ANR’s leadership development book club will meet on April 2 to discuss the book, “The Extraordinary Leader: Turning Good Managers into Great Leaders,” by John Zenger and Joseph Folkman.

Three video conferencing sites have been reserved from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Discussion locations include the ANR Building’s Plum Room in Davis, Kearney Agricultural Research & Extension Center’s Walnut Room in Parlier and UCOP’s Room 9405 in Oakland.

The discussion will be led by Kim Rodrigues, executive director of Academic Personnel. She asks participants to review the book and consider the following questions:

1. What administrative qualities do you hope to develop in yourself and/or others?

2. What leadership attributes do you value in a leader and how might we encourage, maintain and/or enhance these attributes in ANR? Below is a list of attributes summarized from ANR’s first leadership book club discussion to guide development of a leadership program in ANR. Are any key attributes missing from this list?

Leadership Attributes:

• Knowledgeable about ANR programs at county and campus level
• Confident, with compassion and sincerity to want others to succeed
• Actively motivates, supports, value and promotes teamwork and team members
• Possesses the ability to recognize and utilize the strengths and aptitudes of individual team members to facilitate successful outcomes
• Fosters trust, honesty and integrity
• Willing to make decisions, take action and communicate rationale
• Open and transparent
• Innovative and progressive; willing to embrace the unconventional
• Willing to trust their workforce and take risks
• Flexible
• Approachable and an active listener
• Acknowledges and follows up on input received from their team
• Direct and focused
• Responds to staff concerns in a timely manner

3. How might ANR develop and support these leadership attributes?

4. How might ANR measure and monitor leadership development?

5. What specific insight did this book provide with respect to any or all of these questions?

6. What other leadership activities might ANR consider to support the attributes discussed today?

Any other input you wish to provide is encouraged. 

UC Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Peter Taylor has announced that UC’s daily meal and incidental expense (M&IE) cap for travel within the continental U.S. has increased to $71. This change is based on the FY 2012 highest domestic per diem rate published by the General Services Administration for travel within the continental U.S.

Although the University’s cap amount is tied to the maximum Federal per diem, travelers may seek reimbursement only for their actual expenses in accordance with existing policy.  The Office of the President (OP) has asked all departments to remind travelers that only expenses actually incurred are reimbursable.  In addition, OP has advised that departments should require their travelers to submit M&IE receipts if it appears that the travelers are treating the cap as a per diem by routinely claiming the full M&IE amount.

The maximum meal rates for entertainment and business meeting meals have been increased in proportion to the M&IE rate for travel within the continental U.S.  The new rates are as follows:

The revised rates are effective for expenses incurred on or after March 1, 2012.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the person designated for your office:

Cooperative Extension offices: Cherie McDougald, director – Kearney Business Operations Center, (559) 646-6518 or cfmcdougald@ucdavis.edu

Statewide programs, research & extension centers, and ANR service units at the UC Davis campus: Nikki Humphreys, associate director – Davis Business Operations Center, (530) 754-8510 or nrhumphreys@ucdavis.edu

Oakland (OP) ANR administrative offices: Ben Chin, director – Financial Services, (510) 987-0704 or ben.chin@ucop.edu

Hopland Research & Extension Center seeks research project proposals for the period of July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2013.

The center encompasses more than 5,300 acres of oak woodland, grasslands, and chaparral rangeland in southeastern Mendocino County.   The facility provides research opportunities in the fields such as animal science, range management, wildlife ecology, entomology and epidemiology, pest management, viticulture and natural resources management.

Hopland REC features an array of habitat types, almost 700 species of vascular plants including 12 species of oaks, a resident large sheep flock, an array of mammal species including black-tailed deer, and array of amphibians and reptiles, 12 acres of irrigated land, all-season road access, lab space, HS Internet, and a dormitory. For a complete description of Hopland REC, visit http://ucanr.org/sites/hopland. 

The center expects to award in excess of 1800 hours of center-provided labor at minimal cost to support approved projects during this coming cycle.

Proposals must be emailed to Meggin Lewman at mdlewman@ucdavis.edu  on or before April 2, 2012, for consideration.

More information and proposal forms are at http://ucanr.org/sites/hopland/Research/Grants_-_New_Projects. You may also contact the center superintendent Robert J. Keiffer at (707) 744-1424 ext 112 or rjkeiffer@ucdavis.edu , or the center business officer Meggin Lewman at (707) 744-1424 ext.  113 or mdlewman@ucdavis.edu.

The Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center is soliciting proposals for new and continuing research for the upcoming program year, July 1, 2012 -  June 30, 2013.

Proposals are due at SFREC by April 6, 2012.  The center expects to award approximately 2,300 hours of labor to assist continuing and new research projects. 

The center comprises 5,721 acres of northern Sierra foothill oak woodland-annual grass rangeland. Several watersheds fall within its boundaries, with Yuba River frontage along the southern edge, offering opportunities for wildlife, water-quality and riparian-habitat studies. There are 160 acres of irrigated pasture, with a herd of 300 beef cows and 100 yearling calves.

Other resources include a weather station, GIS database, and other long-term databases related to hardwoods and annual rangeland pasture use by cattle; beef cattle fertility, disease and production levels; stream hydrology in managed watersheds; climate and range forage yields. Facilities include a laboratory for chemical and biological analyses, meeting rooms, a 14-bed dormitory and five cattle-working areas.

Proposals can be submitted via ANR’s Universal Grant System accessed through your ANR Portal. Required forms can also be found at http://ucanr.org/sites/sfrec. 

For further information regarding research opportunities, contact Dustin Flavell, interim center director, at (530) 639-8812 or dkflavell@ucdavis.edu.