Convocation touts ‘making a difference ’“Our Personal and Collective Calling: To Make a Difference” is the theme of this year’s Fall Convocation, scheduled from 10 to 11 a.m. Sept. 27 at Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. Students, faculty and staff are invited to attend. Organizers said Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef will be joined at the podium by five campus community members who will talk about how they approach making a difference. They are: Jeffrey Mount, professor of geology and director of the Center for Watershed Sciences; Eisha Zaid, senior genetics major; Lin King, Staff Assembly chair and manager of the R4 (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rebuy) program; Marya Welch, emerita faculty member; and Francisco Rodriguez, alumnus, former Student Affairs staff member and current president of Cosumnes River College. Jessie Ann Owens, newly appointed dean of the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies, will serve as the event’s master of ceremonies. Immediately after the program, a reception will be held at Mondavi Center’s Corin Courtyard and Sconyers Plaza for everyone in attendance. The convocation will be Webcast live, with audio and video available at the campus’s home page, www.ucdavis.edu. Diversity programs set The Office of Campus Community Relations announced its 2006-07 schedule of “Dialogues on Diversity,” open to all faculty and staff. Enrollment can be arranged online at the Staff Development and Professional Services Web site: sdps.ucdavis.edu. This year’s schedule includes one new program: Understanding Diversity and Social Justice. The workshop description states that participants will “engage in learning skills to become allies for social equality.” Understanding Diversity Certificate Series: • Understanding Religious Differences in the Workplace, 1-5 p.m. Oct. 19. • Understanding Generational Differences, 8:30 a.m.-noon Oct. 24. • Understanding Diversity and Social Justice, 8:30 a.m.-noon Dec. 5. • Unraveling Racism, Understanding White Privilege, 12:30-4 p.m. Jan. 17. • Understanding Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, 1-4:30 p.m. Jan. 23. Cross-Cultural Competence Certi-ficate Series: • Culturally Inclusive and Nonviolent Language, 1-4:30 p.m. Nov. 2. • Understanding Diversity and Social Justice, 8:30 a.m.-noon Dec. 5. • Intercultural Selection Processes, 1-4:30 p.m. Feb. 8. • Cross-Cultural Communication, 1-5 p.m. Feb. 20. • Cross-Cultural Competence, 8:30 a.m.-noon April 25. • Communication Across Gender in the Workplace, 8:30 a.m.-noon May 1. Community Leadership Programs • Managing in a Diverse Community, 1-4:30 p.m. Nov. 15. • Leadership in a Multicultural Community, 1-4:30 p.m. March 15. • Culturally Respectful Training, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. April 24. Support groups convene The Academic and Staff Assistance Program announced its fall support groups, The groups are scheduled to meet weekly for eight weeks. • Discover Your Quarterlife Potential, noon-1 p.m., Tuesdays, Oct. 10-Nov. 28—This group will explore the questions of “who we are, the career we really want and how we can make it in the real world.” Facilitators: Terri Hiroshima-Chan and Ruben Valenci. • Anxiety Management, noon-1 p.m., Thursdays, Sept. 28-Nov. 16—Organizers said skills instruction in this support group will help people for whom anxiety seems to be ruining their lives: people who are nervous and worry a lot. Facilitators: Beth Cohen and Nancy Hodges. • Reclaiming Yourself at Midlife, noon-1 p.m., Fridays, Sept. 29-Dec.1—The word “crisis” often is associated with mid-life, but organizers of this group said the mid-life years “can also open us to new possibilities.” Facilitators: Alice Provost and Sarah Jackson. • Retirement Preparation, meeting time to be determined—This support group, for employees who are considering retirement within five years, asks the question: Who will I be when I no longer work at UC Davis? To arrange a screening appointment for any of these groups, call the Academic and Staff Assistance Program, (530) 752-2727. Workshop on torture The UC Davis Center for the Study of Human Rights in the Americas and the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain are hosting an all-day workshop Sept. 30 as the first step for a research project on the neurobiology of psychological torture. The program features Alfred McCoy, professor of history at University of Wisconsin, who will give a brief history of U.S. involvement with psychological torture. He wrote A Question of Torture: CIA Interrogation From the Cold War to the War on Terror. A number of other national speakers will address psychiatric and neurobiological aspects of psychological torture. A cross-section of faculty members from the human rights center, Center for Mind and Brain, and UC Davis Medical School will be participating, but other faculty members interested in attending are asked to contact the organizers, Almerindo E. Ojeda, (530) 753-8832, (530) 574-4865 or aeojeda@ucdavis.edu, or Ron Mangun, (530) 297-4651 or mangun@ucdavis.edu. University holds Diversity Job Fair UC Davis employs more than 28,000 people, and at any given time the university could be looking to fill 100 or so vacancies. Interested in finding out what jobs are available, the requirements, and how to apply? Then consider attending the university’s Diversity Job Fair, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 7 at the ARC Pavilion on La Rue Road. “The goal is to reach a broader pool of diverse applicants to market UC Davis and UCD Health System not only as an academic, medical, research teaching institution, but also as a progressive and model employer,” said Irene Day, employment and outreach services manager. People coming to the job fair are encouraged to bring multiple copies of their resumes and other application materials. During the fair, organizers said, career counselors and staff will conduct workshops on interviewing and resume preparation techniques, and offer other guidance regarding the UC Davis application process. For some jobs, people will have the opportunity to sit down for preliminary interviews at the fair. For other jobs, people can go through informational interviews. Job listings can be found at http://hr.ucdavis.edu/emp and www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/hr.