Updated 1:30 p.m. March 24: Here’s another reason to get your Soaring to New Heights tickets — the organizers just announced the day’s raffle (your lunch ticket is your raffle ticket) will include two iPads (9.7-inch models) as the grand prizes. You must be present to win.

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Now’s the time to get your tickets to soar! We’re talking about Soaring to New Heights, UC Davis’ premier diversity celebration for staff and faculty. This year’s event, the 27th annual, is scheduled for Tuesday, April 11, in The Pavilion at the Activities and Recreation Center.

Soaring to New Heights will feature a resource fair, entertainment and international buffet lunch, 11:15 to 1:30 p.m., and awards presentation from 12:20 to 1 p.m.

Staff and faculty from the Davis and Sacramento campuses, as well as university friends in the wider community, are eligible for Diversity and Principles of Community Achievement Recognition Awards, Disability Awareness Recognition Awards, and the Calvin E. Handy Leadership Award.

In announcing the event, the Office of Campus Community Relations noted that department-unit representation is highly recommended, and that release time with supervisory approval is appropriate. 

Tickets are available until Friday, April 7, or until sold out. No tickets will be sold at the door. The cost is $10 per person.

• Individual tickets — Soaring to New Heights tickets are being sold online, or by phone, 530-752-AGS1 (752-2471), or by visiting the UC Davis Ticket Office at the north end of Aggie Stadium. Personal credit or debit cards are acceptable for payment.
• Department recharge — Account managers can order tickets via this Google doc. 
• Ticket pickup — Once you have placed your order, you will receive confirmation within two business days, and then you can pick up your tickets at the ticket office (north end of Aggie Stadium).

Unitrans eliminates fares (and stress) during finals week

What’s as good or better than a Therapy Fluffy during finals? How about free service for everyone on Unitrans?

That’s what we’re getting on all Unitrans routes on campus and across the city, all this week. No need to worry about forgetting your student ID or Unitrans pass. No need to fumble for change, no need to get upset at the guy in front of you who doesn’t have the right fare.

“No one needs added stress during finals,” said Anthony Palmere, Unitrans general manager, who added that driver Benjamin Linden came up with the idea (he’s a student, like all the other Unitrans drivers). “Not only are we reducing stress, but we will improve our schedule reliability so we can get you where you’re going, on time.”

At busy stops, Palmere said, passengers can board through the front or back doors. Once on the bus, people should move quickly into all available spaces.

Palmere said free finals week is “also a good opportunity to try Unitrans if you’re not already riding our buses.” 

He said Unitrans welcomes feedback on this finals week experiment, to help the bus system decide whether to offer free rides during every finals week.

If you’re looking at the Unitrans route schedules, remember to click on “Finals” — when buses run less frequently, and service runs later at night.

Tips for first-time UC Davis Canvas instructors

TechNews reports that the UC Davis Canvas team has tips for instructors who may be using he new learning management system for the first time this spring quarter. The advice is based on feedback from faculty who started using Canvas during fall and winter quarters.

“The time to transition to Canvas is running short,” according to TechNews. UC Davis has been migrating from SmartSite to UC Davis Canvas during 2016-17, and most instructors and almost all students are already using the new learning management system. SmartSite will not be available for teaching after June 2017.

Read the tips here — and be sure to look for “extra credit.”

Staff Voice: Everything you need to know about TGFS!

Did you check out the special edition of Staff Voice that came out last Friday (March 17)? It was all about Thank Goodness for Staff, to be held from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 24, on Russell Field.

It includes the menu (from Buckhorn Catering), contest information (Guess the Weight, Logo and Spot the Pin) and a rundown of sports activities connected with TGFS (volleyball, golf, tennis and 5K run-walk). There’s also a call for volunteers!

You can read the special edition here.

Regents approves Carol Christ as Berkeley chancellor

The Board of Regents voted unanimously last week to approve the appointment of Carol T. Christ as the Berkeley chancellor. She is the first woman to lead the campus in its 149-year history.

“I am deeply honored that the president and the regents have chosen me to lead Berkeley at this critical moment in its history,” Christ told the board. “I’m even more honored to serve the campus that I love.”

Christ (rhymes with “list”), a scholar of Victorian literature, has spent most of her career at Berkeley, starting in 1970 (when only 3 percent of the faculty were women) and earning a reputation as a tireless champion of gender equality and diversity.

She served as president of Smith College from 2002 to 2013, then returned to Berkeley in 2015 to lead the Center for Studies in Higher Education. In May 2016 she agreed to take up her former role as Berkeley’s executive vice chancellor and provost on an interim basis. She will move up to chancellor on July 1, succeeding Nicholas B. Dirks, who announced in August that he would step down to return to teaching and research once his successor was in in place.

Regents Chair Monica Lozano called Christ a “true champion of diversity and inclusion,” and noted that her skills in leadership, strategic planning and finance will serve Berkeley well.

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