Open enrollment continues for one more week, and the Davis campus Benefits Office has only one more presentation and one more help desk scheduled between now and then, on Wednesday (Nov. 16). 

The presentation will be from 9 to 10 a.m. and the help desk from 10 to 11 a.m. Both sessions will be in Room 182 of the Human Resources Administration Building on Orchard Road just west of La Rue Road.

The presentation is described as a general overview of benefits options in the new year: health coverage, disability insurance, flexible spending accounts, and dental, vision and legal plans.

Open enrollment closes at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22. Read more about your options, and pay close attention to all-new options for voluntary disability insurance. Also, if you wish to renew a flexible spending account (for health care or dependent care), you must take action during open enrollment; FSAs do not renew automatically.

Read UCnet article on the final week of open enrollment.

Town hall on student alcohol use

The public is invited to attend a campus and community town hall this week about college student alcohol use and ways to prevent high-risk drinking in Davis.

“Enhancing Our Safety and Well-Being: Where Does Alcohol Fit In?” will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday (Nov. 17) in the Community Chamber at Davis City Hall, 23 Russell Blvd. UC Davis Student Health and Counseling Services is the organizer.

Read more.

Picnic Day theme and marshals

We know the date for the next Picnic Day, April 22, and now we know the theme and the parade marshals, as announced recently by the Picnic Day board of directors.

The theme is “Growing Together,” highlighting how UC Davis has grown alongside the city of Davis, which turns 100 in 2017. The University Farm, which would become UC Davis, opened nine years before Davis became a city.

“In addition, with this year’s Picnic Day being on Earth Day, we wanted to highlight UC Davis’ strides toward sustainability,” the board announced at its Picnic Day Kickoff.

The parade marshals, chosen by their participation in the community, positive impact on others and embodiment of the theme, are:

• Bryan Enderle — Chemistry lecturer, recipient of the ASUCD Excellence in Education Award and the Interfraternity Council Teacher Appreciation Award.
• Isao Fujimoto — Founder of the Asian American Studies Program and founding faculty in the community development program. With the help of his students, he helped to incubate such cherished community staples as the Davis Food Co-Op and the Davis Farmers Market.

“Both of them have actively participated in the growth and inspiration of UC Davis students and the community as a whole,” the Picnic Day board said. “We are honored to have them as our parade marshals.”

Holiday Bake-Off: Sign up now!

Some people are all about the baking, some people are all about the tasting — and Staff Assembly needs both for its second annual Holiday Bake-Off. But you’ve got to sign up! The deadline is 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7.

This year’s bake-off is the Bars Edition, for bars you will make at home, then bring to the bake-off. Staff Assembly has room for 48 bakers. Bakers register here.

Tasters are an integral part of this competition — sign up here! — because the judging will start with them. The tasters will pick the top five bars for presentation to a separate panel of three judges who will choose the winners.

The tasting and judging will be in the multipurpose room at the Student Community Center, on Monday, Dec. 12. Bakers are asked to check in at 10:30 a.m. with two dozen bars for the people’s tasting (cut these bars into bite-size pieces, approximately 96 of them) and three complete bars for the judges. The people’s tasting will start at 11:15 and the winners will be announced at 12:45 p.m.

More information, including rules and guidelines.

Save the date: Fall Convocation 2017

We’ve got a save the date for you, for next year’s Fall Convocation: Tuesday morning, Sept. 26. This information might come in handy for departments that are in the midst of planning next fall’s activities.

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