THE FIRST GUEST LIST

Hosts: Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi and Spyros Tseregounis, faculty coordinator, Office of Corporate Relations

Guests:

• Kelly Cole, assistant director, Residential Academic Advising, Student Housing
• Jillian Emerson, teaching laboratory specialist, Department of Chemistry
• Karl Engelbach, associate chancellor
• Dave Jones, editor, Dateline UC Davis
• Lina Layiktez, chair, Staff Assembly, and director, Conference and Event Services
• Najwa Marrush, assistant to the chair, Department of Plant Sciences
• Maria McAuliffe, administrative assistant, Pharmacy Administration, UC Davis Medical Center
• Danny Nou, director of ergonomics, Occupational Health Services
• Jane Quiring, business analyst, Undergraduate Admissions
• Brian Russ, contracts and grants analyst, Sponsored Programs, Office of Research
• Nikolai Schweitzer, staff research associate, Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center, Agriculture and Natural Resources
• Kate Shasky, undergraduate adviser, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
• Mike Smaystrla, principal agricultural technician, Department of Plant Sciences
• Darolyn Striley, graduate student coordinator, Voorhies Administrative Unit
• Deziree Sutliff, coordinator, Academic Support Program, Student Academic Success Center

Fifteen staff members participated in Staff Assembly’s first Breakfast with the Chancellor on May 9 — and you could have a spot at the table in the future.

“The program offers the opportunity to network with fellow staff members and have a dialogue with the chancellor on important staff issues,” Staff Assembly Chair Lina Layiktez wrote in her Staff Voice column after attending the May 9 breakfast at the Chancellor’s Residence.

“The breakfast conversation was lively and productive and covered topics ranging from the need for a talent management program to starting programs to increase interaction between faculty, staff and students,” Layiktez wrote.

The May 9 guests, with UC Davis service ranging from two to 22 years, represented the main campus, the health system and a field station.

Breakfasts have been scheduled monthly through the end of the year. The application deadline is the first of the month to be considered for participation the following month. So, for example, if you submit an application by Monday (June 1), you’ll be eligible for the July breakfast. If you’re not selected, your application will stay in the running for 12 months — no need to fill out an application every month.

“We encourage you to submit an application and to recommend this opportunity to any peers who may be interested,” Layiktez wrote in her column.

Communications survey

Staff Assembly is conducting a communications survey: It is intended for staff, and responses are due by this Friday (May 30). You’re encouraged to submit your own response and spread the word to your colleagues.

The UC Davis survey stems from the systemwide Staff Engagement Survey, a 2012 project of the Council of UC Staff Assemblies, or CUCSA. It was administered at all UC locations except the medical centers, Hastings College of the Law and Associated Strudents UCLA. According to the Davis campus Staff Assembly, the 2012 survey's UC Davis-specific findings revealed many staff members here believe communications on campus need improvement.

“Survey results indicated that we have some less than satisfactory results with regard to receiving important information from campus leaders as well as staff feeling able to openly and honestly communicate their views upward,” Staff Assembly officials said.

They announced the follow-up, online survey in the May 16 edition of the Staff Voice newsletter, saying they wanted to find out “how you receive your information and what helps or hurts your efforts to communicate.”

“Please spend a few minutes answering our 14-question survey,” Staff Assembly officials said. “We also need your help to spread the word about the survey so we receive responses from as many staff as possible, and not just regular readers of the Staff Voice.”

The survey results will be reviewed with campus leadership and posted in a future edition of Staff Voice.

Qustions about the survey? Send them to staffvoice@ucdavis.edu.

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