Schlimgen, the director of pension and retirement programs, answers questions about the restart of pension contributions

The UCOP office of Campus Copy will be closed Friday, Feb. 26 to accommodate employee furlough schedules. Please contact Martin Der at 642-7127 or Richard Platt at 812-0646 to pick-up copy work or arrange copier service on those days.

UCOP Cares, a new employee group aimed at broadening awareness of volunteer and giving opportunities, is considering using the April 16 furlough day to plant gardens at Oakland schools.

UCOP staff donated 49 pints of blood during the Feb. 25 blood drive. The next Franklin Street blood drive is scheduled May 11.

Learn critical supervisory skills to engage employee commitment and improve performance in the four-part Performance Management Class for Managers and Supervisors.

Advocates for the University of California are planning large rallies in Sacramento this spring to persuade lawmakers that public higher education should be a funding priority.

UCOP’s centralized travel management program, Connexxus, saves UCOP $200,000 a year. Learn how you can save on business and personal travel through this program.

The University of California Office of the President has announced the opening of the application period for the next staff advisor-designate to the Regents.

UCOP Learning and Development is starting the New Year by offering classes to help you meet your development goals. Upcoming topics include:

• Conducting Effective Meetings, Feb. 23
• How to Deal with Difficult People, March 31

Want to share your views about UC pension and retiree health benefits? You can do so via a short and confidential online survey. Just go to the Future of UC Retirement Benefits website between February 5 and March 1 and select the survey button. The survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete and all answers are confidential.

California State Summer School for Mathematics & Science (COSMOS) is giving students who love math and science a chance to spend four weeks at one of five UC schools this summer learning about astronomy, biomedical sciences, engineering, robotics and more. tudents are invited to apply to one of the four campus programs. Students should apply online at http://www.ucop.edu/cosmos by March 15.

Join your colleagues and cheer for the Cal Bears basketball teams at an upcoming staff outing! UCOP has an opportunity to purchase a block of tickets at discounted prices.

I would like to be the main chef in the White House.