/planning for growth

There’s nothing quite like a little rain and sunshine to flush out new seedlings and fresh ideas. Almost by definition, our campus is a great place to grow – whether we’re talking about students, careers, communities or knowledge. Thank you for the work you do to help keep us all growing!

The Digest aims to provide employees with quick updates and a checklist you can use right now, this time with a focus on professional opportunities.

We started sending this Digest email occasionally to all employees, as a way to curate updates during the pandemic. Will it continue to be useful to you? Tell us what you think about this email, so we might better serve your needs next time.

/shape campus

• Rate customer service on campus - Most employees on the Davis campus are invited to take the Academic and Staff Satisfaction Survey, to evaluate services you’ve used in the last calendar year – and pick up some prizes in the process. Use these tips to complete the survey now.
• Pick up your UC Davis swag tomorrow - In case you need another reason to finish up the Academic and Staff Satisfaction Survey, tomorrow is also Aggie Pride Friday at UC Davis Stores, so you could pick up your survey swag while also getting 30% off adult T-shirts and tank tops. Check gift availability before you go.
• Know what’s left of COVID-19 policies - UC Davis has ended its interim public health policies and Daily Symptom Survey, though employees are required to comply with UC COVID-19 Vaccine Policy, recommended to report cases of COVID-19, and encouraged to use free antigen test kits available on campus. See the chancellor’s message for more details about this new chapter.
• Participate in employee resource groups - The chancellor supports release time for working with employee resource groups, as a valuable contribution to our community that is also worthy of respect – including staff assemblies, staff diversity groups, administrative advisory committees and other university-sponsored staff groups. See the chancellor’s email to supervisors and managers.
• Still time to pitch ideas for budget fixes - Employees from all corners of UC Davis submitted more than 800 suggestions into the IDEA$ at Work campaign for cost savings, revenue opportunities and process improvements to help solve the UC Davis core funds deficit. Read more and send in your idea by March 31 to help the task force meet its goal of 1,000 ideas.

/learn

• Apply for staff scholarships - Career staff members can apply to the UC Davis Staff Scholarship Program for $200-500 scholarships for education at any college or professional school, including certificates, professional development and degree programs (scholarships are also available for UC Davis-bound dependents of staff members). Applications are due by March 15.
• Use your employee discount on degrees - Career employees who are enrolled part-time in a University of California degree program can receive a 66% discount on tuition and some fees. Find directions and details.
• Take professional courses at a discount and for free - All employees can use a 20% discount on courses offered by UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education – or access Coursera classes for free. Explore popular programs including accounting, leadership, data analytics and conflict resolution.
• Use release time for professional development - UC Davis staff members are allocated time to pursue professional development, training and continuing education opportunities. Check for details by your bargaining unit.
• Apply for UC women’s development program - Applications are open for the UC Women’s Initiative for Professional Development, which brings together mid-career employees from all campuses to strengthen skills related to strategic relationship building, self-awareness, negotiating for yourself at work and peer coaching. Nominate or self-nominate by March 23.

/shine

• Recognize employees for excellence - Nominations are open for Citations of Excellence for individual staff members, staff teams, and faculty-staff partnerships, as Staff Assembly seeks to recognize outstanding achievements of employees in service, supervision, teaching, mentorship, innovation and research. Nominations are due by March 15.
• Apply for academic DEI fellowship - Members of the Academic Federation and Academic Senate are invited to apply for the Chancellor’s Fellowship for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for exceptional support for underrepresented students or underserved communities. See application details and apply by March 9.
• Honor a leader who advances women - Consider nominating a faculty or staff member for the Women & Philanthropy Impact Award for exemplary leadership, contributions to female advancement, and transformational impact to UC Davis and broader communities. Nominations are due by March 15.
• Nominate top innovators - Anyone can nominate individual UC Davis faculty members, staff members or teams for the Chancellor’s Innovator of the Year award. Nominations are due by March 15.

/get outside

• Shop spring plant sales - Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden will be hosting four sales this spring of attractive, low-water plants — starting with a members-only sale on March 11 and a public sale on April 8. Mark your calendar to refresh your garden.
• Add TGFS picnic to your calendar - Staff members are invited to the annual Thank Goodness for Staff events on May 10 (or May 9 for evening shift workers). Check out the outdoor activities.
• Drink free, healthy water - As the weather starts to warm up, make sure you know where to fill up your water bottle on campus. Use the hydration stations campus map.

/more growth

• Discuss free speech on campus - The roles and responsibilities of public universities in supporting free speech will be the focus of a town hall next week. Attend this event on March 7.
• Promote your public engagement - Add the work you do to create public impact for individuals, groups and communities across California via the updated UC Davis Public Engagement Database. Take two minutes to enter your programs and activities now.
• Get money to pay for faculty-student socializing - The Dean Witter Fund provides funding for informal social gatherings between faculty members and students, on a rolling basis throughout the year. Find funding application details.
• Celebrate milestone in reducing our fossil fuel use - The first phase of the Big Shift is complete, with more than 30 buildings around the Quad and Memorial Union converted from steam to hot water-based heating, which is more efficient and will make use of renewable energy sources. Find out how this change lays the groundwork for cutting fossil fuel use.
• Explore data on university sustainability - See UC Davis progress toward University of California sustainability goals, including emissions, energy use and zero waste, in the UC Sustainability Annual Report 2022. Read updates and scroll through data visualizations.
• hank a seedling for tomorrow’s campus canopy - Though our campus recently lost 100 trees to extreme weather, we’ve already planted about 250 new trees this year. Find out more about the campus tree renewal program.