John Cook doesn’t go anywhere without his iPad, and he wants everyone at UC Riverside to do the same some day.

One of his goals as sustainability coordinator at UC Riverside is to cut paper use on campus. He’s taken that step himself by using his tablet for taking notes, reading reports and giving presentations.

If he had the funding, Cook would offer tablets to departments on campus in exchange for turning in a printer as a way to encourage paperless offices. It’s an idea that’s part of a green office program being planned at UC Riverside, which is one of seven UC campuses that have or are implementing similar programs to encourage sustainable workplace practices.

Green office programs are designed to help campus departments identify and employ workplace practices that cut the use of energy and other resources, which also leads to cost savings and helps UC meet its goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

One of the first university green office programs in the country and the first at UC was started at Berkeley in 2009. UC Santa Barbara started its program just after Berkeley’s,  and initiatives are in place or beginning at UC San Francisco, UCLA and UC Santa Cruz, which just certified its first office. UC Davis is piloting a program now, and UC Riverside will be testing its program this fall.

UC Berkeley’s Green Certification program was conceived to provide a structure for responding to questions commonly asked by departments about best practices, said Lisa McNeilly, director of the campus Office of Sustainability.

“We were getting similar requests from multiple places, so this was a good tool to answer those requests,” McNeilly said.

UC Berkeley’s program offers guidance on energy use, waste, transportation, purchasing and other areas to help offices create a “green team” of department leaders and fulfill a checklist of 30 criteria for certification, which last for two years. There are nine Berkeley departments with current certifications and 11 others that were certified but have not renewed. Berkeley also offers a program that certifies events on campus as green.

“Don’t think it’s too daunting. That’s one of the biggest lessons,” said Ian Baldridge, a senior technician at UC Berkeley’s Environmental Health & Safety Department, which was recertified as green this year. “It’s really easy for departments to do.”

Many of the items on the checklist, such as recycling, are common in offices, so the adjustments to become green certified can be minor, Baldridge said.

Having a formal program also provides a framework for offices that already are conserving to be more sustainable. It also helps build teamwork because the entire staff must be involved.

“With the checklist, you have something visual, and it gave us a sense of purpose to our mission,” said Baldridge, who is chair of his department’s sustainability committee.

Green office programs at other UC campuses are similar. In general, they offer outreach, surveys of how a department and its occupants use resources, and education on how to become more sustainable. There’s no data on how beneficial these programs are at UC, but anything that helps cut energy use and reduce waste will make campuses greener and cut carbon emissions.

For Harry Mok’s full story, go to the UC Newsroom website.

Name: Cindy Pukatch

Title: Human Resources Analyst

Department/unit: Local UCOP Human Resources

Location: Sixth floor, Franklin

When I started working at UCOP: June 6, 2011

What I do for OP in five words or less: Local HR projects implementation

The best part about working for OP: Many opportunities to learn from experienced coworkers

Something you don’t know about me: I’m an Oakland Zoo docent and vice president of their Docent Council. I’ve been a docent since 2007 and volunteer 10 to 12 hours each month. I’ve handled boas, ferrets, hedgehogs, tortoises, rabbits, skinks and bearded dragons. We are always looking for new volunteers for both the Docent and Animal Management Programs. Schedules are flexible, you get lots of free training before starting an assignment, and the work is so gratifying! Anyone who is interested can get more details on the Oakland Zoo website.

One weird fact about the town I grew up in: St. Louis, Missouri, is home to the oldest institution of higher learning west of the Mississippi – Saint Louis University.

If I could have any job in the world (besides the one I have now), I would: Work in the health care field as a medical technologist.

You know about the complimentary bagels and burritos offered up every First Friday in the Franklin Building and every Second Friday in the Kaiser Building. But did you know that you don’t have to eat alone?

Thanks to the OP Staff Assembly, you can now sit down with your colleagues and rub shoulders with senior leaders while you enjoy your comestibles.

This Friday, Sept. 2, Research and Graduate Studies VP Steve Beckwith and External Relations Senior VP/Agriculture and Natural Resources VP Dan Dooley will be hosting Franklin staff in the Lobby One Conference Room. At Kaiser on Sept. 9, Beckwith will serve as breakfast host in Room 612. Other senior managers are scheduled through the end of the calendar year (see below).

