Time just flies by – and I seem to get further and further behind on things, despite my best efforts! Sound familiar? I consider myself proficient in time use but am always open to ideas how to become more efficient in accomplishing tasks. If anyone has some tips, I would love to hear them.
At Program Council this week we had a presentation from Brad Hanson about the Research and Information Centers. After almost a year at UC ANR, I have only recently been exposed to these information hubs. What a great platform to pull together expertise across UC ANR (multi-campus, multi-county, UCCE, AES) and lead delivery of on-demand, science-based information to clients everywhere. I'm looking forward to some plane time so that I can dig into the 2016 annual report Brad provided and learn more about the reach and impact of the RICs. The discussion hit on topics that are likely pervasive throughout UC ANR; that is, keeping content current, resource allocation to manage content, and making information easy to find. At the end of the day it's all about the end-user – determining how best to make it easy for that end-user to find trusted information and tools that translates to making a difference. And the greater our reach, the bigger the difference we can make. Efficiency is at least a piece of the equation. Competition doesn't have to be.
Program Council discussed the differences between academics with and without equivalent status. Not surprising there was strong commitment to the fact that the work of UCCE academics is as important as that of academics with professorial and agronomist titles. We talked through a matrix that outlined differences and similarities between different titles and I think we all learned some things. We also talked about the 2018 position call process and affirmed the value of broad input to identify position needs as well as thoughts around providing some guidance about broad based groups vetting ideas early as a means of helping Program Council prioritize the many needs within the division. The Program Council will also look at ways to gain more of a statewide perspective and assessment of strengths and gaps as part of the upcoming process. More discussion is needed on this topic. Other topics were identified for upcoming meetings. Each month it seems like we should end early on the second day of Program Council – we start out ahead and then slowly lose time as the day progresses. But the discussions are robust and there doesn't seem to be a shortage of topics. It leaves me with a long list of ideas to ponder for action.
It's time to look forward to rain now; quite a change from a few months ago. If it doesn't rain soon I am going to have to find a car wash before it is impossible to tell that the license plates are finally changed.