Update 4 p.m. May 11: First-Year Aggie Connections has extended its deadline until May 18, for proposals from staff, faculty and graduate students who would like to be "Connection" facilitators in the fall.

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First-Year Aggie Connections invites staff and faculty and graduate students to be fall quarter “Connection” facilitators, volunteers who meet regularly with first-year students to assist them in transitioning to UC Davis.

Participating students — freshmen and transfers, including international students — will be assigned to groups, or “Connections” (about 25 students each), based on shared identity, interest or theme. Anyone interested in being a facilitator is asked to propose a Connection — keeping in mind that Connection themes should appeal to a diverse student body. (Staff members must receive supervisor approval to participate in First-Year Aggie Connections.)

Prospective facilitators who need help in developing Connection themes are invited to a theme proposal workshop to be held from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 17, in 323 South Hall; or contact Rachel Bingham, First-Year Aggie Connections coordinator, for individual consultation. You can reach her by email.

“Facilitators engage their Connections in discussions on crucial topics related to life at the university, empowering new students to navigate their first year,” Bingham said.

She said facilitators have the option of working with peer mentors (facilitators can nominate their own peer mentors, or First-Year Aggie Connections can assign trained students).

More information is available on the program’s website; click on “Become a Facilitator” to find the proposal form. The deadline for proposals is May 11. Questions? Send an email to aggieconnect@ucdavis.edu.

Ethics training rolls out week of April 2

Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter sent a memo Monday (March 19) advising employees of a new round of mandatory ethics training.

“Conflict of Interest for Researchers” training is for all employees who receive any amount of research funding in support of their salaries. All other employees must take “General Ethics.”

Both trainings are expected to be available through the Learning Management System (LMS) beginning the week of April 2. A small group of employees has already completed training; all others will receive LMS emails assigning the training and setting a deadline six weeks out. Each training is expected to take approximately 20 to 30 minutes.

If you have questions regarding this training requirement or the training content, contact Chief Compliance Officer Wendi Delmendo by email.

If you have any technical difficulties with the training, contact Staff Development and Professional Services by email.

Commission sets accreditation visit, April 5-6

Carolyn Thomas, vice provost and dean for Undergraduate Education, announced an accreditation team from the WASC Senior College and University Commission, or WSCUC, will visit UC Davis on Thursday and Friday, April 5-6.

In an email message to the campus last week, Thomas said a confidential email account — set up by the WSCUC and accessible only to the WSCUC team and authorized staff — is available to faculty, staff and students who will not be participating in site visit meetings but wish to communicate with the team.

The email address, ucd@wscuc.org, will be closed once the WSCUC team leaves the campus; only comments made before or during the visit will be considered as part of the review process.

Thomas said the accreditation team is coming to address three issues:

• Assessment — How data gathered about student learning outcomes are used consistently across all departments to guide improvement.
• Program review — How direct evidence of student learning has been incorporated into the program review process and how the results of program review are used in the allocation of resources.
• 2020 Initiative — An update on the implementation of the 2020 Initiative with specific attention to the faculty/student ratio; ladder rank vs. nonladder rank faculty; faculty diversity; level of course impaction; changes in staffing; advising; academic support and student services; and facilities. 

The team is not able to meet individually with members of the campus community and team members will not respond individually to email comments, Thomas said.

IN MEMORIAM: Joe Singleton, former athletics director

Joe Singleton, best known at UC Davis as its director of athletics from 1971 to 1987, died March 13 at the age of 82. He was inducted into the Cal Aggie Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993 and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010.

Singleton came to UC Davis in 1969 as a lecturer in the physical education department, and as an assistant coach for football and track. Two years later, he was named as Bill Lakie’s successor as director of athletics, at a time when few African-Americans held such a title outside of the historically black colleges and universities.

During his tenure, UC Davis:

• Won 41 conference championships and a total of five national team titles in men’s golf, women’s tennis and women’s gymnastics.
• Hosted NCAA championships in men’s golf, wrestling and gymnastics, the last of which marked the first time ESPN televised an event held on campus.
• Opened Recreation Hall (now The Pavilion) in 1977.
• Launched the Cal Aggie Athletics Hall of Fame in 1980.

Singleton also served as a key advocate for women’s athletics, as the passage of Title IX took place early in his time at the helm. He guided the transition of Aggie women’s sports from Division III status in the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, to Division II status in the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the early 1980s.

Read more in this athletics news release.

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