Money magazine recently rated college professor as the second best job in America among 50 careers based on "stress," "flexibility," "creativity" and "ease of entry." The professorial occupation — which received "A" grades for "flexibility" and "creativity" — has a 10-year job growth forecast of 31 percent and an annual salary of $81,491, according to the publication. "While competition for tenure-track jobs will always be stiff, enrollment is rising in professional programs, community colleges and technical schools — which means higher demand for faculty," stated the Money article. Software engineers were deemed to have the best jobs. See money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs/top50/index.html. ...

The Davis City Council recently asked the city's many volunteers to stand and be recognized at a council meeting. Among those in the crowd of more than three dozen was UC Davis employee John Dixon. The council paid tribute to city volunteers in conjunction with National Volunteer Week, April 23-29. The Davis Enterprise reported that Dixon cleans up graffiti at Walnut Park and picks up litter along the Putah Creek Parkway. He was appointed to the Recreation and Park Commission in 2002 and serves as vice chair. He was a charter member of the Police Department's Volunteers in Public Service Program, or VIPS. The article mistakenly identified Dixon as a teacher at UC Davis since 1973. The year is correct, but he is not on the faculty. He is coordinator of the Partner Opportunities Program in the chancellor's and provost's offices. …

How many classes are taught by faculty vs. teaching assistants? This is a common question from prospective students and their parents. At UC Davis, both TAs and associate instructors are graduate students. Combined, they taught 11 percent of classes in 2004-05, according to the Office of Resource Management and Planning. TA's are generally responsible only for labs, recitations or quiz sections. ...

The book selected for the 2006 Campus Book Project — Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pollan — is now on sale for $16.95 at the Campus Bookstore, $10 off the publisher's price. Copies are also available for borrowing in the Office of Campus Community Relations, 412 Mrak, and the University Writing Program, 176 Voorhies. In his book, Pollan, a UC Berkeley journalism professor, asks what society values in its food systems and eating. ...

Hispanic Magazine rates UC Davis as the 20th best university for Latinos in the United States. The publictation noted, "Minority students have access to several means of academic and social support at UC Davis. The Cross Cultural Center — a community resource created for African American, Native American, Asian and Chicano/ Latino students, the four traditionally underrepresented student groups — is just one example." Other UCs ranked included Santa Barbara (19), San Diego (17), UCLA (15) and Berkeley (14). Harvard was named No. 1. For details, see www.hispaniconline.com/magazine/2006/march/features/colleges.html. ...

Thanks to Student Housing and R4 Recycling, UC Davis made a huge leap forward in recycling, finishing ninth out of 93 schools in the 2006 Recyclemania competition. California State University, San Marcos, placed first. Last year UC Davis took 19th place out of 49 universities. UC Davis is one of the only UC campuses with its own landfill. Visit R4's Web site at r4.ucdavis.edu to learn more, or contact Christa Jones at cajones@ucdavis.edu, (530) 752-7456. ...

Last week's Dateline noted that Professor Al Harrison was serving as interim director of the Office of Summer Sessions, and busy recruiting faculty and students for the program. But the article neglected to tell you anything about Harrison. He officially "retired" last July after 38 years at UC Davis, the last 10 as director of the Internship and Career Center. He said he came out of retirement "to stay involved and help the campus out." He is an emeritus professor of psychology, and his expertise is in issues related to outer space, such as human requirements for extended spaceflight and human response to extraterrestrial life, and served as an adviser to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. …

The opening of UC Davis' new Energy Efficiency Center included a reference to Thomas Edison and the day in 1882 when he "flipped the switch" at the Pearl Street power station in lower Manhattan. Associate Professor Andrew Hargadon pointed out that Edison did not invent electricity, or even the light bulb — that someone had beaten him to that patent by 40 years. But Hargadon, the center's founding director, credited Edison for something else: turning electricity into a business. Previously, "people were selling it in small volumes, with isolated systems," Hargadon said after the April 12 news conference that launched the Energy Efficiency Center. "What Edison did was create the first sustainable business model." That "model" turned into General Electric. Now is the time for the same kind of thing to happen with energy efficiency, Hargadon said. "If the entrepreneur doesn't benefit, it won't make it to market." Hargadon teaches in the Graduate School of Management and is an expert in the management of innovation.

— Clifton B. Parker and Dave Jones