UC Blog
'Livestrong' blog making use of UCCE information
If more justification was needed for posting UC Cooperative Extension research-based information to the Internet, a blog on the popular Livestrong website makes the case. Writers are frequently gleaning UC Cooperative Extension information to stream articles that will help Livestrong readers "dare to change" their lives.
Livestong is a brand developed by racing cyclist Lance Armstrong, who is an icon of good health after having won the Tour de France seven times as a testicular cancer survivor. The Livestrong website is a portal for healthy living resources.
Here are some examples of how UCCE information was used in Livestrong blog posts:
A post about olive oil says: "According to the University of California Cooperative Extension in Sonoma County, virgin olive oil works best (to treat scars) because of its mix of monosaturated fatty acids and antioxidants."
The Livestrong website extends UC's research-based information.
Administrative reorganization saves ANR $1.3 million
A year ago, Vice President Dooley made a series of announcements outlining action steps needed to address both unprecedented budget cuts totaling over $9 million in permanent reductions and unfunded liabilities while also realigning ANR administrative units and procedures to efficiently support the UC ANR Strategic Vision and to implement its initiatives.
As a significant part of our response to these challenges, a major effort was launched to maximize administrative efficiency, eliminate duplication, and redirect resources to program support. While minor adjustments are still possible, the major elements of this restructuring are in place and fully operational. Moreover, the actions taken have resulted in substantial savings across ANR.
Maximizing Efficiencies:
Steps taken included:
- Closing two executive offices in Oakland ANR
- Closing the North Coast and Mountain, Central Valley, and Central Coast and South regional offices
The closing of the three regional offices accounted for over 34 administrative FTE and over $2.8 million salary and related expenses. Oakland ANR office closings and other actions generated an additional $400,000.
Redistribution and Streamlining:
To streamline administrative support to our roughly 400 academics and program representatives and to consolidate operations across ANR, we redirected these resources along with those from support units and statewide programs to create three centralized support units:
- The Business Operations Center at Kearney for county needs
- The Business Operations Center at Davis for support units and statewide programs
- The Program Support Unit for support of all phases of ANR program delivery.
Total savings from the administrative reorganization is just under $1.3 million. ANR business, personnel, and program support activities and workflow are being handled. Also, we benefit from the fact that coverage and business controls requirements are met.
These changes have not been without other costs as well. Many staff have been affected by closures or restructuring. Virtually all staff have adapted to new realities and accepted new responsibilities. The result is that we are now structured to more efficiently conduct the business of ANR and more effectively support our research and extension mission.
View or leave comments for the Executive Working Group
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.
Funds available for ANR staff development
ANR will be providing funds for staff development and the continuation of the popular web-based training system, Lynda.com. The staff development funds will be provided to ANR unit heads/managers to support staff participation in development opportunities such as seminars, workshops, webinars, etc. The unit head/manager may also choose to use the funds for group trainings. Funds will be provided in the amount of $300 per UC non-represented staff employee and UCCE county-paid employee. Funds are being provided to all non-represented career, limited term, and contracted employees regardless of their source of funding.
This funding does not apply to Program Representatives who received professional development funds in July 2010. UC-ANR represented staff can make requests to the ANR Staff Personnel Unit for staff development funds in accordance with their respective bargaining unit contract.
Funds will be transferred by the Business Operations Center at Kearney or Business Operations Center at Davis to a staff program development account for each unit head/manager for allocation. These funds must be spent by June 30, 2011.
View or leave comments for the Executive Working Group
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.
UCR scientists battle oak borer with new tactic
Scientists at UC Riverside plan to quarantine goldspotted oak borers and raise them with parasitic insects from Arizona and Mexico in an effort to find an insect that will reduce the oak-killing pest's population in Southern California, according to a San Diego Union Tribune blog.
Writer Lily Leung spoke to UC Cooperative Extension horticulture advisor Vince Lazaneo about the threat the imported pest poses to San Diego area oak trees. Eradication of the goldspotted oak borer beetle, he told her, "will take nothing short of a miracle." The challenge for scientists is trapping the beetle, which is the size of a rice grain and tough for even veteran researchers to find.
GSOB, a native of Arizona and Mexico, was first identified in California in 2004. It has already killed 20,000 trees and is contributing to on-going oak tree mortality on federal, state, private and Native American lands in rural and suburban San Diego County.
For more on the goldspotted oak borer, see the UC Cooperative Extension GSOB website and the UCR Center for Invasive Species Research web page.
GSOB is threating native California oaks.
4-H Youth: A Revolutionary Force in Science
4-H Youth: A Revolutionary Force in Science
Published in NJ.COM on Wednesday, September 22, 2010, 11:31 AM Updated: Wednesday, September 22, 2010, 11:33 AM
(NAPSI)-At 14, Luana Xiong, from Merced County, California, has participated in a wide variety of activities throughout her five-year 4-H career, but nothing has intrigued her more than the 4-H science programs.
For the last two years, Luana has participated in the 4-H National Youth Science Day
(NYSD)--an event in which hundreds of thousands of young people throughout the world simultaneously conduct a single science experiment. With aspirations to become a cardiovascular surgeon, Luana appreciates her 4-H science programs, as involvement in the curriculum and activities have helped her become comfortable with the subject.In 2009, Luana demonstrated the 4-H National Science Experiment for 250 members of her community. The experiment, Biofuel Blast, showcased how cellulose and sugars in plants can be converted into fuel. “My goal was to spread my knowledge to as many people as I could.”
As a newcomer to 4-H science, Brit Stevens from Gibson County, Indiana, will be getting his first taste of 4-H science at the 2010 4-H National Science Experiment: 4-H2O.
At 13, Brit’s favorite 4-H activities involve showing animals at fairs. But as an aspiring architect, Brit knows the importance of having a solid foundation in the sciences. “I am pretty good at science. People should know the scientific explanation about things.”
With plans to participate in NYSD again, Luana thinks it’s important for youths like Brit to get involved in 4-H science. “I am participating in 4-H Science Day again because I enjoy it so much. I also think it is so important to get the word out about what 4-H is and why Science Day was created-to get youth to go into science careers.”
As part of 4-H’s One Million New Scientists, One Million New Ideas™ campaign, 4-H science programs like 4-H NYSD work to spark an early youth interest in science education in an effort to combat a national shortage of young people pursuing science in college and future careers.
“Engaging youth in scientific exploration early on provides the necessary platform that they need to build a long-lasting interest in the field and to make ongoing contributions to the sciences,” said Donald T. Floyd, Jr., National 4-H Council president and CEO. “Science is often an overwhelming and consequently overlooked subject for young people, but 4-H science programs make the subject exciting, accessible and relevant.”
The 2010 4-H National Science Experiment: 4-H2O—was developed in conjunction with North Carolina A&T State University and the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Program. Generous sponsor support has been provided by Toyota, John Deere, IBM, BAE Systems and Karo. For more information on 4-H National Youth Science Day, please visit www.4-H.org/NYSD.
Read the article at http://blog.nj.com/north_american_precis_syndicate/2010/09/4-h_youth_a_revolutionary_force_in_science.html
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