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UC Blog
Seven academics receive 2024 Distinguished Service Awards
We are pleased to announce and congratulate the recipients of the 2024 Distinguished Service Awards.
Sponsored by UC ANR and Academic Assembly Council, the Distinguished Service Awards recognize service and academic excellence in UC Cooperative Extension over a significant period of time. The awards highlight the use of innovative methods and the integration of research, extension and leadership by UC ANR academics.
Award categories include outstanding research, outstanding extension, outstanding new academic, outstanding team, outstanding leader and contribution to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Outstanding Research - Brent Holtz
Brent Holtz has served as a UC Cooperative Extension orchard systems farm advisor for 30 years, including 15 years concurrently serving as the UCCE director for San Joaquin County. His groundbreaking work in whole orchard recycling has revolutionized orchard system management in the valley, influencing state policy and fostering collaboration across local, statewide and international levels.
Leveraging the trust of numerous growers, he has spearheaded multiple orchard recycling trial sites throughout the Central Valley, across various soil types and climates, to improve the understanding of its impact on soil health and crop productivity. Holtz's research program, supported by several grants from commodity boards and governmental agencies, has garnered widespread recognition for its environmental and economic significance in almond orchards. His prolific research output, comprising 90 peer-reviewed publications, coupled with over 500 extension articles, technical reports and abstracts, underscores the profound impact of his research.
His outreach efforts, including extension meetings, webinars and a comprehensive project website, exemplify his dedication to knowledge dissemination. Moreover, Holtz's expertise in orchard recycling extends far beyond state borders. His numerous national and international awards attest to his remarkable contributions, cementing his status as a pioneer in orchard recycling and global authority. Holtz's success serves as a testament to the impactful research achievable through UC ANR, showcasing the vital role of applied research in agricultural innovation.
Outstanding Extension - Roger Duncan
Roger Duncan, UCCE pomology farm advisor in Stanislaus County, has been an advisor for nearly 30 years. In that time, Duncan has conducted a thorough program that exemplifies the research-extension continuum with applied research programs feeding a multifaceted extension program using face-to-face meetings, popular press/newsletters and peer-reviewed, grower-accessible documents. Highlights of Duncan's extension work include his Tree & Vine Breakfast Meetings, a rootstock comparison publication (with UC ANR co-authors), a video showing a rootstock trial and describing the results (with the Almond Board of California, on YouTube), and an interactive rootstock comparison webpage. Taken together, these projects have contributed to the adoption of orchard practices leading to increased productivity and economic value in California's almond orchard systems. Duncan's achievements serve as a major example of an outstanding extension program.
Outstanding New Academic - Zheng Wang and Leslie Roche
While the award is usually presented to an individual, the program committee determined two people were equally deserving of the Outstanding New Academic Award.
Zheng Wang, who became a UCCE vegetable crop advisor for Stanislaus County in 2018, has made remarkable contributions to vegetable agriculture. His work in vegetable grafting, precision irrigation tools and integrated pest management has measurable impacts on the industry. In one of Wang's projects, growers reported that their successfully grafted watermelon plants produced 15% to 25% more watermelons than nongrafted fields per acre, while using 30% fewer plants and the same amount of water and fertilizers.
Within a relatively short span, he has authored seven peer-reviewed publications, numerous non-peer-reviewed articles and successfully secured over $600,000 in program funding.
Beyond his academic achievements, Wang has been recognized by clientele, colleagues and industry for his innovative extension and outreach program. In 2022, he was recognized by Vegetable Grower News as one of Fruit + Vegetable 40 Under 40, outstanding individuals under age 40, for demonstrating leadership and propelling the industry forward. Additionally, Wang's program has been serving underrepresented and new growers efficiently, demonstrating his commitment to inclusive agricultural practices.
Leslie Roche, who became a UCCE range management specialist based at UC Davis in 2015, represents UC ANR very well through a program characterized by exemplary academic innovation and leadership. Her statewide impact resonates with the core objectives of UC ANR, representing the organization's commitment at its finest. She is a vital bridge between UC ANR academics, stakeholders and policymakers at local, state and national levels. Roche provides invaluable insights to policymakers, contributes to USDA climate vulnerability assessments, and contributes to UCCE drought-planning tools through extensive engagement with California ranchers (e.g. over 600 surveys and interviews).
