As described in an open letter to the UC Davis academic community sent Dec. 28, the University of California is currently in negotiations to renew its systemwide license with scholarly journal publisher Elsevier. UC hopes to reach an agreement with Elsevier that facilitates open access publishing of UC research and contains costs by integrating open access article processing charges, or APCs, and subscription fees into a single contract.

UC’s previous contract was set to expire Dec. 31, and, while a new contract has not yet been signed, UC and Elsevier have agreed to extend UC’s access to Elsevier journals through January 2019 in a good-faith effort to conclude negotiations by the end of the month. As a result of this extension, UC scholars will see no change in the way they access Elsevier journal articles in January. 

Meanwhile, the UC Davis Library remains committed to working with faculty, clinicians, students and staff to ensure that Davis scholars can get access to the research articles they need no matter what happens in February.

More information is available online:

• UC Davis Library’s “UC-Elsevier Negotiations” webpage
• UC Office of Scholarly Communication, which offers background and in-depth FAQs

No major impacts from weekend storm

“It was a good storm but did not have a major impact on the campus tree canopy or landscape,” reports Cary Avery, who leads Grounds and Landscape Services. “We were lucky!”

Davis received 3.77 inches of rain from Friday through Monday (Jan. 4-7). Wind gusts during that period ranged as high as 40 mph.

“A few small trees came down and a lot of small limbs on the ground,” Avery said Monday (Jan. 7). “We will have most everything cleaned by end of the day today.”

Indeed, his crew gathered 122 cubic yards of green waste, leaves and small branches — equivalent to nine dump-truck loads.

On the move: College Opportunity Programs

UC Davis College Opportunity Programs have moved from the Division of Student Affairs to the School of Education, effective Jan. 2. The new administrator is Renee Newton of the school’s Resourcing Excellence in Education (REEd) center. 

College Opportunity Programs, including Educational Talent Search, GEAR UP and Upward Bound, provide academic preparation services to more than 8,000 junior and senior high and college students and families each year, financed primarily by funding from the U.S. Department of Education. Services span grades 7-16 and are offered both on the UC Davis campus and at middle and high school sites throughout Sacramento, Solano, Yolo, Shasta, Siskiyou, Modoc, Trinity and Tehama counties. 

“The services of the College Opportunity Programs are a perfect match for the School of Education’s mission of educational equity and our goal to break down barriers to student success,” Dean Lauren Lindstrom said. “And we’re thrilled to welcome the 35 College Opportunity Programs staff members to the school’s team.”

Start the quarter with a bargain or two

Fitness first, coffee second ... or coffee first and then fitness? You decide!

• Try Before You Buy — From martial arts to dance, Campus Recreation invites you to try fitness classes (group exercise, series classes and small group training) for free through Sunday (Jan. 13). Also note: Campus Rec has changed the name of Fitness and Wellness to Living Well, or LiveWell for short (website changes are coming!).
• Half-off coffee — Through Friday (Jan. 11) at the Coffee House, CoHo South Café and Bio Brew, in celebration of the CoHo’s switch to ecoGrounds coffee.

Plan for Vacation Month

The holidays are over, January has dawned, and we’re all thinking about … vacation! Or, we should be, according to Human Resources’ WorkLife unit, which is promoting January as Plan for Vacation Month and Jan. 29 as National Plan for Vacation Day.

“We are asking departments/units to schedule time in a January staff meeting where everyone on the team takes out a calendar together and plans their time off for the year,” said Sandy Batchelor, WorkLife interim manager.

WorkLife maintains a Plan For Vacation Month webpage where you can learn why taking your vacation is so valuable, find fun infographics to post and share, and access a Vacation Toolkit to help in your planning.

Looking for ideas? Take a look at this page, “Gunrock Boldly Goes,” where WorkLife posts pictures of Gunrock’s travels around the world with UC Davis staff and faculty. The page includes a video and a map highlighting where Gunrock has been.

Volunteers sought for arboretum and reserve

The UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, and the Putah Creek Riparian Reserve are recruiting volunteers for all kinds of tasks, from plant sale support and gardening in the arboretum to construction in the reserve.

The application deadline is Friday, Jan. 18, for the arboretum’s gardening, plant sale support and land stewardship teams, each of which will have one or more training sessions from late January into March. Training will comprise expert instruction and hands-on projects. Note: A $20 training materials fee is payable at the first training session.

Here are the training schedules:

• Gardening — Training 9 a.m.-noon Thursdays, Jan. 31-March 7.
• Plant sale support — Training 9 a.m.-noon Thursday, Jan. 31; 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 13; and 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26.
• Land stewardship — Training 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, Sunday or Monday, Jan. 26, 27 or 28.

The Putah Creek Riparian Reserve offers the opportunity for volunteers to learn the nuts and bolts of wildland management, but note: This work is more labor intensive and physically demanding. Signups are welcome throughout the year; training is ongoing.

More information and the application form are available online.

Questions? Contact arboretum headquarters by email or phone, 530-752-4880.

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