Hot cider, the OP Singers, platters of cookies and other treats: By all accounts, the UCOP holiday party was a great success and gave staff a wonderful opportunity to socialize with their colleagues.

Spring 2011 WorkFit Program resumes January 10

It’s the new year: resolve to get fit with WorkFit!

The Spring 2011 session starts Monday January 10 with a try-it-for free week. Bring your sweats. Grab a colleague! Take a friend! Nudge your spouse or siblings to join you as the popular WorkFit program returns to OP next week with a try-it-for-free week.

If you haven’t tried it, now is the time! WorkFit instructors can accommodate any skill level.

Great news for Franklin WorkFitters: While the former credit union space at Franklin is undergoing remodeling, the program will temporarily relocate to the CSU building at 1000 Broadway, Room 1. Good news: the schedule has us in the same room for the duration of the temporary relocation. Not so-good news: the CSU facility is primarily a classroom environment so we have some noise and hour restrictions that temporarily impact the schedule.

As a result, new offerings at both locations and the P.M. sessions at Franklin are on hold until after the program moves back to the remodeled Franklin space after early February. Plans call for the addition of the wildly popular Zumba (possibly at both locations) when the program moves back to Franklin. Keep an eye on Link for the announcements.

Based on feedback from our dedicated participants, three membership options are offered for Spring:
• Full membership for the Spring session, formerly called the FlexPass, $50. This allows you to attend as many classes as you wish at either location until the end of the session on April, 29, 2011.
• Half-Session $30. This allows you to attend as many classes as you wish at either location for the first half of the Spring 2011 session until March 11, 2011.
• A second half-session membership will be offered for $30. from March 7, 2011 until April, 29, 2011- keep an eye on Link for the announcement in late February!
• Family and friends (over age 18) can also join for the same low price!

Registration details will be announced in the January 11 edition of Link.

Here’s the current list of classes for the Spring session, which run through April 29.

*Franklin Building Sessions (*temporarily relocating to the CSU building)
• Stretch & Release: Monday, Wednesday & Friday, 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
• Circuit Training: Monday, Wednesday & Friday, 12:20-1:05 p.m.
• Circuit Training: Tuesday & Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
• Crazy About Core: Tuesday & Thursday, 12:20-1:05 p.m.

Kaiser Mall Building (Room 260)
• Circuit Training: Monday, Wednesday & Friday, noon-12:45 p.m.
• Crazy About Core: Tuesday & Thursday, noon-12:45 p.m.
• Yoga: Tuesday & Thursday, 5:00-5:45 p.m.

More about the Classes
• Circuit Training focuses on building strength, flexibility and endurance through a series of exercises using items such as weights and stability balls.
• Crazy About Core will help strengthen the body’s center through a combination of mat work, resistance exercise, Pilates, yoga and more.
• Stretch and Release is all about stretching techniques (including yoga), trigger-point muscle release and self-massage – all focused on relieving pain and increasing mobility.
• Yoga cultivates strength, balance and flexibility through a series of fluid movements.

WorkFit is brought to you by UCOP Risk Services in partnership with UC Berkeley Recreational Sports.

Questions?Contact Larry Wong at (510) 987-9772 or larry.wong@ucop.edu, or Janine Crocker at (510) 987-9882 or janine.crocker@ucop.edu

The Peace Corps celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.  In honor of that event, we are looking to share the stories of UC staff and alumni who served in the Peace Corps.

The University of California has a long history of Peace Corps service. UC campuses send more alumni to volunteer than any university in the country. Many of our faculty and staff began their public service careers in the Peace Corps. And UCLA was one of the original training locations for the first groups of volunteers.

In March, we will launch a website that celebrates the UC connection and shares your Peace Corps stories.  To participate, please contact Donna Hemmila, managing editor of integrated communications at donna.hemmila@ucop.edu.

The Regents of the University of California have approved the appointment of Alison Mudditt as the new director of University of California Press. Mudditt, who brings more than 22 years of experience in academic and scholarly publishing to the position, will take over from Lynne Withey, who announced her retirement earlier this year.

