The Vantage Point

Glenda Humiston 
Vice President
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources 

This week, Gov. Newsom and legislative leaders announced a budget deal that reaffirms their commitment to the University of California and recognizes the UC’s role in promoting stronger, healthier, and more prosperous and resilient communities across the state. On behalf of everyone at UC ANR, I join President Drake in thanking Gov. Newsom and the state legislature for the crucial funding that will advance higher education and leading-edge innovation in agriculture and natural resources and beyond.

On June 19, the UC commemorated Juneteenth – the date in 1865 when, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, enslaved people in Texas learned that they were free. The UC ANR Black and Allied Employees Resource Group organized a webinar on June 14 featuring Mary Blackburn, family and consumer sciences, health and nutrition advisor in Alameda County; and Keith Nathaniel, county director and 4-H youth development advisor in Los Angeles County. I greatly appreciated hearing the stories of their career arcs, the challenges they faced, and their passion for their work. Many thanks to Dr. B and Keith for sharing; I urge everyone to check out the recording.

June is also Pride Month, when LGBTQIA+ communities commemorate the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, celebrate progress toward equality and highlight the ongoing need to deepen our understanding of all identities. Toward that important goal, UC ANR’s LGBTQIA+ Employee Resource Group compiled and distributed a series of informative emails, including the historical context of Pride Month and links to articles, videos and other resources.

This information and these candid discussions of social and institutional barriers remind us that the long journey to freedom – in its fullest sense – continues. I, and the rest of our UC ANR leadership, will continue to work with our colleagues to eliminate those barriers.

I am always grateful to learn from the perspectives and experiences of my colleagues at UC ANR. Another recent example was the June 2 President’s Advisory Commission meeting, during which we heard presentations by Cindy Chen, woody biomass and forest products advisor for the Central Sierra and Mariposa and Alpine counties; and Haris Gilani, biomass and bioenergy advisor for Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Cindy did a great job spotlighting a variety of biomass and advanced wood products – including CLT (Cross-Laminated Timber), a compelling alternative to steel or concrete for construction – and UC ANR’s role in developing expertise, training a skilled workforce and cultivating cross-sector partnerships in this area. Along with the highly engaged commissioners in the meeting, I was intrigued by the potential of transforming California’s woody biomass into “green hydrogen,” a renewable energy alternative that Haris described during his excellent talk.

Future technologies were also showcased during the Farm Robotics Challenge, in which 19 student teams from 12 universities across the U.S. applied their engineering, computer science and entrepreneurial skills to design robots that solve real-world ag problems. Organized by UC ANR’s The VINE, AI Institute for Next Gen Food Systems, Fresno-Merced Future of Food (F3) Innovate, and robotics company farm-ng, the contest culminated with a June 3 awards ceremony. Congratulations to teams from UC Davis, University of Nebraska and UC Santa Cruz for garnering top honors! They represent some of our best hopes for evolving ag production to be even safer, more efficient and more sustainable.

Hopeful news also came this month on the wildfire front, as the State of California rolled out a first-of-its-kind fund that will cover losses incurred in the rare cases that a prescribed or cultural burn escapes control. It’s a significant boost for wildfire risk management as it removes a major barrier to increasing beneficial fires – the lack of liability insurance for practitioners. Alongside State Sen. Bill Dodd, CAL FIRE, tribal representatives and other partners, Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of UC ANR’s Fire Network, helped lead this effort. Lenya’s work is a prime example of UC ANR expertise driving policy changes that will save lives, protect communities and safeguard the livelihoods of Californians.

Please share this newsletter with others. Best wishes to all for a safe and healthy Fourth of July.