Last week I discovered that United Airlines now includes in its announcements that you are not allowed to consume alcohol you brought on board during the flight. I have friends that will find this change a bit of a hardship. While not a big deal for me, I'd love to know that back story that elevated this long-time policy to be addressed in the announcements.
Last week we conducted 3 information sessions around the state; we have two remaining at the end of this week. The information provided is largely around one of the goals in the strategic plan that intends to align our programs and services with work that needs to happen in order to fully bring the 2025 Strategic Vision to life. Overall participants see the value of describing our work in aggregate in a way that conveys the long term benefit of our work to the general public (the ‘why')and using individual stories to describe the ‘what' and ‘how'. I think there may be hesitancy by some to adjust the ‘what' perhaps because of academic freedom or loyalty to long-time efforts. This is understandable but we won't know what the future holds until we work through the condition changes and indicators late summer and into the fall. What I do know is that the talent throughout UC ANR is well positioned to pivot as needed to meet emerging programmatic needs while allowing the individual to find more balance in their schedules. Quite a bit of the conversation seems to center on the function of Strategic Initiatives, Program Teams, Work Groups and Statewide Programs. Participation in Program Teams and Work Groups by Community Education Specialists/Program Reps seems variable. No doubt the work of this staff group is imperative to UC ANR and regardless of participation in planning and curriculum development activities as part of Work Group and Program Team meetings we need to continue to ensure that we are capturing the efforts of staff and volunteers, alike.
Congratulations to the Hopland REC, directed by Kim Rodrigues! She and the team will receive the Exemplary Service award from the Redwood Empire Fair Board in recognition of their community service. A very nice honor for a great group.
Welcome to Vikram Koundinya, Assistant Specialist in Evaluation in the Department of Human Ecology at UC Davis. Dr. Koundinya starts on August 1st and will work in the area of evaluation (process and impact assessment) of programs, policies, institutions, community development processes, and other domains.
There's no Program Council this month. But Tuesday is a special VP Council meeting in Oakland. President Napolitano will attend for a portion of the meeting and VP Council submitted questions to be asked of the President during the limited amount of time she is able to participate. While obviously her schedule keeps her on the move, it is fortunate that VP Council will have an opportunity to hear from her.