Posts Tagged: water quality

Seeking new leadership for Water and Healthy Families and Communities Strategic Initiatives

ANR academics are invited to apply for Strategic Initiative leader positions, which play key roles in unifying, communicating and advocating to strengthen UC ANR's research and outreach agenda. Given the ongoing evolving role of the UC ANR Strategic Initiatives (SI), the SI leaders agreed that it would again be beneficial to conduct an open search - from across the breadth of expertise of the division - for the next rotation of SI leaders.

Open positions. Two SI leader positions are scheduled to rotate off at the end of 2018. This change offers opportunities for others to take the lead for

• Healthy Families and Communities, and 
• Water Quality, Quantity and Security.

Who is eligible to apply? The positions are open to all UC ANR academics, including Agricultural Experiment Station faculty and Cooperative Extension advisors and specialists. Strategic Initiative leaders are appointed by the Associate Vice President on a rotating basis for three years, with a possibility of extension.

Current SI leaders

• Endemic and Invasive Pests and Diseases Jim Farrar 
• Sustainable Food Systems Deanne Meyer and Neil McRoberts
• Sustainable Natural Resources David Lile
• Water Quality, Quantity and Security Doug Parker
• Healthy Families and Communities Keith Nathaniel

The SIs help unify, communicate and advocate for what UC ANR does. See the UCANR Strategic Initiatives website for more information.

How to apply. To apply for one of the SI leader positions, complete the simple application form at https://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=25782.

Applications will be accepted until Nov. 9.

Applicants will be contacted for interviews in late November or early December. The new leaders are anticipated to start on Jan. 2, 2019.

For information regarding the roles and responsibilities of the Strategic Initiative leader position, see the Terms of Reference for Strategic Initiative Leaders. If you have questions, contact Mark Bell, vice provost of Strategic Initiatives and Statewide Programs.

View or leave comments for ANR Leadership at http://ucanr.edu/sites/ANRUpdate/Comments.

This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.

Plan to attend the first Joint Strategic Initiative Conference

The 2015 UC ANR Joint Strategic Initiative Conference will be held October 5-7 at the Sheraton Grand Hotel, 1230 J Street, in Sacramento.

Who should attend: Academics affiliated with ANR – UCCE Advisors, UCCE Specialists, AES Faculty, Program Directors and Academic Coordinators.

Submit a poster abstract to participate in a poster session. To be given priority consideration, please submit poster abstracts by June 1. For details, see http://ucanr.edu/sites/2015jointsiconference/Call_for_Posters.

At the conference, you'll have the opportunity to

• Meet the new Vice President (to be invited) at the Monday evening reception.
• Participate in planning sessions for the Strategic Initiatives.
• Learn about successful research projects.
• Take advantage of free training sessions.
• Request space for your Program Team or Workgroups to meet.
• Network at the Stakeholders' Reception on Tuesday evening.

The conference is being coordinated through the five UC ANR Strategic Initiatives:

• Endemic and Invasive Pests and Diseases (EIPD)
• Healthy Families and Communities (HFC)
• Sustainable Food Systems (SFS)
• Sustainable Natural Ecosystems (SNE)
• Water Quality, Quantity and Security (Water)

For more information, visit http://ucanr.edu/sites/2015jointsiconference or contact conference co-chairs  Doug Parker, (510) 987-0036, and David Doll, (209) 385-7403. For logistics, contact UC ANR Program Support Unit, Sherry Cooper, (530) 750-1256, or Saundra Wais, (530) 750-1260.

 

View or leave comments for ANR Leadership at http://ucanr.edu/sites/ANRUpdate/Comments.

This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.

 

California water officials seek a funding source for water cleanup

The State Water Resources Control Board recommended a point-of-sale fee on agricultural commodities, a fertilizer tax, or a water-use fee from residents to offset the costs of providing clean drinking water to communities where tap water supplies have high levels of nitrate, reported Gosia Wozniacka of Associated Press. The final report to the legislature is on the SWRSC website.

The AP article was published in BakersfieldNow.com, the San Francisco Chronicle and other publications. A story by Sasha Khokha of KQED about the report said California may become one of the first states to levy a fee on nitrogen fertilizer if the Legislature adopts the board's recommendations.

The water board based its recommendations on a UC Davis study it commissioned, which was released last March and titled Addressing Nitrate in California's Drinking Water. The study said that nitrate contamination of drinking water is an issue in the Tulare Lake Basin of the San Joaquin Valley and the Salinas Valley.

UC Cooperative Extension and Agricultural Experiment Station researchers are working with growers with small and large acreage on fertilizer management, irrigation efficiency and other farming practices to provide options for protecting groundwater. For more on these efforts, see Healthy crops, safe water.

Recommendation No. 12 in the SWRSC report said water boards should continue to provide technical assistance for CDFA's ongoing work with UC Cooperative Extension and other experts in establishing a nitrogen management training and certification program that recognizes the importance of water quality protection. UC Ag and Natural Resources is developing a curriculum to train certified crop advisors in nitrogen budgeting.

Without a secure source of funding, nitration contamination of drinking water will grow, the state report said.

Call for short presentations for water conference

The Water Strategic Initiative panel is inviting ANR academics to give short presentations about their research at the 2012 Water Strategic Initiative Conference on Nov. 14-15 in Davis.

If you would like to present a five-minute summary of your research as it relates to water topics, please submit a title and short description of two or three sentences (300 words maximum) to http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=9152 by Sept. 25.

Presentation time will be available on the afternoon of Nov. 14. The Conference Planning Committee will review summaries and schedule time slots. The committee will notify presenters by Oct. 10.

For more information about the 2012 Water Strategic Initiative Conference, visit http://ucanr.org/sites/water. 

 

View or leave comments for ANR Leadership.

This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.

Water strategic initiative conference set for Nov. 14–15

The Water Quality, Quantity and Security Strategic Initiative has scheduled its first conference for Nov. 14–15 at the ARC at UC Davis, announced Doug Parker, initiative leader.  Please hold these dates on your calendar.

Details about the conference, its agenda and the initiative plan will follow in future announcements. Updates and conference registration information also will be posted on the initiative website http://ucanr.org/sites/water.

UC program teams and workgroups will have an opportunity to meet at the conference to coordinate team efforts and plan activities. To reserve space for program team and workgroup activities, please fill out a brief survey at https://ucce.ucdavis.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=7922.

View or leave comments for the Executive Working Group.

This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.

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