The application period for the next staff advisor-designate to the UC Board of Regents closes Friday, March 2, 2012. Applications are still being accepted for one position to serve the two-year term from July 2012 through June 2014.

The staff advisor program, now in its sixth year, allows for two staff and/or non-Senate academic employees to participate in open sessions of designated committees of the board. The staff advisors bring the voice and perspective of staff and non-Senate academic employees to board deliberations.

Current staff advisors to the regents are Penelope “Penny” Herbert, manager in the Department of Clinical Operations, UC Davis Health System, whose two-year term will expire in June; and, Kevin Smith, chief financial and compliance officer for the UCLA Chancellor’s organization, who joined the board in July 2011.

“During these times of transformational change, it is imperative to have a liaison between staff and UC leadership so staff concerns and views regarding workplace issues and policy decisions are fully considered,” Herbert said. “It is an honor to serve in this role.”

All employees are encouraged to learn more about the program at the staff advisor website and through the UCOP Local Human Resources office.

• View information about the application process and download the application form.

Questions about the staff advisor position or the application process may be directed to Jeannene Whalen, UCOP Employee Relations, at (510) 987-0853 or at Jeannene.Whalen@ucop.edu.

More about the staff advisors to the regents

A continuing goal of the UC Regents is to foster two-way communication between UC staff and the board. In January 2007, the regents voted unanimously to establish positions for two staff advisors to participate in their deliberative process and to provide a staff perspective on matters coming before the board.

One new staff advisor is selected each year for a two-year term to serve as a non-voting advisor to designated regents’ committees. They attend and participate directly in committee and board meetings throughout their term of service.

The UC Learning Center is undergoing a scheduled system upgrade, which began Monday, Feb. 20, and continues through Wednesday, Feb. 29, with the conversion expected to be complete by Thursday, March 1.

During the upgrade, the UC Learning Center will be available for employees to access and register for training. New course registrations and eCourse completions during that time will be carried forward to the upgraded system.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Be aware and please inform your staff that, if an eCourse is started and partially completed during the upgrade, partial progress made in the course will NOT be carried forward to the new system. However, if the eCourse is completed during this time, the completion will be carried forward.

To ensure that eCourse completions are properly credited, please plan to finish your course no later than Wednesday, Feb. 29, at 5 p.m.; otherwise, please delay starting the  training until the anticipated completion date of the upgrade on March 1.

In the coming weeks, look for hanging planters on streetlamps up and down Broadway and planter boxes at BART entrances, part of a streetscape beautification effort under way in downtown Oakland.

It’s just one of many improvements being undertaken by the Downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt/Uptown Associations, the two community benefit districts formed in 2009 to revitalize Oakland’s historic downtown, said District Manager Steve Snider, who spoke at a Franklin Building brown bag on Feb. 16.

About 30 staff turned out to hear more and find out how the UCOP community can help. Some voiced concerns about walking by 14th & Broadway and Oakland’s lack of grocery stores; others pitched their favorite spots, like Modern Coffee at 411 13th St. and Maisa Restaurant at 377 13th.

“One of the best things we can do,” said Pete King, UCOP public affairs director, “is to galvanize the people who work here to patronize existing merchants, even though there are lots of vacancies and blighted storefronts.”

King is one of the organizers of the OP Oakland Project, a nascent effort to mobilize UCOP staffers to become Oakland boosters by working with the associations and forging partnerships with local vendors. Already in the works is a partnership with Oaklandish, the Oakland-based clothing shop at 1444 Broadway, as announced by EVP Nathan Brostrom last December.

Ken Feer, chair of the OP Staff Assembly, which sponsored the brown bag, circulated a signup sheet for anyone interested in participating in the project. He encouraged people to contact him, King, Creative Director Vanessa Correa, Local HR Director John Fox or Associate VP for Business Operations Michael Reese with ideas or suggestions.

The Staff Assembly is working on similar brown bags at the Kaiser Building and with groups from other areas like Chinatown, Lake Merritt, Grand Avenue and Jack London Square. Other ideas for OP Oakland Project activities include identifying opportunities for community service and even channeling UC expertise into job training for local students and residents.

Snider invited everyone to get on his mailing lists for association newsletters by emailing info@downtownoakland.org or steve@lakemerritt-uptown.org. Local businesses like Kaiser and Clorox have representatives on the associations, he said, and he hopes UCOP will do the same.

“We need to change the perception of Oakland, which gets a bad rap for violence and urban blight,” Snider said. He encouraged people not to be afraid to walk in any area but to pay attention while doing so and to avoid using headphones or cell phones.

Also speaking were Andrew Jones, district services coordinator, and Ted Tarver, operations manager for Oakland’s Ambassador Program, the 22-person orange- and blue-clad force that has patrolled downtown Oakland’s streets since 2009.

With a short-staffed Oakland Police Department, Tarver said, the ambassadors serve as a “force multiplier,” helping to solve and prevent petty crime, which has been exacerbated by the recent Occupy Oakland protests. The ambassadors also serve as greeters and reach out to the homeless to try to get them off the streets and into shelters.

Despite Oakland’s challenges, recent developments are encouraging, Snider said. The long-neglected Tribune Tower was recently purchased, the first Friday gallery crawl known as Art Murmur is hugely popular, and Oakland’s workforce is sticking around after hours for a burgeoning dining scene. The popuphood, Oakland Grown and other retail attraction strategies are bringing new businesses into the area.

Under the partnership with Oaklandish, the clothing shop is working with OP staff to create a line of UC-themed T-shirts and other apparel to help raise money for Project You Can, UC’s scholarship initiative.

If you want to get involved in the OP Oakland Project, be sure to contact Feer, King, Vanessa Correa, John Fox or Michael Reese.

This week’s shout-out comes from Michael Riley, director of Corporate Accounting:

Congratulations to Maria Anguiano, associate director of Strategic Initiatives in the CFO Division. Maria was recently accepted into the Class of 2012 of the HOPE Leadership Institute,  the only statewide leadership program specifically designed to empower Latina leaders to create change in their communities across California. HLI is a nine-month intensive program that runs January through September.

HOPE is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to ensuring political and economic parity for Latinas through leadership, advocacy and education for the benefit of all communities and for the status of women.

Congratulations, Maria!

Don’t forget that you can submit a shout-out to Link to recognize an OP colleague’s hard work, dedication and commitment. Just email Link at ucfeedback@ucop.edu with your shout-outs and we’ll run them in an upcoming issue. (Your entries should be limited to 100 words and may be edited.)