I appreciated the extra day this weekend to catch up on all sorts of things. Labor Day weekend is always bittersweet though because it means the end of summer – that 'slower' time of year. I won't miss the triple-digit temperatures, but I will miss the pool season. This year, it was troubling to learn about the tragedies in the chartered boat off the coast of Ventura County and the devastation caused by hurricane Dorian.
Last week training sessions were held to prepare academics for the 2020 merit and promotion process. It seems hard to believe it is time to think about it already. Committees (Peer Review Committee and the Academic Assembly Council Personnel Committee) are finalizing recommended changes to the e-book. I know the Personnel Committee meets next week; perhaps the PRC meets sometime next week as well. The goal is to clarify expectations and provide suggestions that result in a less time-consuming process. There won't be a complete overhaul of the e-book, as expectations haven't changed, but anything that helps make assembling the packages easier is worth an effort.
The Vice President's Council and the Deans Council met last week as well. While it wasn't long ago, I'm already struggling to remember what the primary topics of discussion were. The Deans Council focused on preparations for next week's Governing Council meeting. The Governing Council meeting will focus on providing the Council with a detailed understanding of UC ANR's budget, including the use of AES funds (state and federal) by the three AES campuses.
Program Council meets in Riverside this week. The agenda includes time to celebrate Georgios Vidalakis' naming as the Citrus Endowed Researcher and a tour of the Citrus Clonal Protection facility. Also, we will visit the News and Outreach in Spanish team. On Thursday, a few of us will meet with the CE Specialists at UC Riverside before heading back north. During Program Council, we'll discuss what to do about the 2020 Position Call Process and brainstorm ideas to find new revenue streams. Strategic Initiative Leaders will talk strategize ways to improve how we get information distributed throughout the Division in timely and accurate methods.
I had a chance to visit with the UCCE San Diego office last week. We met for about an hour and a half and just talked. Ideally, I would be able to do this regularly with all offices. The challenge, of course, is in finding the time to make the trip. The fall travel season seems to start next weekend. However, I'm open to an invitation from any county office interested in looking at options. Often, the round-the-table discussion is most useful for communication.