Napolitano appoints new members to President’s Advisory Commission

UC President Janet Napolitano has appointed 11 new members to the President's Advisory Commission on Agriculture and Natural Resources. 

The new members include

• Patricia Carrillo, executive director of the Agriculture & Land-Based Training Association
• Wade Crowfoot, secretary of California Natural Resources Agency
• Paula Daniels, co-founder and chair of Center for Good Food Purchasing

• 

  Lon S. Hatamiya, president and chief executive officer of The Hatamiya Group
• Ismael D. Herrera, Jr., director of regional stewardship for California Forward
• Soapy Mulholland, principal of Sopac & Associates LLC
• Sharon Nance, assistant state conservationist for management & strategy in California for USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
• Alejandra Sanchez, corporate social responsibility marketing manager for
  Driscoll's

• 

  Connie Stewart, executive director of the California Center for Rural Policy at Humboldt State University
• Stuart Van Horn, chancellor of the West Hills Community College District
• Mary-Ann Warmerdam, senior legislative advocate for Rural County Representatives of California and managing director of Milkshed Partners, LLC

Crowfoot will serve in an ex-officio position similar to that of the California Department of Food and Agriculture secretary. “We are very excited to expand and enhance our partnerships with the various departments within the Natural Resources Agency,” said Vice President Glenda Humiston.  

Napolitano recently signed approval for an updated PAC charter that now includes three standing subcommittees to support the ANR mission: Advocacy and Outreach, Funds Development and Emerging Issues. They have already been meeting to design and prioritize strategies. 

“A big thanks to those PAC members who have long been advocating for our budget – our California delegates on the Council for Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching (CARET): Bill Frost, Mike Mellano, Dina Moore and Jean-Mari Peltier,” Humiston said.

Napolitano steps down

After seven years of leading the UC system, Napolitano, UC's first woman president, stepped down from the helm on Aug. 1. 

“I am honored to have had the opportunity to serve with this dynamic leader for the past five years,” said Humiston. “Janet Napolitano's vision has catalyzed UC's leadership in carbon neutrality, food security, innovation, student support and so much more.”

At the UC Board of Regents meeting July 29, Napolitano named some of the accomplishments achieved during her tenure, including UC Riverside professor Hailing Jin's development of an antibiotic for the citrus disease huanglongbing.

In her final board presentation, Napolitano said,“The foundation of this university is unshakable. And its fundamental values – access, opportunity, the pursuit of knowledge and a vibrant exchange of ideas live on. It's these values that have guided my presidency and much of what we have accomplished together. In fact, when I reflect on the past 7 years, one of the things I'm proud of is UC's persistent willingness to stand up as a community when things just aren't right.”

Napolitano suggested initiatives UC could take to lead the way to a better future.  “How about uniting our food security and carbon neutrality?” she asked. “We could pledge that within five years UC will use its immense procurement power to purchase most if not all of its food from local California growers. And within 8 years to purchase most if not all of its from growers who also use what's known as regenerative agriculture – agriculture that captures carbon beneath the soil. Such an initiative would increase the supply of nutritious food for our students and support the California agricultural economy while incentivizing it to innovate in a way that benefits our efforts against climate change.”

She urged state leaders and the general public not to take the University of California for granted.

 

Drake named first Black UC president 

Michael Drake will return to UC as its 21st president in August. Drake, who served as the president of The Ohio State University, UC Irvine chancellor, UC vice president for Health Affairs, and past board chairman for the Association of American Universities and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, understands the importance of our land-grant university mission and Cooperative Extension outreach to communities. 

Regent John Perez recently interviewed Drake about his vision for UC.