Personnel
Clerical Title Reduction Takes Effect August 1
The recently proposed reduction in clerical titles will be implemented at the Berkeley campus Aug. 1, 1995.
Articles in the Feb. 22 Berkeleyan and the March SuperVision provided details and a list of the affected titles.
Title changes will be made centrally by Payroll; departments do not need to submit Personnel Action Forms (PAFs). The title reduction will not result in any changes in employees' salary, benefits, appointment percentages or service credit.
Campus Memos
Deans and directors memos are now available on Infocal where they can be accessed via World-wide Web, Gopher and Telnet.
For information on how to access the memos, call Infocal at 642-8507 or e-mail consult@infocal.
If you have questions about deans and directors memos, call Aileen Kim in the Office of the Vice Chancellor--Business and Administrative Services at 642-3100, e-mail aileen_kim@maillink.
Around Cal
Not Just for Basketball
In marked contrast to the noisy excitement of basketball games, Harmon Gym this time of year gives way to the tense quiet of final exams--this one for Classics 28, "The Classic Myths," May 17.
Awards and Honors
Werner Goldsmith, professor emeritus of mechanical engineering, will be honored by a three-day symposium and banquet as part of the Applied Mechanics/Materials Division June meeting at UCLA. The 10 sessions will feature papers by colleagues, friends and former students from all over the world.
Leon Henkin, professor emeritus of mathematics, received an honorary doctorate from the University of Illinois at Chicago May 7, as did Chancellor Chang-Lin Tien.
Robert Leachman, professor of industrial engineering and operations research, along with three of his students, has won the $10,000 1995 Franz Edelman Award of the Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences--the largest prize in operations research--for an automated production planning and delivery quotation system that has enabled Harris Corporation-Semiconductor Sector to substantially improve on-time delivery performance.
Leachman's colleagues on the project are PhD student Robert Benson; Dale Raar, MS '89, now with IBM; and Chihwei Liu, DEng '92 , now with Tyecin Systems.
James Sethian, professor of mathematics, has received the $5,000 1995 Donald Sterling Noyce Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.
Staff Enrichment
Employee Development And Training
For information, call 642-8134.
New Employee Orientation
June 6, 8:30 am-noon
This is an opportunity for new employees to learn about the university and the Berkeley campus, meet new employees from other departments and get information they need to know within their first month of employment.
Customer Service Excellence
June 7, 8:30 am-4:30 pm, and June 9, 8:30 am-noon
Learn to understand customers and their needs, assess departmental barriers to customer service (and how to remove them) and communicate effectively.
Flip Charts and Overheads
June 8, 8:30-10:30 am, Room 24,University Hall
Learn criteria for selecting an appropriate instructional aid and medium, guidelines for creating and using overheads and tips for creating and using flip charts effectively.
Managing and Mediating Conflict in the Workplace, Advanced
June 19, 8:30-noon, Room 24, University Hall
Prerequisite: Managing and Mediating Conflict in the Workplace.
Apply skills learned in the Managing and Mediating Conflict in the Workplace class by participating in case studies, role plays and group activities. Get feedback on additional ways of enhancing your skills.
Facilitation Techniques
June 21 and 23, 8:30 am-4:30 pm, Room 24, University Hall
Group discussion, lecture and skills practice focus on increasing participant involvement and learning. You will have the opportunity to facilitate a videotaped group discussion and will receive feedback on your strengths and skills as a facilitator.
Wanted: Catalog Cover Art
Career employees are encouraged to submit artwork for the fifth annual catalog cover contest sponsored by Employee Development and Training. The winner will receive a $100 gift certificate for art supplies and his/her artwork will be featured on the cover of the 1995-96 EDT Catalog of Programs and Services. This year's theme is change. Deadline is 5 p.m., Thursday, June 22. Call 642-8134 for information.
Training Matters
Basic Skills: More Important Than Ever
Berkeley staff members, like working people everywhere, are discovering that they need more advanced skills to do their jobs or to prepare for future jobs. The demand for writing, budget analysis and verbal communication is growing as our jobs change.
