UCOP’s new President’s House Manager Marc Rizzo sends a shout-out to his predecessor, Lupe Jimenez. Marc writes:

“This Shout-Out is to my recently retired colleague, Lupe Jimenez.

Lupe absolutely went the extra mile, and then some, preparing me for success to succeed her as house manager for the UC President.

Her time, dedication and caring insight will serve me very well in my new role. My transition was made very smooth due to Lupe’s guidance.

To my new friend, I say Thank You Very Much, and enjoy your retirement. You’ve earned it!”

One woman’s mother and two older sisters are all breast cancer survivors; another’s mother died of the disease. A few have their own medical and physical challenges.

But the seven UCOP women who joined 5,000 other participants to tackle the Feb. 2 Dirty Girl Mud Run all had lots of muddy fun wading through waist-deep mud pits and other obstacles to raise money for a serious cause.

“I was surfing the Web for a breast cancer walk,” said Melissa Amescua of UCOP’s Business Resource Center (BRC), whose aunt is a breast cancer survivor. “The mud run looked like so much fun because it’s for women of all ages, sizes and athletic abilities. It’s meant to be motivational and empowering, not competitive.”

The event is a 5K “run,” a zany but challenging mud-filled obstacle course (designed by an ex-Army ranger, by the way) that moves to a different U.S. city every week to raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF). Last year’s national tour raised $250,000, and the goal for this year is $500,000.

Amescua rustled up a team of UCOP women to take part when the mud run came to San Francisco’s Candlestick Park. Joining her on the “UCOP Mudrunners” team were Hannah Frankel and Andrea Helfer of Student Affairs, Angela Hom of Information Technology Services, Gina Mortenson of Education Partnerships, Sherry Perocier of Human Resources and Gemma Rieser, also of BRC.

The best part of the experience, they said, was the camaraderie they generated helping one another crawl through the mud and scale obstacles like the 20-foot-high climbing net to reach the finish line.

Adding to the fun was the goodwill of their husbands and other observers who came to cheer them on. There was an emcee, a DJ playing music to pump everyone up, and lots of team costumes à la San Francisco’s Bay to Breakers.

“This event was perfect for me because I could contribute to the cause without having to solicit money myself,” said Rieser, whose mother died of breast cancer at age 56. In 2011 Rieser and her sister completed the grueling two-day Avon Walk, which requires each participant to raise a minimum of $1,200.

The mud run, by contrast, requires only a $65 registration fee and takes about two hours. It is not a timed course, and participants are welcome to detour around obstacles beyond their comfort zone.

Not that the challenge is easy to resist. Mortenson completed the course despite having overcome knee surgery, a broken left foot and broken right ankle that put her in double casts last year. The event even inspired Amescua to improve her fitness, with the goal of reversing her diabetes.

“I didn’t think my body could climb over a wall, but I completed all 11 obstacles,” Amescua said. “It really motivated me to do more.”

The Mudrunners say they will all participate next year and in similar events coming up this year in Napa and San Jose. Join the team by contacting Amescua at Melissa.Amescua@ucop.edu.

HR Compliance Manager Sally Philbin sends a shout-out to one of her UCOP colleagues. Sally writes:

“I would like to send a shout-out to Administrative Analyst Cheryl Hyland in Agriculture and Natural Resources.

“When I called asking for a phone number for one of their county offices, she not only gave me the number, but took the time to walk me through how to find it on the Agriculture and Natural Resources website.

“In this way I now have the tools to find not only phone numbers but other items of importance to me in the future. This may seem like a small thing, but these small things add up to make a person a wonderful ambassador.  Thanks Cheryl!”

UCOP’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) has been recognized as an In-House Legal Department of the Year for 2012 by The Recorder, a statewide legal newspaper.

The award was one of six given to Bay Area in-house legal departments in a range of categories, including corporate compliance, technology systems, and pro bono work. OGC’s award was for diversity and quality of life. This is the first year the awards have been given.

Senior Counsel Sunil Kulkarni (pictured above, right, with Chas Cardall of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, one of the law firms sponsoring the awards) accepted the award on OGC’s behalf at an Oct. 30 reception in San Francisco.

“This recognition confirms what I have known for a long time,” said Charles F. Robinson, UCOP vice president and general counsel for Legal Affairs. “The attorneys and staff at OGC, both in Oakland and on UC’s campuses, are dedicated to delivering exceptionally high quality, timely and responsive solutions to our clients while being collaborative, supportive, respectful of differences and committed to fairness, diversity and work-life balance.”

The award specifically recognized OGC for promoting diversity and quality of life in a number of ways, including the large percentage of women and minority attorneys on its systemwide and campus staffs, its succession planning and rising stars programs and its encouragement of flex- and part-time work arrangements.

Other winners were The Gap, Tesla Motors, Salesforce.com and NetApp. OGC was the only public legal department to be recognized.

With one of the largest university legal departments in the world, OGC provides legal services to the entire UC system, including all 10 campuses, five medical centers and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. OGC’s legal work is quite varied, ranging from enabling stem cell research to proceed at UC research facilities, to successfully defending professional liability cases against UC hospitals and doctors, and securing UC attendance for undocumented high school students as required under California law.

OGC attorneys also provide pro bono legal service, community outreach for many legal and non-legal organizations (e.g., National Association of College and University Attorneys, American Health Lawyers Association, City of Oakland Landmarks Preservation Board) and fundraising activities for local charities (such as this month’s UCOP pre-Thanksgiving bake sale).