Roche 's dedication extends beyond traditional outreach methods. She employs creative extension activities to interact with stakeholders and clientele, leveraging platforms such as webinars and YouTube videos, and leading the innovative development of the Rangeland Research and Information Center (RIC) to reach broader audiences. She has shown excellence in all aspects of Cooperative Extension.
Outstanding Team - “Growing the Valley” team
Since 2018, Phoebe Gordon, UCCE orchard crops farm advisor for Madera and Merced counties, and Luke Milliron, UCCE orchard systems advisor for Butte, Glenn and Tehama counties, have used modern communication tools and pioneered new ways to extend UC ANR outreach and education. Together they have produced over 220 “Growing the Valley”podcasts, reaching thousands of listeners throughout the world with a documented impact on knowledge and practices. The team has effectively used podcasts to break boundaries – both geographical and topical – interviewing a broad range of experts on agricultural topics including pests and diseases, irrigation, fertilization and horticulture, among many other subjects.
The work and impact accomplished by this ANR team has gone far beyond one individual or clientele. As one of the support letter writers described it, “The novel approach to outreach through the podcast medium allows for convenient learning opportunities for a large and diverse audience. Over the years, the collection of episodes has grown into an exhaustive resource of information, highlighting topics that are important to the agricultural community. The indexed and easily discoverable format ensures that their efforts have a broad and lasting impact, reaching stakeholders far beyond traditional extension channels.”
These interviews have forged relationships that otherwise would not have been possible. The committee also acknowledged the team's dedication and commitment in sustaining this effort for the agriculture community and academics. A second letter of support said, “[Growing the Valley Podcast] is a testament to Luke Milliron and Phoebe Gordon's dedication and creativity in providing a significant educational resource within the agricultural community.”
Outstanding Leader - David Lile
David Lile, UCCE director for Lassen County and natural resources and livestock advisor, is a distinguished leader and visionary in UC ANR.
Lile has demonstrated critical leadership in tapping the full power of the UC to unite campus faculty, specialists, county advisors, students and stakeholders to conduct novel, participatory research that has advanced applied science and informed policy development and management. He goes the extra mile to support and coach students, creating innovative learning and growth opportunities for these new scientists and educators. He has been instrumental in the success of over a dozen graduate students, who have conducted all or portions of their graduate research in Lassen County. He has also mentored early-career research assistants and academics giving them a solid foundation in UCCE.
Lile has had a dedicated track record of leadership at all UC ANR levels during his career. He has served on the Peer Review Committee, Academic Assembly Council, County Director Council, Vice-President's Council, and as a Strategic Initiative Leader. During his tenure on these committees, he shaped policies and helped lead UC ANR through institutional changes and difficult financial and political times.
He took unique approaches to bringing people together to address the most pressing issues in California. For example, while serving as SI leader for Sustainable Natural Ecosystems (SNE), he spearheaded a conference in 2019 focusing on wildfire after the devastating 2018 California fire season, bringing together the best science and challenging SNE members to work together to find innovative solutions to the wildfire issue. This conference cemented ANR's commitment to addressing wildfire challenges across program areas, sparking ingenuity and shared vision.
Lile has not only built a reputation for himself, he has built a strong reputation for UCCE across Northeast California. He has cultivated and strengthened the region by facilitating the Intermountain Workgroup, serving on over 25 hiring committees (and chairing 18) including all of the academics currently working in Modoc, Lassen, Sierra, Plumas and Siskiyou counties. His leadership as county director has led to thriving county programs with long-term employees who work together towards a shared vision. David Lile is an Outstanding Leader in every sense of the term. He has provided tireless leadership to build consensus around contentious topics and create collaborative, science-based solutions to enhance natural resources and sustain productive agricultural enterprises.
Outstanding Contribution to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion - Small Acreage Landowner Website team
The Small Acreage Landowner Website team of UCCE livestock and natural resources advisors Julie Finzel, Flavie Audoin, Theresa Becchetti, Brooke Latack, Dan Macon, Rebecca Ozeran, and Devii Rao worked to address the concerns of owners of small acreages.
To reach a diverse clientele, both in ethnicity and gender, the team developed a website as a clearinghouse of information and translated the entire website into Spanish to better reach this historically underserved population.
