A staff forum will be held at midmonth to provide an update on Career Tracks, the University of California’s new job classification system for nonrepresented staff across the system. The presentation will include the 2017 implementation timeline and a discussion of impacts to staff.

Season Tickets on Sale

In all the excitement of announcing our new football coach, we neglected to tell you: Season tickets are on sale, $60 to $130, giving you a seat for every 2017 home game under Coach Dan Hawkins ’84, who played for the legendary Jim Sochor and later worked with him as an assistant coach before moving on to other coaching jobs, including stints as head coach at Boise State and Colorado. Read earlier coverage.

Organized by Staff Assembly, the Administrative Management Group (ADMAN) and Human Resources, the forum is scheduled from noon to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15, in Ballroom B at the Conference Center.

A little more than half of nonrepresented staff on the Davis campus have already been mapped into Career Tracks job families, including Information Technology and Finance. Remaining nonrepresented staff positions will be assigned a Career Tracks job family and function by January 2018.

Career Tracks clarifies career paths, provides job standards that reflect the labor market and helps facilitate consistent employee evaluation decisions. It does not change an individual’s pay, job duties, responsibilities or working title.

Refresher training due for cyberawareness

Email notices will start going out soon with details on the second round of mandatory cyberawareness training for all faculty and staff, as well as student employees. Most employees completed the introductory training a year ago, and now comes the required annual update.

Feedback during the first round indicated the training program should be shorter. Thus, the update should take only about 30 minutes, which is 15 to 30 minutes less than the introductory training.

“Many cyberattacks result when people unintentionally do things that put themselves or their information at risk,” said Cheryl Washington, said the university’s chief information security officer. “As technology evolves, so do the risks. This training will help you keep up with what you need to know.”   

Staff Development and Professional Services will send out about 25,000 notices by January, advising employees of the cyberawareness training update. Employees will have six weeks to complete the assignment.

After this year, the date for annual updates will vary by employee, coincide with his or her employment anniversary.

Management Skills Assessment Program

Applications are being accepted for UC’s Management Skills Assessment Program to be held April 17-20 at the UCLA Conference Center, Lake Arrowhead. UC runs the program for staff from around the system, with an eye toward identifying people for future leadership opportunities.

UC Davis has seven slots to fill from among applicants from the main campus and the UC Davis Health System. The application deadline is 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 21.

“We strongly recommend that department heads discuss the program with supervisors, managers and professionals who exhibit potential for management development and encourage them to apply,” states an announcement from UC Davis Human Resources. Selection criteria are listed on the program’s website.

UC Davis HR will cover the program cost of $1,095 (including all materials and room and board for three days and two nights) for each campus and health system participant. Departments are responsible for transportation or other related travel costs.

The program website includes a link to the application form (which has applicant and supervisor components). For more information, contact Davis campus coordinator Kristin Davis by email or phone, 530-752-3700; or health system coordinator Kristi Dorsch by email or phone, 916-734-2673.

Holiday Helping update

• Toys for Tots — Mail Services is collecting toys on the Davis campus through this Friday (Dec. 9), to turn over to the Marine Corps League for its Toys for Tots drive for Yolo County children. The drive asks for toys for recipients from infant to 12 years old. You can leave donations (new, unwrapped) with your outgoing mail, or drop them in blue bins around the campus. See list of locations here.

• Mercer Clinic Holiday Pet Baskets — Volunteer staff and retirees from the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital are seeking monetary contributions to provide food and other supplies as well as winter coats and sweaters for homeless people’s pets. The distribution is scheduled for Dec. 10 at the Mercer Clinic for the Pets of the Homeless, run by UC Davis veterinary students with supervision by faculty and others who volunteer their time. The nonprofit clinic is open one day a month near Sacramento Loaves & Fishes.

Donations can be made online, or by mail to Mercer Clinic Holiday Pet Baskets; University of California, Davis; 1460 Drew Ave., Suite 100; Davis 95618 (make checks payable to “Mercer Clinic Holiday Pet Baskets”). All donations are tax-deductible.

Asbestos removal at construction site

Workers last weekend completed the first phase of soil removal from the construction site of the new large lecture hall on California Avenue. The removal followed the discovery of naturally occurring asbestos.

Most of the work will take place over winter break. Meanwhile, contractors and UC Davis employees are carrying out air monitoring around the site.

UC Davis routinely tests for asbestos on development sites like this one that exceed an acre in size. Plans for the lecture hall already called for the removal of a large volume of soil. The contaminated soil is being taken to specialized landfills.

UC Davis has hired a state-certified asbestos consultant to advise on the project. The university and the project contractor are taking all appropriate measures to protect the health and safety of workers on the site, prevent contamination and protect the community. Such measures include protective clothing and equipment for employees working on the site, air monitoring around the site perimeter, and properly removing and disposing of the material.

The work is not expected to significantly delay the project’s completion, scheduled for winter quarter 2018. 

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