At Berkeley, organizational change has increased the need for reading, writing and math skills. For example, many employees are working in teams where the "product" might be a report drafted by the group. Some are receiving new authority delegated from central administrative departments, while others have new responsibility for budget transactions or training. Supervisors and staff are being asked to take on new assignments.
Meanwhile, according to a 1993 study by the Educational Testing Service, nearly half the adults in America cannot write a letter about a billing problem or understand a bus schedule. Many Berkeley staff members are discovering they need better skills to accomplish their jobs.
CALS Project Brings Learners and Tutors Together
For the past three years, the CALS Project has been pairing staff members who want to improve their basic skills with employees who volunteer as tutors. The project has served 215 learners from 55 campus departments with confidential referrals.
Maybe you'd like to plan your future career, or maybe you've been feeling you need better skills to do the job you have now. According to project coordinator Jane Griswold of Employee Development and Training, there are many reasons that employees choose to participate in the tutoring program.
If you're not sure whether you need help with reading, writing, math or English- language skills, think about the following. Have you ever:
o Wondered whether you could get a promotion if you had better writing skills?
o Wanted to improve your spoken English so people could understand you more easily?
o Felt you didn't understand a complex presentation?
o Wished you could better understand the budget figures you read?
CALS Project tutors work one- to- one with learners, often during lunch or after work. Although most tutors are current employees, some are retirees, students or community members.
The benefit of this program is the individualized content. Almost all the tutor- learner pairs focus on some form of communication (except those working on math skills), but the specifics depend on what the learner needs. Native- born speakers of English often ask for help with writing skills, while others may work first on verbal skills and then on writing.
Learners in the program have come from a wide range of job titles, including analysts, custodians, research associates and food service workers. In a survey last year, 84 percent said that tutoring had helped them in their work and 90 percent said it had helped them personally.
Resources On and Off Campus
Some employees don't want to work with another campus employee because they'd rather not identify themselves. Others may be looking for training in skills that aren't offered by current tutors. If you are looking for help with basic skills, if you think a colleague might be interested or if you'd like to help others, here are some things you can do:
o Call the CALS Project at 643-5280 or e-mail jgris@uclink to find out how you can become a learner or a tutor in the program. The next tutor training begins June 8.
o Find out about off- campus resources. Vista, Alameda, Merritt and Laney colleges have several programs for adult learning. The CALS Project will provide confidential referrals to off- campus resources.
o Call your local public library; most have tutoring programs for adults.
o Check the Employee Development and Training and UC Extension catalogs for courses in business writing and other topics.
o Spread the word among your colleagues. It can be difficult to approach someone who seems to need help with basic skills, but you can make information available in your department. If you're a supervisor, communicate your support for employees who want to improve their basic skills.
This column was written by Margo Takemiya.
Investment Fund Performance
UC Savings Program Voluntary Contribution Plan
Comparative Performance and Total Rates of Return*
12 months 1 3 6 12 Year
Ending 4/30/95 Month Months Months Months To Date
Commonly Quoted Indices
Standard & Poor's 500 2.91% 10.07% 10.37% 17.42% 12.93%
Salomon High-Grade Bond Index 1.75 5.69 10.29 8.23 8.39
30-Day Treasury Bills 0.44 1.31 2.56 4.65 1.73
1-Year Treasury Bills 0.51 1.57 3.28 6.10 2.15
UC Funds
Equity+ 3.57 9.93 9.36 21.33 11.38
Bond+ 4.21 8.90 11.53 8.17 10.42
Savings 0.53 1.59 3.26 6.65 2.15
Money Market 0.50 1.49 2.85 5.12 1.98
Insurance 0.63 1.88 3.84 7.85 2.55
Company Contract
Multi-Asset+ 2.19 5.54 6.66 11.19 6.53
*Includes reinvestment of interest and dividends. Reflects market value of the underlying security.
+Unit values for variable funds as of April 30 were Equity: $117.442; Bond: $64.163; Multi-Asset: $15.93413.
This table is for illustrative purposes only and not intended as a recommendation. Market conditions fluctuate; figures do not necessarily indicate future performance.