UC – ANR Leadership Development Oversight Committee

draft for discussion - Revised December 14, 2005

 

Recommended Principles and Options to Improve the

Situation, Satisfaction and Standing of

University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE)

County Directors

 

 

Introduction

In June 2005, ANR’s Associate Vice President Richard Standiford charged the statewide Leadership Development Oversight Committee (LDOC) to “initiate a task force of LDOC members and appropriate others to develop and implement a system-wide strategy to identify and support development of individuals to take on County Director assignments in the future.” The LDOC considered the current County Director situation and concluded that there was a critical need to address present conditions for County Directors. The LDOC recognized in its deliberations that there are two prerequisites to filling County Director positions – 1) a talent pool, and 2) a job that attracts the talent pool, through appropriate job satisfaction, salary, support or a combination of these factors.

A sub-committee was established to review reports and studies[1] on the situation and status of County Directors in order to identify specific measures to improve the current condition under the assumption that the current condition needed to be improved before considering development of individuals to take on future County Director assignments in UCCE. The sub-committee studied the past recommendations and identified seven (7) important themes that cut across all the documents. The sub-committee presented their findings to the overall LDOC membership leading to the development of these seven desired goals or “principles.” Following each principle are options that may be considered to achieve the principle.

Principle #1

Preserve County Director academic appointments with a portion of their assignment dedicated to maintaining an academic program in UCCE.

Options:

• Establish Associate County Director assignments to distribute and share administrative responsibilities in large counties and as appropriate in other settings.
• Rotate County Director assignments among other competent county-based academics within a county or sub-regional unit.

Submit Input Re: CD Principle # 1.

Principle #2

Provide sufficient support resources for Cooperative Extension County Directors. Support is provided to offset administrative duties so that an individual can maintain a strong academic program. County Director support parallels the campus system of compensation for Department Chairs, which allows individuals to negotiate what support resources are required to fulfill an administrative role.

Options:

• Identify a pool of funds for County Director support managed either centrally or by the Regional Directors.
• Establish and publish transparent guidelines and overall process for determining support.
• Conduct periodic review of individual County Director assignments to ensure support is appropriate to job size and/or function.
• Delegate application of support resources to the discretion of the County Director, e.g. support funds may be used to hire administrative or programmatic support staff.

Submit Input Re: CD Principle # 2.

Principle #3

Align Cooperative Extension County Director administrative stipends with overall UC policy to reward administrative service by academics. County Director stipends parallel the campus system of compensation for Department Chairs, in recognition of similar additional administrative responsibilities.

Options:

• Maintain and communicate a transparent formula for calculating County Director stipends.
• Conduct periodic review of individual County Director assignments to reflect changes in job size or function.

Submit Input Re: CD Principle # 3.

Principle #4

Evaluate administrative work with equal weight and value as programmatic work and as appropriate to the function.

Options:

• Develop a template that is unique to County Director administrative assignment (as opposed to using the programmatic template) for use in documenting administrative work for Program Review dossiers.
• Develop guidelines and special training for peer-review committees as well as Senior Administrative Council (SAC) on the rigors and value of County administrative work.
• Study and evaluate other administrative evaluation models for applicability to County Directors.

Submit Input Re: CD Principle # 4.

Principle #5

Communicate and reinforce existing mechanisms for County Directors to provide input to Division wide planning especially in matters affecting counties and advisor work.

Options:

• Improve current systems of representation that are in place (Program Council, Administrative Working Group, etc) to increase consultation with County Directors:
  • Determine where County Directors feel more input is needed.
  • Determine where and how to improve existing communication structure.
  • Organize periodic Department Chairs/County Directors meetings.
• Streamline reporting requirements and organize consistent calendar for reporting.
• Continue to centralize support units as resources to County Directors – e.g.:
  • Publicity and marketing.
  • Affirmative Action training for staff.
  • Environmental Health and Safety Compliance.

Submit Input Re: CD Principle # 5.

Principle #6

Develop a proactive succession plan to ensure a pool of motivated, prepared and talented individuals to fill vacated County Director positions.

Options:

• Review demographics of existing and projected future County Director pool.
• Enlist current County Directors in developing plan to help identify, develop and motivate prospective candidates for future assignments.
• Develop County Director candidate mentoring through Associate County Director assignments, internships, or other means.
• Initiate a selective (i.e. by application) “Aspiring County Director” class to build skills and elevate interest in becoming a County Director.
• Explore alternatives for temporarily filling critical vacant County Director positions, e.g. re-hire of emeriti County Directors.

Submit Input Re: CD Principle # 6.

Principle #7

Provide a mechanism and funding for professional development opportunities and training for County Directors.

Options:

• Communicate and encourage County Directors to take advantage of university-wide training in leadership and administrative matters.

Submit Input Re: CD Principle # 7.

 

 

 

---