“We felt that the Friday breakfasts presented a great opportunity for social interaction,” said OP Staff Assembly Chair Ken Feer, “so we’re encouraging people to gather together, sit down and join in with senior leaders and their UCOP colleagues rather than run back to their desks to enjoy their breakfast.”

The Staff Assembly earlier this year started asking members of the Senior Management Team to actively host the breakfasts, Feer added. This gives staff a chance to get to know their colleagues as well as OP senior leadership, who fund the complimentary breakfasts.

Many of UCOP’s affinity groups also set up tables in the buffet line, providing multiple opportunities to make new connections with your OP colleagues.

There is no formal presentation, but senior manager hosts mingle in the breakfast line and sit down with UCOP staff in the conference rooms for collegial chit-chat. The sit-downs take place from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., in Franklin’s Lobby One Conference Room on the First Friday and in Kaiser, Room 612, on the second Friday of each month.

Here is the schedule for senior leader participation through the end of calendar year 2011:

September

• Friday, Sept. 2, at Franklin: Research and Graduate Studies VP Steve Beckwith and External Relations Senior VP/Agriculture and Natural Resources VP Dan Dooley
• Friday, Sept. 9, at Kaiser: Research and Graduate Studies VP Steve Beckwith

October

• Friday, Oct. 7, at Franklin: Academic Personnel Vice Provost Susan Carlson and Health Sciences and Services Senior Vice President John Stobo
• Friday, Oct. 14, at Kaiser: Chief Financial Officer Peter Taylor

November

• Friday, Nov. 4, at Franklin: Vice President and General Counsel Charles Robinson and Chief Financial Officer Peter Taylor
• Friday, Nov. 18, at Kaiser: Laboratory Management Vice President Bruce Darling

December

• Friday, Dec. 2, at Franklin: Academic Affairs Provost and Executive Vice President Larry Pitts and Compliance and Audit Senior Vice President Sheryl Vacca
• Friday, Dec. 9, at Kaiser: Human Resources Vice President Dwaine Duckett and Academic Affairs Provost and Executive Vice President Larry Pitts

In an email dated August 26, 2011, Human Resources Executive Director John Fox notified UCOP about the 2011–12 merit increases many staff will see in their November paychecks. Following is the full text of Fox’s notice.

Dear UCOP colleagues:

As a follow up to President Yudof’s letter last week about merit-based salary increases for faculty and staff, the following guidelines outline how the increases will be implemented:

Information about 2011–12 UC merit increases

General

• As the president’s letter states, the merit program is aimed at helping UC recruit and retain faculty and also to acknowledge non-represented staff for their ongoing dedication and service despite not having received general pay increases for the past several years.
• Funding for the merit program will be based on 3 percent of pay for eligible positions. Due to State funding cuts, merit increases will be funded by a redirection of funds from existing programs.

Eligibility

• Increases are confined to faculty and other academic employees and non-represented staff, and must be based on positive, documented performance.
• Individual increases will be determined by department heads, following the completion of annual performance reviews, and will vary based on documented performance.
• Employees whose latest performance rating is “Unsatisfactory Performance” are ineligible for merit increases, and merit increases for those rated “Improvement Needed” should be extremely rare, unless there are compelling, extenuating circumstances for an exception, which must be approved by the Executive Vice President for Business Operations.
• Employees who were hired, appointed, reclassified or otherwise received any salary increase(s) after January 1, 2011, are ineligible for a merit increase. Any exceptions to this require special approval.
• Members of the UC senior management group and staff with an annual base salary of $200,000 or more are not eligible for these merit increases.
• Union-represented employees are not eligible for increases under this program, as their wages are governed by collective bargaining agreements.

Effective dates

• Increases for staff will be effective July 1, 2011, and are expected to appear in November paychecks.
• Increases for faculty will be effective October 1, 2011 (academic year calendar).

UCOP Local Human Resources, in collaboration with the OP Budget Office and BRC Payroll, will be working with department managers in the coming weeks to ensure timely and consistent implementation of this program.

If you have any questions, please see your supervisor.

Sincerely,
John Fox, Executive Director
UCOP Human Resources