UC Davis will test its WarnMe emergency notification system on Wednesday (Nov. 8). The test will go out about 11:50 a.m. by text and email to UC Davis affiliates and people who have registered through the community registration page, and by text only to UCDALERTS subscribers.

The notification system draws on employees’ work contact information as published in the university’s online directory and includes students’ UC Davis email addresses. Members of the campus community and others can add personal contact information and should remember to keep their information current.

Orchard Park apartments coming down

Demolition work begins this week at the Orchard Park apartments at the northwest corner of the main campus. The 53-year-old complex closed in 2014 and is to be replaced with family apartments and graduate student housing. The demolition is scheduled to take from four to seven months.

Subsequent to a call for proposals, the university is negotiating exclusively with University Student Living of New Jersey to develop the site. Student Housing and Real Estate Services are working with the developer to refine the project with a goal of exceeding the university’s initial targets of 200 affordable, two-bedroom apartment units for UC Davis students with families, and accommodations for more than 700 single graduate students.

The redevelopment project has involved extensive consultation with students and residents, led by the Orchard Park Project Advisory Committee.

More information is available online.

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.

“We are all aware that there is an increasing national focus on student well-being and mental health,” the training leaders said. “At UC Davis we want to be sure that our students get access to whatever resources are needed to ensure their success, by creating a supportive and destigmatizing mental health culture. With this training you can be part of this process.”

The upcoming schedule offers two trainings a day on four dates:

• Wednesday, Nov. 15 — 9-11 a.m. or 2-4 p.m., Meeting Room 1, Activities and Recreation Center
• Friday, Nov. 17 — 9-11 a.m. or 2-4 p.m., Meeting Room 1, ARC
• Tuesday, Dec. 19 — 9-11 a.m. or 2-4 p.m., Garrison Room, Memorial Union
• Wednesday, Dec. 20 — 9-11 a.m. or 2-4 p.m., Garrison Room, Memorial Union

If you or your department is interested in a training, send an email to the study team, specifying one training date and time. Support-wellness-study@ucdavis.edu 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.

Open enrollment clock is ticking

Twelve days down, 15 days to go for open enrollment! Looking for assistance? Check the help desk schedule here.

Open enrollment runs until 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 21, allowing employees to make changes in their benefit elections for 2018. More information is available in your open enrollment booklet (mailed to your home) and online, and in this Dateline UC Davis article.

1-day commencement regalia sale

Didn’t have the academic regalia you needed for the chancellor’s recent investiture? Or, do you have a graduation coming up?

Next week you can get all decked out during the Campus Store’s one-day regalia sale: $100 off blue-and-gold UC doctoral regalia and 25 percent off black doctoral gown packages (full packages only: gown, academic hood and tam). Note: Black gowns are for faculty only; all graduation candidates are required to wear blue-and-gold regalia at commencement.

The sale will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15, lower level of the Campus Store in the Memorial Union.

Wolk named UCCS governance fellow

UC Center Sacramento announced the appointment of former state legislator Lois Wolk of Davis to serve as the center’s governance fellow for 2018. The center fills the post annually with a prominent public servant, alternating between Democrats and Republicans.

Wolk served as a Democrat in the Legislature for 14 years after serving on the Davis City Council for 12 years.

“First in local government and later throughout her long service in both the state Assembly and Senate, Lois Wolk has distinguished herself as a thoughtful and energetic advocate for effective public policy,” said Richard Kravitz, professor of internal medicine who serves as the director of UC Center Sacramento. “She will be an outstanding resource and role model for the 150 or more UCCS students who will have the privilege of connecting with her.” 

HOLIDAY HELPING: Food drive, turkey run

• Mail Services’ 12th annual Holiday Food Drive — Mail personnel are picking up foodstuffs left with outgoing mail through Friday, Nov. 17, for delivery to the Yolo Food Bank (Davis campus donations) and Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services (Sacramento campus donations). Here’s a list of suggested items to donate: canned, ready-to-eat meals; canned meat, fish and soups; canned vegetables and tomato products; dry beans (any type); enriched rice and pasta; ramen; boxed macaroni and cheese; canned fruit (in juice); peanut butter (plastic container); iron-rich cereal (45 percent or more of daily value); powdered milk; fruit juice (100 percent, in plastic containers 48 ounces or smaller); and powdered milk formula and Similac baby food.

• Ninth annual Running of the Turkeys — A 5K run-walk event Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 23) in Woodland, to benefit the Yolo Food Bank. You can run on your own or join a team. Everyone is welcome on the Department of Physics team, the Running Coupling Constants. Professor Lloyd Knox said the team has set a fundraising goal of $4,500, and he and his faculty colleagues Richard Scalettar and David Wittman will provide a dollar-for-dollar match until hitting the goal. The match applies to registration fees paid by team members and to donations made in the team’s name.

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