Break's over; back to work! The meetings have resumed. It was very nice however to hear voices in the ANR building this week. While a number of us have been in regularly, it has been rather quiet. Perhaps we are turning a corner, with more people coming in on a steady basis. Booster shots perhaps increase the comfort level. I even had two consecutive meetings in person this week! Well worth the masking. Even introverts are ready to resume some human connection.
The ANR Governing Council met by Zoom this week. The meeting was only 2 hours long with a number of guests from UC Santa Cruz and UC Merced joining us. Two hours wasn't quite enough time to complete the agenda items but there was good discussion.
In other meetings, Monday started off with the second meeting of a National Academy committee. Like the first meeting held last week, this one was 3 hours long. We have two more 3-hr meetings before the winter break. I like the fact that this committee will wrap up before August. Other panels I have served on have been closer to a year in duration. But this one is about best practices for building sustained partnerships so not as controversial as estimating air emissions from animal feeding operations. It's a nice change.
The week has several ECOP meetings scattered throughout, in addition to the first Friday CD and REC director meeting. In addition, there's a discussion about a novel partnership opportunity that finishes the week. Overall, not a bad way to come off a 4-day break.
The best news so far this week is that the first of the released CE Advisor positions has been filled! Congratulations to AHR and the search committee for identifying a stellar candidate to serve as a Viticulture Advisor! There are a few more offers out for other positions, so it is just a matter of time before I regularly welcome new faces in new places. Very exciting and the result of long term efforts! The Vice Provost position is under recruitment as well. I very much look forward to filling that position to help ensure career success at UC ANR for our new hires.
Next week includes some much welcomed travel and, more importantly, a chance to see our programs in action. Long overdue…