Only 3 hours spent on yard work this weekend and we had skipped last weekend. I think we've turned a corner and now have the gardens under control! For a while, it seemed that would never happen, but after many, many hours of hard work, it looks like the effort is going to pay off going forward. That's the case with many things – there's considerable upfront effort expended to reap the rewards later.
Last week we met with the UC Riverside CE Specialists. We always run short of time, but, overall, it was a good meeting. On the flight back, I started to imagine what it could be like if 330 academics valued the work of 400 community educators as they do their own. Then imagine that academics recognized that the work of other academics enhanced their work. Perhaps then the collective voice would work together for what each group wanted most. We all have an essential role in this organization, and while each group has its unique function, none succeeds without the other. There's work to be done to make that fantasy real.
This week the ANR Governing Council meets. These first meetings of the Council focus on our programs, our structure, our fund sources, and how funds are used. This week's meeting will include presentations from the UC Berkeley, Davis and Riverside deans about their use of the state and federal AES funds. In its entirety, the ANR budget is complicated. The information to be shared this week lays the groundwork for a more comprehensive understanding of the continuum of discovery to impact and all of the work it takes to accomplish all that ANR achieves.
Tomorrow the Academic Assembly Council Personnel Committee (AAC-PC) meets for the day. They have a long list of work ahead of them for the day. The purpose of the work is to pave the way for less stress in preparing annual evaluation and merit and promotion dossiers. Please thank the AAC-PC members for all of their efforts that will benefit every academic.