The website provides science-based information on livestock care and management including nutrition, housing, fencing, reproduction, health care and parasite control. It also has resources on emergency preparedness, wildland fire, rangeland and pasture management, water quality, and pests, predators and weeds. Short videos accompany written materials to help broaden the audience.
Congratulations again to all of the honorees.
Brent Hales
Associate Vice President for Research and Cooperative Extension
President Drake approves 2024-25 salary increases for policy-covered employees
Dear Colleagues,
Despite this being a very challenging budget year for California, the Legislature passed and the governor has now signed a final state budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year, which does not cut funding for UC. We are deeply grateful for the steadfast support of the governor, and our elected officials, for higher education in California.
With the budget signed, President Drake has formally approved the 2024-25 systemwide salary program. The 4.2% salary increase for policy-covered staff and academic appointees at all locations recognizes the extraordinary efforts of employees during this past year. Pay increases will take effect on July 1, 2024, for employees who are paid monthly and on June 23 for those who are paid bi-weekly.
Thank you for your dedication and passion for our mission of improving the lives all Californians. As we head into the 4th of July holiday, I hope you can enjoy some quality time with friends and family.
Best wishes, Glenda
Glenda Humiston
Vice President
Academic advancement 13/24-month option change to 18/30-month option
VP Glenda Humiston and I have made the decision to change the 13/24-month option in ANR's academic advancement process to a new 18/30-month option. Before seeking an advancement, first-term academics usually complete at least two years for those in a two-year term cycle, or three years for those in a three-year term cycle. ANR merit and promotion guidelines have allowed an exception to this policy by allowing first-term academics to submit a merit or promotion advancement under a 13/24-month option, i.e., to seek advancement after at least 13 full months for those in a two-year term cycle, or after at least 24 full months for those in a three-year term cycle. In both options, the academic must show the equivalent of 24 (or 36) months of performance in the reduced review period.
Due to an increase in advancement requests for 13/24-month options, the number of service years for requests going down in the last five years, and several cases of first-term academics being denied due to lack of performance equivalency, we are changing the option to an 18/30-month option, respectively. Starting with the 2024/25 advancement cycle, first-term academics may seek advancement at the earliest after at least 18 full months for those in a two-year term cycle, or after at least 30 full months for those in a three-year term cycle. The change will ensure equity with previous years' advancements when fewer 13-month requests were requested and avoid the additional burden of negative outcomes (for academics, supervisors, and UC ANR at large). The change was discussed with the AAC-Personnel Committee in the annual advancement debrief and will be clarified in the eBook.
We will continue to strive for academic excellence, and I assure academics that a critical element of our merit and promotion system remains to reward outstanding achievements and performances. At the same time, we must ensure that early advancements and acceleration requests remain exceptions to the rule and do not become standard requests.
I also want to remind everyone that, as of October 2023, VP Humiston has approved an early-career CE advisor academic market-equity adjustment (for Assistant CE Advisor and Associate CE Advisor ranks). Leadership continues to review academic salaries and the advancement process to ensure salaries align with salaries in the labor market for comparable academic positions.
Brent Hales
Associate Vice President for Research and Cooperative Extension
Integrated Web Platform (IWP) 101: Understanding the Basics
Dear Colleagues:
This message provides essential information on the implementation of the new UC ANR website using the Drupal Content Management System (CMS).
Integrated Web Platform (IWP) Background
The IWP project will enhance UC Agriculture and Natural Resources' digital presence for both internal web editors and our clientele. In the coming months, UC ANR will transition from the homegrown Site Builder to Drupal – a more stable, flexible, and powerful CMS that will make our content more discoverable to the communities we serve. This much-needed change will bring significant improvements in how we manage and present content, as well as optimizing our content for search engines.
There have been challenges with transitioning from Site Builder and the Blog system in the past, and that is why we are now working with Kanopi, a new vendor that has experience joining projects and taking them to launch. The IWP core team is leveraging the work of previous UC ANR committees and vendors (including UC Davis IET) who provided feedback, initial planning efforts, and prototypes.
What is changing and what is staying the same?
Site Builder and Blogs will be retired; Drupal is the replacement. As part of this change, UC ANR will have a whole new navigation and look and feel for our web editors and site visitors.
As we work through the development and implementation of IWP, additional changes will be identified and communicated.
