The César Chávez Youth Leadership Conference & Celebration returns to UC Davis this Saturday (March 15).

The Hispanic Empowerment Association of Roseville, the Latino Leadership Council, the California Latino School Boards Association and UC Davis are sponsoring the event, the 14th annual, and UC Davis is hosting for the second consecutive year.

The event — described as an art, education, job and health fair — is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Freeborn and Wellman halls.

Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi is scheduled to give a welcome address during the Aztec Opening Ceremony, just after 9 a.m. in Freeborn Hall. Then comes the day's first keynote speaker: Delores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers union.

The morning program continues with a play, Secrets, by the Kaiser Educational Theater Program, 9:30 a.m., and more than 40 workshops for students and parents, with many of the topics having to do with careers and college readiness.

The lunchtime program includes a keynote speaker, former astronaut Jose Hernandez, and cultural entertainment.

The event is free, including breakfast at 8 a.m. and lunch. Parking is also free. People planning to attend are asked to sign up in advance, via this online registration site.

Consider ‘citing’ your hard-working colleagues

“We all work with someone — a supervisor, a team or an office mate — who goes to incredible lengths to further the university’s mission,” says Darolyn Striley, a member of the Staff Assembly board of directors.

So, Striley continued, now’s the time to nominate them for Citations for Excellence.

“I’m always inspired to learn about these staff members and encourage you to submit a nomination for that special team or individual so we can help share how their contributions improve the excellence of this campus,” said Striley, chair of Staff Assembly's Citations for Excellence Committee.

The nomination deadline is 5 p.m. Friday, April 4. The nomirnation forms are available online: individual (in the areas of teaching, research, service, innovation or supervision) and team (in the areas of campus community contributions or campus community service).

Still using XP software? Stop by April 8

On April 8, Microsoft will stop providing security updates and other patches for its XP operating system — and that means you can no longer use it on UC Davis computers, because they would be major targets for hacks, viruses and other malware.

The risk is significant, both to the faculty, students and staff who run XP (their data could be exploited or stolen) and to the campus, because damage that starts in an XP computer could easily spread across the UC Davis network.

No one knows the number of computers running XP while connected to the university’s network; the security group in Information and Educational Technology, or IET, estimates at least 1,200 — ranging from largely forgotten computers tucked away in offices and homes, to research computers with hard-to-upgrade software.

UC Davis security standards prohibit computers from connecting to the campus network if they use unmaintained OS or application software.

Read the complete IET TechNews article to learn what you should do if you are still running XP.

Summer camp registration begins Wednesday

Registration begins at noon Wednesday (March 12) for Campus Recreation and Unions’ summer youth programs: camps, classes, trips and swimming lessons.

Click here to find the the catalog (for download) and a link for online registration. If you do not have one already, you will need to create a profile for access to Campus Rec and Union’s online “store.”

You may also register by calling or visiting the Youth Programs office. The phone number is (530) 754-4304, and the office is located outside the Rec Pool, corner of Hutchison Drive and La Rue Road. Parking available in Lot 30.

'Shark' invests $300,000; MBA alums celebrate

Start-up company Revolights, which has not one but two UC Davis MBAs in its ranks of seven, scored a $300,000 investment on ABC Television’s “Shark Tank” last Friday night.

“It’s been an incredible experience,” said Adam Pettler MBA ’11, chief financial officer for Revolights Inc., maker of wheel-mounted bike light systems. Pettler was a full-time MBA student on the Davis campus when he developed the Revolights business plan in an independent study course supervised by Marc Lowe, an adjunct professor.

Danny Wong, a 2011 graduate of the GSM’s part-time MBA program in the San Francisco Bay Area, heard about Revolights from Lowe — and now serves as the company’s business manager.

President and Chief Executive Officer Kent Frankovich, whose idea launched the company in 2011, represented Revolights on the show, which was taped last September. Frankovich asked for $150,000 in return for a 10 percent equity stake in Revolights, and didn’t even have to negotiate to get double what he wanted — when “Shark” Robert Herjavec offered $300,000 for 10 percent equity.

'Women Feeding the World' photos on weatherchannel.com

The Weather Channel website is featuring a UC Davis photo exhibition, “Women Feeding the World,” depicting women in a variety of roles related to food — from harvesting seaweed for export in Tanzania, to breastfeeding a baby in Davis.

“UC Davis Shows You the Faces of the Women Who Are Feeding the World,” reads The Weather Channel headline. The photos are from among dozens submitted by students, faculty, staff and community members for a January program inspired by the 2013-14 Campus Community Book Project, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide.

“Women Feeding the World: Farmers, Mothers and CEOs,” held Jan. 21, comprised a panel discussion and a conversation with the audience — as well as the photo exhibition.

Twelve photos from the collection are on display in the Memorial Union (first floor, west corridor alongside the Coffee House) through the end of winter quarter. And you can see all of the photo submissions in this online gallery.

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