Under new rules that took effect Jan. 1, UC Davis is prohibited (with some exceptions) from using state funds to pay for UC-related travel to Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee, or requiring any affiliates to travel to those states regardless of funding source.

The restrictions are the result of Assembly Bill 1887, which targets all states with laws that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. California’s attorney general identified the four states that made the initial list, and will amend it as necessary.

AB 1887 expressly identifies UC and the California State University system as entities covered by the new state law.

The UC Davis travel office has a webpage with information on the “Restricted Travel Law.” An FAQ includes: “state funds” definition, exceptions under which state-funded travel is allowed to the listed states, and the protocol for travel that is required by grants. For travel commitments made prior to Jan. 1, departments and units are advised that they should locate alternative funding sources.

Transitioning to Retirement series start Friday

Two series will meet on the same days, at different times, on four consecutive Fridays through Feb. 3:

• Staff members — 9 a.m.-noon, ballroom, Conference Center
• Faculty and other academics, and physicians — 1-4 p.m., AGR Hall, Buehler Alumni Center

The same two series will be offered starting Feb. 17 on the Sacramento campus.

More information and registration:

• Transitioning to Retirement for Staff — Learn more about each session, and register (you must register for each session you plan to attend).
• Transitioning to Retirement for Faculty/Physicians/Academics — Learn more about each session, and register (you must register for each session you plan to attend).

Earlier coverage.

Staff-faculty days at Amazon@UC Davis

As winter quarter begins, Amazon@UC Davis in the Memorial Union is showing its appreciation to staff and faculty, with prize giveaways and demonstrations of package pickup lockers every day through Jan. 20.

“The aim of these two weeks is to touch base with faculty and staff who currently ship to us, or who have always shipped to their office instead,” said Rachel Zech, campus site leader for the Amazon store, which opened last June along with the new Campus Store.

Zach said staff and faculty — and students, too — are eligible to win Fire tablets, Fire TV Sticks, Amazon gift cards and other prizes during the appreciation event.

Stop by any time during regular hours: 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday, and noon-9 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. The store is accessible from the Campus Store and from a door off the MU’s North Patio. Use the North Patio entry when the Campus Store is closed.

Besides providing lockers in a secure, convenient location, the Amazon store also handles free returns of most items sold by Amazon. Amazon Prime and Prime Student members have access to free same-day pickup for orders placed by noon and free one-day pickup for orders placed by 10 p.m.

Campus seeks emergency response volunteers

The campus is seeking about 50 faculty, staff and students to train this quarter as members of a new Campus Emergency Response Team, or CERT.

Clement Stokes, director of Emergency Management and Mission Continuity for the campus, said the team will be based on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s model that has been adapted for communities, workplaces, and school and colleges across the country.

CERT will support the campus’s comprehensive emergency program including preparedness activities, community welfare during special events like Picnic Day, and organized community recovery in an emergency.

“The team will play a vital role both in support of professional responders and in circumstances when they are not immediately available,” Stokes said.

Read more.

More A-permit parking in Lot 5

More A-permit parking spaces became available in Lot 5 at the southeast corner of the campus, effective Jan. 3. Lot 5 straddles Old Davis Road near the Arboretum Waterway.

Transportation Services, or TAPS, converted 57 C-permit spaces to A spaces in the western half of Lot 5. Thus, the western half (near Wyatt Pavilion) is now an all-A-permit parking lot.

The other half of Lot 5, near Solano Park, on the east side of Old Davis Road, continues to provide more than 200 spaces for C-permit and visitor parking.

TAPS Director Cliff Contreras attributed the change to an “increased demand for A-permit parking on the east side of campus.”

Picnic Day board seeks exhibit applications

The Picnic Day board announced that the exhibit application form for next year’s event is ready and waiting for departments and department-affiliated organizations wishing to participate. Here’s the link.

“Growing Together” is the theme for 103rd Picnic Day, to be held Saturday, April 22. More information.

Arboretum volunteer applications due Jan. 20

The UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden is seeking new volunteers for its gardening and habitat restoration teams. Applications are being accepted until Friday, Jan. 20, for a limited number of positions.

• Gardening — Volunteers work in teams in collaboration with horticultural staff on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday mornings.
• Habitat restoration — Of the two volunteer opportunities, this one can be more strenuous, with assignments along Putah Creek and other rural parts of campus. Volunteers work in teams in collaboration with natural resources staff on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday mornings.

The training schedule for both teams: 9 a.m.-noon on six consecutive Thursdays, Feb. 2-March 9. A $20 materials fee is due from each volunteer at the time of his or her team’s first training session.

The application forms are available via this webpage (look for the links to a pair of PDFs, at the bottom of the page). Scan your completed form and send it by email, or by fax to 530-752-5796.

Questions? Contact Roxanne Loe by email or phone, 530-752-4880.

Coach Hawkins beats drum for Aggie football 2017

Aggie Athletics recently announced the football schedule for 2017, and new head coach Dan Hawkins is leading the charge for ticket sales. Season tickets are available here.

“It’s time to start selling out Aggie Stadium and supporting championship football,” he said. “We have four playoff teams coming here, and we have the rivalry game with Cal Poly. We want to get the Horseshoe back. And it will mean a lot to have our Southern Californian fans and alumni come out and support us in San Diego.”

Here’s the home schedule:

• Saturday, Sept. 9 — San Diego
• Saturday, Sept. 30 — North Dakota
• Saturday, Oct. 7 — Eastern Washington (Brewfest)
• Saturday, Oct. 28 — Cal Poly (homecoming and Battle for the Golden Horseshoe)
• Saturday, Nov. 11 — Southern Utah (Salute to Heroes, on Veterans Day)

Away games:

• Saturday, Sept. 2 — San Diego State
• Saturday, Sept. 16 — Portland State
• Saturday, Sept. 23 — Weber State (first conference game)
• Saturday, Oct. 21 — Northern Arizona
• Saturday, Nov. 4 — Idaho State
• Saturday, Nov. 18 — Sacramento State (64th Causeway Classic)

Game times are still to be determined.

TRANSITION: Jaimey Fisher takes helm of DHI

Jaimey Fisher, professor of German and cinema and digital, has been appointed to a three-year term as the director of the UC Davis Humanities Institute, or DHI.

“I feel very strongly about the role the humanities and arts play at a research university and in the wider society,” said Fisher, who has been with UC Davis since 2004. “I see this as an opportunity to work and think about this on a level other than departmentally. With the DHI, you have contact with very active faculty across the university.”

The DHI is part of the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies in the College of Letters and Sciences. Susan Kaiser, the division’s interim dean, said: “Professor Fisher brings together the humanities and the arts with his background in German literature and film. He has a helpful interdisciplinary and integrative approach to the DHI. He is also an experienced and creative administrator.”

Read more on the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies website.

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