Chancellor Gary S. May and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg have scheduled a news conference this week in Sacramento to share next steps in the Aggie Square partnership between UC Davis and the Sacramento community. The news conference will begin at 1 p.m. Thursday (April 12) at the southeast corner of Stockton Boulevard and Second Avenue on the UC Davis Health campus in Sacramento.

May and Steinberg established the Aggie Square Working Group in December to explore potential opportunities for a new technology and innovation campus. This group was focused on delivering their findings to the mayor and chancellor in three key areas: potential sites for Aggie Square within Sacramento; potential city and state funding sources to support the effort; and transportation options between Sacramento and Davis.

The news conference will be streamed live on UC Davis' Facebook and Periscope pages.

Aggie Pride staff-faculty photo contest

Aggie Pride Friday isn’t just for students — it’s for staff and faculty, too! So get your Aggie gear on, show your pride — and, starting at 3 p.m. today (April 10), enter the first Aggie Staff-Faculty Pride Photo Contest!

“We know our staff and faculty are just as proud as our students, and we wanted to give them the opportunity to show it loud and proud,” the Aggie Pride Friday team announced. The contest is open to departments, units, offices and other groups, who will be vying for free breakfast, delivered to their work location.

Here’s how to enter: Get your group together, think of a photo idea to best express your Aggie Pride, and submit your photo via Facebook Messenger to the Aggie Pride Friday Facebook page by 8 p.m. Monday, April 30. Read the contest rules here.

Photos will be posted on the Aggie Pride Friday Facebook page on May 1 for public voting — the photo with the most “likes” by 9 p.m. May 8 will be the winner. Besides breakfast, the winning group also will receive a framed certificate and picture.

Medical plan survey begins

UC’s annual medical plan satisfaction survey gets underway this week — with surveys going to randomly selected faculty, staff and retirees (as well as their spouses or domestic partners). The survey should take roughly 20 minutes to complete, and all responses are anonymous and confidential, according to UC Human Resources.

The survey, administered by DSS Research, focuses on member experiences in 2017. The results will assist HR in planning future offerings.

All of UC’s sponsored plans, both Medicare and non-Medicare, are included — except for the Core plan.

Members of non-Medicare plans who are selected to participate will receive surveys via email, provided the members have work email addresses on file. If there no work email address on file, the survey will come by regular mail.

Medicare members who are selected to participate will receive their survey packages by mail only. Medicare members are required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to complete the survey by mail or over the phone.

Survey results will be shared in late October prior to open enrollment.

Making sense of dollars and cents

WorkLife and Wellness announced a full slate of programs in observance of Financial Literacy Month. They include two webinars and two brown bags open to all, free of charge.

• Money and Integration — Balancing All Our Needs — Third Path Institute webinar with Matt Becker, founder of Mom and Dad Money, on how we can redesign work, family and our financial choices to help us better follow our dreams. 10-11 a.m. Thursday, April 12.
• Your Credit Report and Credit Score — This MoneyManagement.org webinar will present tools and information to help you understand your personal credit report and the factors that determine your score. 11 a.m.-noon Thursday, April 12.
• Take Care of Your Finances and Yourself — Brown bag for those of us who are uncertain about how to get started, whether dealing with debt, living within our incomes, saving for the future or planning for retirement. Noon-1 p.m. Thursday, April 12, multipurpose room, Student Community Center. No RSVPs needed.
• Create A Budget, Ditch Your Debt and Start Building for the Future — Brown bag (and interactive workshop) on strategies and tools that can help you get a handle on spending and borrowing. Learn how to improve your current financial situation as you organize your finances and prioritize your savings goals. Noon-1 p.m. Tuesday, April 17, Meeting Room D, Student Community Center. No RSVPs needed.

More information on financial literacy.

New sessions of ‘Gatekeeper Training’  

The subject is the mental health of students, and the training is for staff and faculty to equip them with skills and knowledge “to comfortably and confidently speak to students about mental health concerns and then refer them to appropriate mental health resources.” The term “gatekeeper” derives from the fact that faculty and staff often serve as students’ gateways to help.

The trainings are being offered as part of a study sponsored by the Behavioral Health Center of Excellence, the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Student Health and Counseling Services, and the Division of Student Affairs.

The upcoming schedule offers two trainings a day on four dates, all at the Student Health and Wellness Center:

• Wednesday, April 11 — 9:50 a.m.-noon, Main Conference Room 2  
• Wednesday, April 11 — 1:50-4 p.m., Main Conference Room 2   
• Thursday, April 12 — 9:50 a.m.-noon, Main Conference Room 1   
• Thursday, April 12 — 2:50-5 p.m., Main Conference Room 1  
• Tuesday, May 15 — 9:50 a.m.-noon, Main Conference Room 2  
• Tuesday, May 15 — 1:50-4 p.m., Main Conference Room 2  
• Wednesday, May 16 — 9:50 a.m.-noon, Main Conference Room 2 
• Wednesday, May 16 — 1:50-4 p.m., Main Conference Room 2 

If you or your department is interested in a training, send an email to the study team, specifying one training date and time. In return, you will receive an email from “Support UCD Wellness Study” with the subject line, “Invitation to a UC Davis Pilot Study of Training to Support Student Mental Health,” and instructions for completing a pretraining questionnaire.

For more information, contact Professor Carolyn Dewa by email, or you can send an email to her research assistant, Bushra Shaikh.

CoHo chili on sale, Chinese Flavors on wheels

The Coffee House’s Throwback Thursday special this week is chili (turkey or tofu) for $1 at the Cooks counter. TBT prices began last week and will continue until mid-May, on one item each week, as the CoHo ramps up for its 50th anniversary celebration. Stay tuned to the CoHo on Facebook and Instagram for weekly posts on the TBT specials.

The campus’s newest food truck, Chinese Flavors, will have its grand opening from 4 to 5 p.m. Thursday (April 12) at the International Center. The truck and chef David Tu will provide free samples during the celebration. The new truck will join with the campus’s other food trucks in rotating among different spots on campus.

Follow Dateline UC Davis on Twitter.