Human Resources and the Shared Services Center are now working together to provide customer service for Davis campus employee benefits. With the collaboration, three employees moved out of the HR Administration Building and into the Shared Services Center last week, allowing for greater efficiency among staff members who work in benefits.

Effective June 6, the Shared Services Center is the home for walk-in and call-in benefits questions, insurance payments for employees on leave, and forms submission and questions about forms. These services are no longer available at the HR Administration Building on Orchard Road.

Employee benefits service at the Shared Services Center is available Monday through Friday: in person, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; and by phone, 8:30 a.m.-noon and 1-4:30 p.m., at the same number as before, 530-752-1774. The fax number also remains the same: 530-752-1993.

The HR Administration Building still houses the Health Care Facilitator Program, post-doc insurance coordinator, counselors for layoffs and UC Retirement Plan disability, and the employee benefits manager.

The rest of the team made the move to the Shared Services Center as part of “a concerted effort to combine customer service units with like transactional processes in one location,” said Gil Sebastian, employee benefits manager.

Sara Reed, director of the Shared Services Center, said: “Our day-to-day operations are committed to serving the customer first, and this small change is meant to help streamline services to employees.”

The Shared Services Center is in Suite 150 at 260 Cousteau Place, Davis, off Second Street between downtown Davis and the Target store. The center is behind the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. Customer Service Center at Second and Cousteau Place.

Directions to the SSC. Parking is free; no permit required.

Double-decker fun this Saturday

The Davis Farmers Market Double-Decker, a free shuttle between the campus and downtown, will be in operation from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Saturday (June 11). Unitrans, the farmers market and the city sponsor this special service once a month, on Saturdays — which means that even those parents who work Monday through Friday can take their children for a fun ride on a double-decker.

The modern, air-conditioned bus runs between the Memorial Union Terminal and the Amtrak station, making a number of stops along the way (arriving at each stop every 20 minutes or so). See the route map.

The service is normally scheduled the first Saturday of the month. But, the June date is a week later, coinciding with UC Davis’ biggest weekend for commencements.

Fall Diversity Awareness Workshop

Nominations and applications are being accepted for the annual Fall Diversity Awareness Workshop, open to Davis campus and UC Davis Health System faculty and staff, as well as graduate students with teaching appointments. The workshop lasts two days and will be presented twice.

Part of the university’s Diversity Education Program, the workshop aims “to build awareness about the diversity of our campus community and engage in important conversations about ways of making our campus more inclusive and more welcoming,” said Rahim Reed, associate executive vice chancellor, who leads the Office of Campus Community Relations.

“As our campus continues to grow, these types of important dialogues are more imperative to ensure that we continue to aspire towards an environment that is inclusive of our diversity.”

The workshop’s website describes part of the program as a discussion of ways to operationalize the university’s Principles of Community, by exploring concepts related to social justice, equity and inclusion, and how to dismantle oppression, prejudice and discrimination. 

This year’s workshops are scheduled as follows: 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. Thursday-Friday, Aug. 25-26, and Sept. 8-9. The organizers invite nominations and applications via this participant interest sheet, to be submitted by July 22.

Those who are selected will receive confirmation letters in early August. People who are not selected will be placed on a waiting list. Questions? Contact Megan Macklin, program manager, by phone, 530-752-2071 or email.

Help bring in campus crop for Yolo Food Bank

Harvest time is here for a campus field brimming with produce to be donated to the Yolo Food Bank — and everyone’s invited to help bring in the crop!

The harvest, led by the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden’s Learning by Leading Program and the ASUCD Fresh Focus Program, is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon Friday (June 10). Meet at the Bowley Plant Science Teaching Facility.

Professor Muhammad Marrush and his students used the field this quarter for Plant Sciences 5: “Plants for Garden, Orchard and Landscape.”

People interested in volunteering for the harvest are asked to register here.

Zika symposium video available online

A video recording of the May 26 Zika Public Awareness Symposium is available for viewing online. Professor Walter Leal and 18 biochemistry students organized the program, which featured experts from UC Davis and Brazil, epicenter of the zika virus outbreak.

UC Davis presenters included medical entomologist Robert Washino, professor emeritus and former entomology chair, addressing the topic, “UC Davis and Mosquitoes.”

Follow Dateline UC Davis on Twitter.