VP posts PACE committee report, highlights actions underway

Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to release ANR Academic Assembly Council (AAC)’s Partnership to Advance Cooperative Extension (PACE) committee report. I also want to share some of the current results of that effort. Part of AAC’s mission is to provide a forum to address the professional needs of Cooperative Extension (CE) academic employees. As such, I charged AAC to seek broad and diverse input from ANR academics related to the roles and responsibilities of CE Specialists and Advisors to support the Division’s mission and vision. Frank Mitloehner, then AAC President, and Kevin Day, Chair of the AAC Policy Committee, co-chaired the diverse ad hoc committee, which included four Advisors, four Specialists (one from each college/school) and one Academic Coordinator. 

I want to thank the PACE committee for its thorough effort taking a multi-faceted approach that resulted in a high level of participation statewide. Throughout the process, we heard that their open and transparent process was widely appreciated. I also want to thank all of you who participated in the PACE survey and dialogue sessions for providing your thoughtful and constructive input to inform our work moving forward.

I encourage you to read the report to gain a more in-depth understanding of what was heard across the Division. The full report is posted on the PACE website http://ucanr.edu/sites/pace2013/PACE_Report. Below I will highlight some PACE findings that have already been put into action:

• The preference for more smaller grants was expressed. It was explained that smaller grants are: 1) especially important for CE academics working in areas for which extramural funding is limited; and 2) were identified as a means to increase real collaboration among CE academics. Immediately following the PACE report presentation to Division leadership, we responded by making changes to the 2013 UC ANR competitive grants program RFP to encourage more small grants and provide the opportunity for Extension only proposals.

• ANR academics across campuses and counties widely agreed that the Division is better understood as a network rather than the traditional continuum model.  We will continue the transition to describe the Division as a statewide network. We will also further explore what this means in regards to future positions and how we work together.

• Many ANR academics suggested that we develop a mentoring process with a formal orientation program.  This need is recognized as a priority by leadership. I will work with the AAC, the Academic Personnel Unit and others to develop mentoring and orientation strategies and materials.

• A notable suggestion was that CE re-establish a “code of conduct” that “emphasizes collegiality, professionalism and communication.” I will work with the AAC to develop a tool to help clarify appropriate protocol when working together and across the statewide network.

• There was significant agreement about the need for “improving training and collaborative opportunities between campus and off-campus academics while at the same time highlighting career opportunities in Extension — especially for current UC students.” Suggestions for methods to do so included the advisor intern program and the emerging Graduate Student in Extension (GSE) program initiated at UC Berkeley. I am talking with students and the Division’s four Deans to explore this pilot.

• The need to improve ANR academics’ ability to find out “who’s who” and “who’s doing what” is recognized. Communications Services and Information Technology with input from others has developed the Taxonomy and Personnel System, which will be finalized and formally launched. We invite feedback on the pilot to make this mechanism best meet your needs: https://ucanr.edu/portal/taxonomy.

• Concern was voiced for the success of the new advisor positions given broader geographic and programmatic assignments. We are closely watching the progress of the new advisor hires. We are pursuing ways to provide support, such as mentoring. We will remain flexible in our approach to serve programmatic needs across the state.

Also in response to the PACE effort, we will provide more information to further enhance our commitment to transparency. In addition, requested documents are posted on the PACE website as they are made available (http://ucanr.edu/sites/pace2013/Additional_Relevant_Information). I will address a few voiced concerns below:

• A concern was voiced about the level of funding to support Specialists’ work.  We have been working with the Deans’ Offices to pull together information to elucidate the funding provided for Specialists. When this is finalized we will share it. 

•  It was reported that smaller, more focused efforts, e.g. those provided by Workgroups, are essential to support the broader ANR mission and vision. I want to reiterate that the Division continues to support Workgroups. The only thing that has changed over the past few years is how Workgroups get together.

• It was requested that ANR clarify the CE position allocation process. Given our commitment to making this a fair and transparent process, we are happy to provide again the description of the process with the criteria, as well as to try to improve our communication of the rationale behind the decisions. 

The results of the PACE effort will continue to be discussed by Division leadership and across the network to inform future positions and how we work together. I respect the important role AAC plays within the Division. I appreciate the PACE committee’s dedicated leadership and the ANR community’s enthusiastic participation. I look forward to continuing to work together to strengthen our network, within and external to UC.

Barbara Allen-Diaz
Vice President

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