“Alison is the perfect person to succeed the enormously successful tenure of Lynne Withey,” said Daniel Greenstein, vice provost for academic planning and programs at the University of California. “She is steeped in traditional forms of scholarly publishing and facile with new models and approaches. She is also a keen strategist, a great financial and business planner, and a genuine and energetic person. We are lucky to have her as part of the UC community.”

Named one of the Top 50 Women in Publishing by Book Business magazine in 2009, Mudditt most recently served as executive vice president at SAGE Publications, Inc., where she headed the Higher Education group’s publishing programs. She also has held senior positions at Taylor & Francis and at Blackwell, where she managed noteworthy international publishing programs, and has served as a member of the Executive Council of the Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division of the American Association of Publishers. She holds an MBA from The Open University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Bath.

A new chapter in publishing history

Mudditt’s position, which she will assume on Jan. 10, 2011, places her at the helm of one of the largest and most distinguished university presses in the nation. Founded in 1893, University of California Press publishes approximately 200 new books and 40 multi-issue journals each year and has more than 4,000 titles in print. Its acclaimed publishing program encompasses hundreds of influential and award-winning books and journals, an illustrious collection of titles on California and the West, and a range of partnerships with organizations such as the Mark Twain Project and the Martin Luther King Jr. Papers.

Mudditt relishes the opportunity to lead the redefinition of UC Press in a new era. “I hope to continue to reflect the mission and standards of excellence of the UC system at the same time as pushing the boundaries of traditional publishing,” she says. “I have always held a firm belief that education and scholarship matter, both for enriching us as individuals and for improving society as a whole. There are sadly fewer and fewer organizations left where these values have the opportunity to thrive in the way they do at UC Press.”

Multifaceted publishing experience

Mudditt’s broad experience in different sectors of publishing uniquely positions her to lead a university press. She began her career at Blackwell Publishers in Oxford, UK. After three years in marketing, she moved into acquisitions and later became Publisher for the Humanities Division. During this period she also served on the boards of both Women in Publishing and the Society of Young Publishers.

In 1997, Mudditt moved to Taylor & Francis, Inc. in Philadelphia as publishing director of the Behavioral Sciences division. She was responsible for the global growth and consolidation of the division, as well as the successful launch of Psychology Press in the U.S. She joined SAGE in 2001 as vice president and editorial director, and was appointed executive vice president in 2004. One of her key roles was to respond to dynamic global shifts in scholarly publishing and education.

“At each company where I’ve worked, I’ve been able to build a publishing program that enjoys a stellar reputation for excellence,” Mudditt says. “At the same time, I’ve contributed to significant improvements in both top and bottom line performance.”

Technology and the future

Facing the challenges of an industry that is being transformed by technology, Mudditt underscores the role that new digital products and business models play in the field. “Scholarly publishing faces an interesting and inherently complex set of problems that will require a complete range of leadership skills,” Mudditt says. “Many of these are driven by rapid, revolutionary changes in the ways in which information is disseminated and consumed that will require UC Press to respond quickly and effectively to the needs of our authors, readers, and markets. UC Press is lucky to have an extremely talented and experienced staff, and they will be a great source of information and guidance for me during my first months.”

Mudditt sees several key areas of opportunity for UC Press: aligning more closely with the strengths and priorities of the University of California, connecting knowledge and research on significant contemporary problems with genuine solutions, and embracing new types of products that were simply not possible in a print world. “My long-term goal,” she notes, “is to create an organization that is growing, thriving, and dynamic with a continuing reputation for excellence in all it publishes. I’m really looking forward to getting started and engaging with the issues.”

Founded in 1893, University of California Press is one of the largest and most distinguished scholarly publishers in the nation. Among peer university presses of its size, UC Press is the only one in the West and the only one associated with a public university. UC Press’s mission is to advance scholarship and learning by developing and disseminating books, journals, and digital resources of enduring value to scholars, students, library users, policymakers, and readers worldwide.