It's that time of the year where all the hard work of cultivating and tending crops culminates with harvest. Whether it's pomegranates, sorghum, pumpkins or walnuts, crops are working their way to consumers for enjoyment. Soon nutrient management considerations for the next crop will be determined and implemented. Researchers are taking end of season plant tissue and soil samples or measuring gaseous emissions. And so, the cycles continue. From seed to crop to consumer. For those engaged in natural resources cooler weather brings promise of rains.
Pumpkin patch visit
October 15 ended our month-long celebration of Hispanic Heritage month. There have been news stories, blog posts, and presentations among others. The variety of activities provided many ways to share culture and current careers. Thank you all for taking time to participate.
One of the highlights of any day is to meet with candidates for Specialist positions. This last week it was for a position at UC Davis in Agricultural and Resource Economics on the Economics of Food Supply Chains. This is an incredibly timely position given all we've learned during Covid.
Last week zoomed by in the blink of an eye. Program Council met. One of our topics focused on onboarding and mentoring. With the hiring frenzy it's imperative that we are effective at onboarding. Did you know how well we onboard new academics is directly correlated to retention and productivity? The ANR Learning and Development website has great resources for onboarding. Since onboarding begins the minute we receive the signed offer letter, it's worth taking time to look through the materials. Supervisors, peers, co-workers and everyone else in the organization is part of the onboarding process. Thank you to our great Human Resources colleagues and Jodi Azulai who have worked to collect and prepare onboarding documentation. A big shout out to Jona Pressman who provided a convincing presentation about the importance of onboarding during the recent Vice President's council meeting. We're in this together and it takes effort from everyone to make people feel welcome.
In the category of Humbled and Happy, HUGE congratulations to Katherine Web Martinez and the work of Program Planning and Evaluation. Their work has been recognized by the National Association of Extension Program and Staff Development Professionals with the Extension Staff Development Award. “This award recognizes individuals who use creativity, innovation, and evidence to develop and deliver staff development initiatives that strengthen the employee capacity of Cooperative Extension systems. Efforts may focus on innovative initiatives, tools, assessments, practices, and/or other products for staff development at the local, regional, state or national level.” Way to go Katherine and team. You all do amazing work!
Welcome to ANR! Three new Advisors joined ANR in September. Ashley Hooper (Urban Community Resiliency; Los Angeles), Cindy Chen (Woody Biomass and Wood Products, Central Sierra Nevada MCP, Alpine and Mariposa Counties) and Matthew Rodriguez (4-H Youth Development, Nevada, Placer, Sutter and Yuba Counties).