structure.

The VINE, which is working with UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health and Valley Vision, is being structured to complement other efforts to establish food, agriculture, and natural resources incubation and innovation resources in cluster locations around the state, such as the BlueTechValley Regional Innovation Cluster, the Western Growers Innovation & Technology Center, UC Merced's VentureLab and others.

Youtsey and Selep are seeking more VINE partners with expertise across the business spectrum.

“If our vision is successful, the VINE will make California the most fertile region in the world for entrepreneurs in ag and food technology to establish themselves, to prosper and grow,” Selep said.

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