Get ready to take the LEED Gold survey this Friday, May 17, and help UC’s Franklin headquarters demonstrate its commitment to sustainability and reducing its environmental impact.

Whether you work at Franklin or elsewhere, whether you take BART in or drive, UCOP wants you to join the effort this Friday to renew and upgrade the Franklin building’s LEED certification from silver to gold.

Here’s all you need to do:

• On the morning of Friday, May 17, you’ll receive an email from EVP Nathan Brostrom with a link to the anonymous SurveyMonkey survey.
• Complete the five-minute survey no later than 7 p.m. by answering questions about your work commute.
• Be sure to opt in at the end of the survey to the drawing for thank-you prizes, including one iPad mini, one month of weekly organic produce deliveries from Full Belly Farm, and a gift certificate to downtown Oakland’s Bittersweet. (Local prizes will be substituted if winners are from non–Bay Area locations.)

The sooner you take the survey, the better. It will be available on one day only — Friday, May 17, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. — and all responses must be submitted on that day.

So take the survey! Look for the email on May 17 with the link to SurveyMonkey; alternatively you can take the survey on laptops in the Franklin lobby or on paper, but please take it only once.

What is LEED?

If you aren’t familiar with LEED, it stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a voluntary program that rates buildings on their operational costs, energy and water use and the environment they create and maintain for their occupants.

The Franklin building was a frontrunner in becoming the second existing UC building to become LEED certified for operations and maintenance practices in 2007. The goal was not only to improve its own environmental performance, but also, as UC headquarters, to set an example of environmental responsibility for other UC locations to follow.

Since LEED certification expires every five years, Franklin is now up for recertification to prove that it continues to meet LEED criteria for environmentally responsible buildings. One important measure is how many Franklin occupants use alternative transportation methods (other than driving alone) to get to and from work, which is the subject of the May 17 survey.

So take the survey this Friday!

For more background, see the April 29 Link story.

On Wednesday, May 22, UCOP will again be participating in UC Walks, the systemwide health and wellness event that marks National Employee Health and Fitness Day.

Participants will meet at Snow Park on the corner of Harrison and 20th Streets. The 30-minute walk will begin at 12:15 p.m. and proceed along Oakland’s Lake Merritt, then return to the park at 12:45 p.m. for a raffle drawing.

Michael Waldman, manager of UCOP benefits and customer service manager for the Retirement Administration Service Center, will lead the UCOP pack this year. “Participation in this year’s event will earn 25 points towards the StayWell program incentive award,” Waldman said. “And it’s a great opportunity to interact with your fellow coworkers and enjoy a stroll around Lake Merritt.”

If you are eligible for the StayWell program, participation in UC Walks qualifies as a follow-up activity to your health assessment and earns 25 points towards the $100 incentive award. To earn the incentive, you must take the StayWell health assessment by June 15 and earn an additional 50 points by attending certain campus-based wellness programs (such as UC Walks) or by taking advantage of StayWell’s personal coaching and online programs.

Walkers are eligible to receive a free T-shirt, courtesy of Kaiser Permanente (while supplies last). Please email Jenny Zapien at Jenny.Zapien@ucop.edu or Melinda Dahms at Melinda.Dahms@ucop.edu by 5 p.m. Monday, May 20, to reserve your T-shirt.

T-shirts can be picked up between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. on May 21, the day before the walk, at these locations:

• Kaiser participants: fifth floor reception area of the Kaiser building
• Franklin participants: fifth floor rooftop garden in the Franklin building.

UC Walks, now in its fourth year, brings UC faculty, staff, retirees and students together for a 30-minute walk and related events that promote wellness and an active lifestyle. Last year, more than 5,300 people took part in walks at UC’s campuses and medical centers, racking up 8,771 miles between them, the equivalent of walking between Davis and San Diego 17 times.

Do you want to become more engaged in your workplace? Do you have ideas for how to make UCOP a better place to work?

Now is your chance to run for a seat on the leadership of the OP Staff Assembly (OPSA), the all-volunteer staff group that promotes the interests and welfare of all career employees and fosters engagement between staff and the UCOP administration.

All career staff are eligible to run. To get involved, find application forms online (see bottom right of web page). Follow the instructions on the form and submit your application by midnight, Friday, June 7, 2013, to OPStaffAssembly@ucop.edu.

To find out more, attend one of these upcoming brown bags:

• Thursday, May 16, 12 to 1 p.m., 7401 Franklin
• Friday, May 17, 12 to 1 p.m., 612 Kaiser

The OPSA Steering Committee, the leadership group that sets the OPSA agenda and oversees all OPSA programs and activities, will have two to four open seats. The term is two years, beginning July 1, 2013, and the minimum time commitment is one hour per month for the monthly meeting. (It’s advisable to discuss this with your supervisor.)

“My priority this year is to grow morale, optimism and engagement among staff,” said incoming OPSA Chair Claudia Escobar (senior analyst in Academic Programs, Planning and Coordination). There are lots of opportunities for Steering Committee members to take on a significant role in these and other OPSA activities, she added, including developing, planning and communications for OPSA programs and projects.

Other projects OP Staff Assembly has sponsored this year include a series of talks on student financial support by Nancy Coolidge; Nutrition 101, a brown bag organized by Health Sciences and Services and co-sponsored by OPSA; and the Weight Watchers at Work program, two series held at the Franklin building.

Among upcoming projects are the annual Town Hall with UC President Mark G. Yudof, which will be held Tuesday, June 25, 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Elihu Harris State Office Building Auditorium in downtown Oakland.

If you are interested in running for OP Staff Assembly, here are the dates to keep in mind:

• Applications due: midnight, Friday, June 7
• Elections take place: Monday, June 17, through Friday, June 28
• Winners announced: Tuesday, July 9
• First meeting of the new term and election of new officers: Wednesday, July 10

The OP Staff Assembly is affiliated with the Council of UC Staff Assemblies (CUCSA), the systemwide staff group that works on behalf of all staff within and across the UC community.

All career staff employees are members of the OP Staff Assembly and are welcome to attend monthly meetings, held the second Wednesday of each month (see the Link calendar for location).

>>Learn more about the OP Staff Assembly.

>>Learn more about the Council of UC Staff Assemblies.

If you are or will soon be required to take sexual harassment awareness training, sign up now for Life Theatre Services, which returns to UCOP for another interactive session Monday, May 20, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Franklin Lobby 1 Conference Room.

California Law AB 1825 (Gov. Code Section 12950.1) requires two hours of sexual harassment prevention training every two years for supervisory employees, and the class is also available as an online tutorial.

But why sit at a computer for two hours when you can get your AB 1825 credit by taking part in a stimulating program that will challenge your perceptions about what sexual harassment is?

Those who have attended the live presentation say it is both enjoyable and informative. The class mixes serious education and learning with humor, entertainment and spirited discussion as professional actors dramatize real-life scenarios that illustrate both overt and subtle forms of sexual harassment. Participants can ask questions and give advice about any of the vignettes. The actors then respond as their characters, and a lively discussion ensues.

Register online now with your UCOP login and password on the UC Learning Center:

• Using the Search box on the left, type in the name of the class (UCOP Sexual Harassment Prevention).
• That will bring up Results of Search; click on the correct class.
• Click Register next to the class title.
• Click Submit.