SITE BUILDER & BLOGS | DRUPAL |
Discoverability / UC ANR's Web Presence | |
Analytics tell us that most website visitors use Google to search and find UC ANR content. | Website visitors will utilize the Content Hub, Drupal's dynamic search feature. |
Site Builder crashes. | Drupal has modern and continually updated technology to reduce the likelihood of crashes. |
Tags are inconsistent between Site Builder and Blogs. Anyone can add a new tag in Blogs. | Consistent tags drive relevant information to the Content Hub/search. Tags and taxonomy will be established and maintained by a governance group. |
Editing Experience | |
Editors would create a page and populate it with text and assets. | After considering the audience and where the information would be reflected in the Content Hub, editors create content using pre-defined Content Types, rather than creating a page. Content Types allow for more flexibility in the future and improved management of UC ANR information and resources. |
Anyone with ANR Portal can create a new site or Blog. | There will be an approval process to start new sites (e.g., content editors) and new procedures to add additional site managers (e.g., groups). This will reduce duplication and stagnant sites that exist in Site Builder, and ensure content is discoverable navigable, manageable, and on-brand). |
Sites and Blogs are managed in different interfaces and systems. | Sites and blogs will all be managed in Drupal. |
Timeline and transitions
- UC ANR Employees should begin cleaning up Site Builder now: https://ucanr.edu/sites/sb3help/bestpractices/site-builder-maintenance/. Additional reminders and resources will be forthcoming.
- Employees are invited to Zoom training sessions about cleaning up Site Builder (see link below).
- Drupal is expected to go live in December 2024. If the launch date changes, we will communicate it broadly.
- Once Drupal is live, you will no longer be able to create new sites on Site Builder.
- Site Builder and Blog content will continue to be available during the transitional period.
About Drupal CMS
Drupal is a content-oriented CMS that allows for dynamic content delivery and can provide an array of benefits:
- Improved Content Organization: Drupal's taxonomy system enables sophisticated categorization, enhancing content discoverability.
- Enhanced Searchability: Content in Drupal is structured for better SEO (Search Engine Optimization), making it easier for our clientele to find what they need.
- Greater Flexibility: Drupal's Content Types provide templates for various kinds of content, allowing for consistent but also dynamic presentation.
- Scalability: Drupal can handle large volumes of content and traffic, accommodating our growing needs and improving system stability and availability.
- Consistency: IWP will help ensure a uniform look and feel across the website, enhancing the user experience and promoting UC ANR branding.
Learn more about Drupal at https://www.drupal.org/.
Starting Simple
Based on learnings from previous challenges, we are starting simple with a foundational build. This approach allows us to:
- Lay the groundwork for a more sophisticated platform and build future enhancements.
- Build confidence as we familiarize ourselves with the new system at our own pace.
- Test and learn Drupal's functionalities.
- Become scalable to allow for further growth and better management of content.
- Iterate and make improvements based on feedback and performance data.
We need everyone's support in this major undertaking. We will communicate when and how you can assist with the above processes for a robust, efficient, and orderly transition.
Contact Us!
For the latest updates on the IWP project, please visit our Integrated Web Platform (IWP) Project Webpage or email us at iwp@ucanr.edu.
Site Builder Cleanup Office Hours
As part of Site Builder cleanup efforts, Stephen Dampier is holding a weekly open office Zoom Sessions to answer your questions.
When: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. PST
Zoom Link: https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/97937501529?pwd=Zm1PaGRuc0htcnVZbmZQaGcya3oxQT09
IWP Core Team
Kit Alviz
Dustin Blakey
Stephen Dampier
Linda Forbes
Mike Hsu
Scott Leaf
Andrew Waegli
IWP Project Sponsor
Tu Tran
Academics needed to serve on search committees for new UCCE positions
Dear Colleagues,
We are excited to begin recruiting for the new academic positions announced by Vice President Humiston in May. As communicated, the new UCCE recruitments will be released in small batches over the next several months. To begin the process, we are asking academics to sign up for service on search committees for recruitments managed by UC ANR, which include 29 UCCE advisor positions and 13 UCCE specialist positions.
Please use this Qualtrics link to sign up for committee service. Please note that the survey also allows you to sign up as search committee chairs.
For information on the search committee process and committee duties, please review UC ANR search committee instructions.
We thank you for your consideration and service during these important upcoming recruitments.
Daniel Obrist
Vice Provost for Academic Personnel and Development