No longer will UC Davis employees have to juggle four or more cards to access campus libraries, dining services and student housing. In accordance with the university's vision for a One Card campus, faculty and staff have begun receiving a single identification card that will do it all.

The new plastic cards, modeled after the registration cards students already use, are also taking the place of the former blue paper ID cards, whose use was discontinued July 1.

"This is really the first time that everyone affiliated with the campus has something that looks alike," said Eben Sutton, an accounting officer with campus accounting and financial services.

The back of the card is designed to incorporate information from the UC Davis Staff Assembly's "Dial for Help" proposal. This includes phone numbers for emergency services, including the UC Davis escort service, police and employee health services.

New campus employees began receiving the cards July 1 during orientation meetings. Current employees can obtain them, free of charge, two ways:

• By visiting 2100 Dutton Hall, where their picture can be taken and printed onto a new card in a few minutes; or
• By e-mailing an appropriate picture to the accounting office and picking up the card three business days later.

The card will replace the current UC Davis library card, and faculty and staff are required to surrender their old cards when they pick up the new ones. Card holders can also load monetary credit onto the cards for use at the Silo's seven eateries, or at the medical sciences cafe. University employees can also use the card to cash payroll checks at the University Cashier, located in Dutton Hall.

As more functions for the cards become available, they will be listed on the ID Card Program home page, which can be accessed at http://accounting.ucdavis.edu/employeeid. The site also features a list of frequently asked questions and detailed instructions on how to obtain a new card.