President Mark G. Yudof this week named Donna Coyne of UC Santa Barbara as the next staff adviser-designate, the person who will work with the staff adviser to the Board of Regents for a year and then move up to the adviser position.

Coyne, an associate director in the Office of Admissions, in charge of application services, is the first UC Santa Barbara representative to begin the progression to staff adviser.

“I am excited to engage with staff across the system on issues that matter to them,” Coyne said. “I will strive to represent well the concerns, views and hopes of my colleagues, and work to find the compromises that will help to move us forward.”

She succeeds Kathy Barton, executive director of strategic initiatives at the UC Riverside School of Medicine, who is moving up to staff adviser, effective July 1, succeeding Kevin Smith, chief administrative officer in the UCLA chancellor’s organization.

Read the complete news release.

Invites go out for New Retirees Reception

Did you retire in 2012-13, or do you plan to retire in 2012-13? Then you’re invited to the New Retirees Reception, sponsored by the Retiree Center, the Office of the Provost, and the Retirees and Emeriti associations.

The reception, with hors d’oeuvres and music, is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, June 20, in the Conference Center Ballroom.

Invitations have been sent to faculty and staff whose retirements have taken effect and to those employees who made their plans known to the university. If you feel you should have received an invitation and did not, contact the Retiree Center at (530) 752-5182 or retireecenter@ucdavis.edu.

People who plan to attend the reception are asked to register by June 5, via the Retiree Center’s online registration system.

‘Cool School’ survey

The creative minds behind a UC Davis communication campaign — about the university's "Coolest School" ranking from Sierra magazine — are conducting a survey about the ranking: Have you heard of it?

“Tell us what you know and what you think about it," the organizers are asking in the online survey.

The results will be presented at the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference, where UC Davis' "No. 1 Cool School" campaign will receive a best practuices award. The conference is scheduled June 23-27 at UC Santa Barbara. (The conference took place at UC Davis last year.)

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