UC Davis recently celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the Davis campus’s Hutchison Child Development Center and a contract renewal with the center’s operator, Bright Horizons Family Solutions. The party featured cake and juice, the perfect refreshments for the young “alumni” and families who joined university officials at the June 14 event.

The university built and owns the center, which is located behind the Rec Pool. Bright Horizons has operated the center since Day 1 and now has a new contract for another 10 years. “Perhaps by then some of the first graduates will be UC Davis students,” said Sandy Batchelor, WorkLife coordinator in Human Resources.

The on-campus center brings peace of mind to working parents, putting them in close proximity to their children, and provides a gold standard of care with accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, Batchelor said.

Added Marie Krug, an assistant project scientist with the MIND Institute: “When you drop your children off here, you know they are safe. And I trust the teachers here would make the same decisions I would. I don’t know how we could make our life and career work without it.”

The center has a capacity of 105 (full-time equivalency). At this time, 100 of the enrolled children are UC Davis affiliates. Employees pay reduced rates and have preference over community members for enrollment when vacancies come up.

Brush Truck 34 home from Creek Fire

Updated 2 p.m. June 29: The four-person UC Davis strike team has returned safe from helping to battle the Creek Fire. Cal Fire reported today that the fire had grown to 1,678 acres and was 85 percent contained.

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A crew from the UC Davis Fire Department is helping battle a 1,350-acre blaze near Redding.

The four-person crew, assigned to Brush Truck 34, left Sunday (June 24) night for the Creek Fire. Cal Fire reported this morning (June 26) that the fire had been 60 percent contained.

“The weekend’s hot weather and dry winds have resulted in a number of new fires throughout the state,” Fire Chief Nate Trauernicht said.

The Brush Truck 34 crew: Capt. Cess Mercado, engineer Derek Carthy, and firefighters Corrie Beall and Ryan Tooley.

Workshop: “Bridging Divides With Dialogue”

Staff, students, faculty and other academics are invited to sign up for the free workshop “Bridging Divides With Dialogue,” sponsored by the Office of Campus Dialogue and Deliberation and led by its director, Carolyn Penny.

The event flier asks: “How do we connect as a community in light of the issues where we disagree strongly, such as income inequality, immigration, gun violence and freedom of expression? How can we explore shared meaning without giving up our own identities?”

Penny, who has 30 years of experience in mediation, will address how the practices of dialogue can bridge differences, and how deep listening allows us to be changed by what we learn, and provide an opportunity for workshop participants to practice dialogue skills.

Registration can be arranged online, and the organizers ask people to register in advance. Space is limited. For more information, contact Trish Nichol by email or phone, 530-754-7741.

Also coming up from the Office of Campus Dialogue and Deliberation: Sustained Dialogue Moderator Training, Friday-Saturday, Oct. 19-20, designed for undergraduate and graduate/professional students but with some seats available for staff, faculty and other academics. Early applications now being accepted.

Children’s hospital ranked among nation’s best

Five specialties at UC Davis Children’s Hospital are ranked in the top 50 nationwide in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Children’s Hospitals” rankings for 2018-19.

The rankings: 26th nationally in neonatology, 26th; nephrology, 35th; pulmonology, 44th; orthopedics, 37th; and urology, 49th.

The orthopedics and urology rankings were awarded in collaboration with Shriners Hospital for Children-Northern California, UC Davis’ longstanding partner in caring for children with burns, spinal cord injuries, orthopedic disorders and urological issues.

“Our physicians, nurses and health care teams deliver world-class pediatric specialty care to patients from across California,” said Ann Madden Rice, chief executive officer of UC Davis Medical Center and its children’s hospital. “These awards recognize the expertise of our staff, and their commitment to the care of children, and I’m so pleased we get to we celebrate that today. It is an honor to be recognized nationally in the U.S. News’ ‘Best Children’s Hospitals’ rankings.”

Read more in this UC Davis Health news release.

Board committee nominates student regent

A UC Board of Regents special committee has nominated UC San Diego doctoral student Hayley Weddle for a two-year term as student regent, 2018-20. If approved by the full board at its July meeting, Waddle would serve her first year as student regent-designate, able to participate in all deliberations, and as student regent with voting privileges in 2019-20.

“Serving the university and its students is an incredible honor, and I am committed to ensuring that decisions of the university are informed by students' experiences,” Weddle said. “I am dedicated to promoting policies and initiatives that ensure students across the state have the opportunity to attend and thrive at UC.”

Weddle graduated summa cum laude with dual bachelor’s degrees in sociology and economics from UC Santa Barbara, and earned a master’s in postsecondary educational leadership from San Diego State University. She is expected to complete her doctorate in education studies in spring 2021.

Read more about her in this UC Office of the President news release.

Reminders: Staff advisor, ‘To Boldly Go,’ book

What’s it like to be staff advisor to the Board of Regents? Sherry Main of UC Santa Cruz and Jason Valdry of UC Irvine are only too happy to spread the word about the unique role in which they serve.

Read what they have to say in this UCnet article, and, then, if you’re interested in serving, get your application in by this Friday (July 29). The position is open to nonrepresented and represented staff, and non-Academic Senate academic employees; applicants must have been with UC for at least five years. See “How to Apply” for links to the application and selection processes.

Two more reminders:

• “To Boldly Go” — Comments on the university’s draft strategic plan are due by Monday, July 9. The 10-year plan comprises five goals and multiple strategies for each on the themes of educational experience, research that matters, diversity, partnerships, and the development of an innovative and entrepreneurial culture.
• The next, next book ­— The Campus Community Book Project is accepting nominations through Friday, July 13, for the campus book for the year after next, 2019-20, when the theme will be the issue of “violence-gun violence.” Megan Macklin, book project coordinator, is your contact if you’d like to serve on the selection committee that will start reviewing the nominations in July, or if you’d like to serve on the planning committee for next year’s selection, The Book of Joy.

Campus gauges interest in diversity workshops

The Office of Campus Community Relations is inviting employees to express their interest in attending the university’s Diversity Awareness Workshop. The two-day program is held four times annually: twice in the fall, once in the winter and once in the spring.

“As our campus continues to grow, these types of important dialogues are more imperative to ensure that we continue to aspire towards an environment that is inclusive of our diversity,” said Rahim Reed, associate executive vice chancellor, Campus Community Relations, and interim lead for the new office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

The Diversity Awareness Workshop is for UC Davis and UC Davis Health faculty, staff and graduate students with teaching appointments. Applications are accepted every summer for the coming academic year’s workshops. Space is limited.

The first session this fall will be Thursday-Friday, Aug. 16-17, and the second session will be Thursday-Friday, Sept. 6-7. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you are interested in attending or interested in nominating a colleague, complete and submit the Participant Interest Form (and do so by Friday, July 20, to be considered for the fall sessions).

Notification letters for fall will be sent in late July. If you are not selected, your names will go on a waiting list for priority registration for future sessions. At this time, the program is open only to employees who have not attended the workshop previously.

Questions? Contact Sunny Dosanjh by email or phone, 530-752-2071.

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