Campus police have stepped up patrols in the wake of a string of office burglaries.

Fourteen burglary reports came in from Oct. 29 to Nov. 8 in buildings across the campus, including Social Sciences and Humanities, Student Housing Administration, Environmental Horticulture, Human Resources Administration and Tupper Hall. Burglaries at other buildings also have been reported in the past few weeks.

In some cases, police said, building doors had been left unlocked or propped open. In others, thieves used force to break or pry open exterior and interior doors. Most of the burglaries are thought to have occurred overnight. Items taken include laptop computers and other electronics, along with keys and paperwork.

Lt. Joanne Zekany said people can expect to see more Aggie Hosts and police officers carrying out security checks.

She gave the following reminders: Always ensure doors to offices, laboratories and buildings are closed and locked. Whenever possible, do not leave valuable items where they can be seen from the outside or readily accessed. Be alert to your surroundings, report suspicious activity and never let strangers enter behind you at secured facilities.

Investigation is ongoing, Zekany said. Anyone with information about these or related crimes is asked to call police, 530-754-2677.

Report broken or malfunctioning locks, doors and windows to Facilities Management: online or by phone, 530-752-1655.

Recruiting for Cadet Academy

Here’s a program that isn’t about faculty or staff, but you can help — spreading the word to students who you think might be interested in the UC Davis Police Department’s Cadet Academy. It’s for juniors, seniors and graduate students interested in law enforcement.

The 2021 academy will run from Jan. 9 to April 24. The schedule comprises physical fitness training, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays, and classroom work from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursdays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.

Mikio McCulloch, police outreach officer, said all training will follow all state and local safety guidelines, in terms of personal protective equipment, distancing, venues and sanitization protocols. “For close- contact physical training we also have more situation-specific spacing, pre- and post-sanitation and PPE protocol which has been used successfully at the Sacramento Police Academy and also meets all safety guidelines,” he said, adding that he will be constantly re-evaluating safety measures.

More information, including how to apply, is available online.

ProShare: Grow your network

The networking program ProShare is back in 2021, with registration opening Wednesday (Nov. 11). The free program is open to managers, aspiring managers and staff at all levels.

ProShare, sponsored by the Administrative Management Group, or ADMAN, and Staff Assembly, aims to help Davis and Sacramento campus staff members develop and build connections with their colleagues across all departments both in Davis and across the causeway, for mutual guidance and support.

“Participating in ProShare has been a rewarding experience,” said Krista Newberry, preclerkship curriculum manager, School of Medicine. “This is my fourth year participating and the program has provided a wealth of opportunities to network, engage and grow new friendships across both campuses. I would definitely recommend this program to anyone interested in increasing their network.”

The program will run from January to July. All sessions and events in 2021 are likely to be virtual.

Participants will be assigned to small cohorts during the kickoff Tuesday, Jan. 26. Within each cohort, members will take turns as host for 90-minute meetings to be held monthly. Programs can include department tours, presentations to the group and discussions of key management issues. 

Besides the kickoff, the program includes two other plenary sessions: mid-program in April and closing event in July.

Registration can be arranged online. Deadline: Jan. 8.

K-6 Learning Labs on campus

YMCA Learning Labs for grades K-6 are operating on the Davis and Sacramento campuses, providing support for distance learning and also offering enrichment activities. Enrollment is open to children of UC Davis employees as well as the general public.

The YMCA of Superior California is running the fee-based labs in partnership with UC Davis WorkLife. Children are grouped by age when possible and socialize within a consistent group of 12 to 14 children, limiting interactions with any other groups — which helps to minimize contact and spread of COVID-19.

The labs run from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; parents can sign up their children for any combination of days or weeks.

More information, including how to register, is available here.

IT catalog moves into Service Hub

Information and Educational Technology, or IET, has made it a little easier for faculty, staff and students to learn about and order 170 campus tech services.

The change happened Oct. 15, when IET moved the UC Davis IT Service Catalog into the Service Hub, the central tech service website whose underlying software (ServiceNow) already supports the Knowledge Base, software catalog, and IT Express Service Desk help ticketing system.

You can still reach the catalog at itcatalog.ucdavis.edu, where you’ll be redirected to the new location.

Moving the catalog into the hub might not sound like a big deal, but it means, for example, that if you look up a service in the catalog and then want to order it, you won’t bounce between different systems. This change simplifies your search experience.

For service owners, having all these resources in ServiceNow helps them receive, track, assign and resolve tech “tickets.” The structure helps them deliver results more efficiently and consistently.

Read more in TechNews.

Blood drive tally: 94 pints

Vitalant reported collecting 94 pints of blood during a two-day collection at UC Davis last week.

“One pint can save up to three lives, so as many as 282 patient lives will be transformed because of UC Davis students and the Davis community,” said Sandra Harper, donor recruitment representative.

Of the 100 people who registered for the drive, 25 were first-time donors. “Hopefully they will become repeat donors,” Harper said.

She said seven donors gave what Vitalant calls “Power Red” donations — two times the number of red blood cells. In this process, blood goes through an apheresis machine that separates the red blood cells from other blood components (platelets, plasma and white cells), keeping the red blood cells and returning the other components to the donor along with hydrating saline solution.

The next UC Davis blood drive is scheduled in the new year: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20, in The Pavilion at the ARC.

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