The weekly, ag-oriented newspaper, Capital Press, ran a feature in its most recent issue on the new vice president of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Dan Dooley.
The article said Dooley declined when it was first suggested he interview for the position. But his response changed, according to the article, when he learned UC ANR was changing its approach.
"The department was seeking unconventional candidates who could approach the department's longtime budget difficulties creatively - largely by raising ANR's engagement with the state's growing environmental issues," the article says.
The story noted that California is facing growing environmental regulations and shrinking public funding. The current state budget shortfall comes after UC ANR's funding had already declined steadily for a decade. Dooley told the paper he created a task force to formulate a "direct strategy" for pursuing funding.
"I think we've got to get engaged," he is quoted. "We have a broader and more diverse (body of stakeholders) than anybody in the university."
Reporter Wes Wessander included quotes in the article from a winegrape growers association leader and a project manager with the Natural Resources Defense Council.
California Association of Winegrape Growers President Karen Ross:
"Agriculture needs to tackle so many issues that it didn't have to before. One person is being pulled 10 different directions because of the needs that are here that weren't 10 years ago."
NRDC's Jonathan Kaplan: "I think this is a very exciting time at the university with Dan's leadership. It's very unfortunate that Dan is walking into this job with the university staring at another round of budget cuts. He has talked about the need to make agriculture a higher-profile part of the university, and I think that is the right direction to go."
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