This is a bit of a sad time of year, when I learn of all the pending departures due to retirement. Don't get me wrong, I fully recognize the excitement associated with retirement. Bill, Lorna, and others keep me well aware of the advantages. I can't help but feel a bit sad about the exodus of talent and the possibility of not interacting with those who are moving on. Fortunately, we have this ‘recall' mechanism to prevent many from really ever getting too far away.
I heard from one of our emeriti, Rose, today. She alerted us that Mike Hsu and Pam Kan-Rice offered a webinar today for Extension Foundation about using Twitter and social media for media relations. Rose said it was “absolutely wonderful and nearly two dozen Extension professionals from around the nation participated. The UCANR team is so skilled at social media use, and really models positive things for other Extension organizations.” Thanks Pam and Mike for providing that training!
This is also the time of year when I am deep into reading merit and promotion packages. I have 8 remaining to read for my first review! Following, I start going through the supervisor comments, evaluator letters, ad hoc committee reviews, and Peer Review Committee recommendations. This first read through is my favorite part – hearing about the wonderful accomplishments, the aspirations, and the impact of those who have worked so hard to make a difference. Every year, I believe I share with you how nice it would be to share the narrative highlights with you. At least our Federal partners have the opportunity when they receive our annual impact highlights that is compiled by the Program Planning and Evaluation Team.
In other good news, the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) announced the recipients of the 2021 New Innovator in Food & Agriculture Research Award, an award granted to early career scientists supporting research in one of FFAR's Challenge Areas. Congratulations to Ellen Bruno, one of the recipients: Meeting future food needs requires effectively managing scarce groundwater. California is addressing this problem through the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which ensures better groundwater use and management. Bruno's research is using the act as a case study to identify policies that enhance water sustainability and minimize regulation costs. No doubt important impacts will result!
Congratulations to Linda Forbes and team! They just received word that the team won three Association for Communication Excellence awards:
- Bronze award in organic social media campaign (CA wildfire campaign)
- Gold award in electronic media and audio for targeted audiences (vaccine campaign to Latino and indigenous communities)
- Outstanding Professional Skill award in electronic media and audio for targeted audiences (vaccine campaign to Latino and indigenous communities)
Next week I spend a couple of days at South Coast REC and at Desert REC. It truly is wonderful to get out of the garage.