Category Archives: Human Longevity

The Internet of Things refers to smart devices that are capable of transferring information on a network. Although Kevin Ashton, the acclaimed co-founder, and director of the MIT Auto ID Centre, is credited with inventing the term, it wasnt until 2008 2009 that the concept became widely known.

As internet-enabled devices multiplied in production and installations, there were 12.5 billion internet-connected devices in 2010, so did the general awareness associated with IoT. Fast forward to 2020, there are about 31 billion IoT devices amongst us and a considerably few questions around what is IoT.

As the IoT technology proliferates the marketplace, so does its form and utilities being realized by people in general. And why not? Combined with robotics and AI, the IoT technology hammers out human-dependencies from supply chains and reduces the cost to businesses. Nowhere is this more applicable than perhaps the food industry.

Beginning from the very farm that your food grows in, to the warehouses that store it and the retailers that distribute it, the food service industry has stepped in a new age of remote monitoring, sensing, and action that will have profound, and mostly positive, implications for its supply chain players. Let us find out how.

From disease control measures to cattle and field monitoring systems, IoT is transforming the industry of agriculture by putting the power back where it belongs. Into the farmerss hands. Major sectors where this tech has found a solid footing are indoor farming, livestock management, and aquaculture among others. But how is IoT overcoming challenges and breaking new ground in farming?

Robots have come a long way since the third industrial revolution, abetted by the development of the internet. Although far from changing the face of the F&B industry, agricultural robots aka agribots could offer a circumventing solution to the problem of labor shortages. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can be deployed to detect and exterminate weeds from the field. They could save farmers time, human resources, and spray volumes by acting precisely as per the demand. This saving translates into a healthy soil that has a lesser amount of pesticides/weedicides to absorb and more positive bacteria to preserve.

Machine learning, GPS, and the internet of things are making manned machine navigation a thing of the past. Farmers can remotely control their tractors, rotavators, and a host of agricultural machinery with a smartphone. As the code memorizes rough patches, it learns to alter gears and smoothen navigation to both protect the crops and the equipment.

Crop harvesting often turns out to be the plight of farmers often due to untimely harvests. Factors influencing such events could be the weather, untrained personnel, or other poor farm management. Harvesting robots could be trained with the wealth of information that we now possess to pick the right fruit at the right time. With the Internet of Things technology, farmers could grow high-value crops at scale than hedge their bets with varieties supported by minimum support prices.

Another way by which the food industry is scaling its appetite for the Internet of Things is by installing on-field sensors. By design, sensors are engineered to detect discrepancies in weather conditions, crop nutrition, soil pH, and more. Such a smartly coded crop monitoring system offers advance intel to farmers and warns them to prepare for exigencies.

Drones are yet another example of IoT in the food industry. The self-guiding technology makes use of GPS, image processing, infrared cameras, and ground control systems. New generation farmers are leveraging Drones-as-a-Service (DaaS) to predict crop yields, diagnose pest infestation, precision fertigation, and field supervision. Aerobotics is one of the few food tech startups that have made their mark in the field, literally. It combines drone scouting and multi-sensor analysis to predict crop health for longevity.

The food manufacturing industry is high on the deployment of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). The two most suited application areas of IoT that have emerged so far are manufacturing and packaging. Both the SMBs and enterprise vendors have realized the value-added, multifold benefits of IoT in the F&B industry and the following sections illustrate further on it.

The use of IoT in warehouse management is known to be a recurrent top IoT trend. Inventory tracking consumes a lot of overheads and unaccounted muscle-power in the food service industry. Massive swathes of data need constant reconciliation and therefore must be accurate. Sensors act as immaculate tracking devices for warehouse inventory, the data pertaining to which is updated in the software real-time. Consequently, the stock loading times are optimized, managers maintain a magnified vigil on supply chains, due to which the storage space is fully taken advantage of.

Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and collaborative robots can go so far in fetching deeply buried stocks in densely packed shelf lines. So if human intervention cant be uprooted it can surely be made smart and that is what vision picking glasses do. Think Google glass with a lot more information packed in it. Vision picking marries the internet of things with the food industry helping humans identify the right storage zones.

Internet-enabled microchips can be embedded in state-of-the-art food packaging that will expose the originality of the product, once scanned. QR codes are spin-offs of the same concept that evaporate doubts over the authenticity of the product. Especially in times like COVID, customers ordering food online are terrified than ever about the origins of its supply chain. As a result of which an IoT app development company like us is working seriously to offer this feature to our clients.

You never know what customers demand, at least that is what our experience as a food delivery app developer tells us. Integrating QR codes isnt enough. They come in telling us that their stock keeping units are packages with such advanced sensors that indicate not just the veracity of quality but whether the sealing has been broken or not, the source of its ingredients, yadda yadda yadda. For the uninitiated, that is yet another way the internet of things technology is transforming the industry of food.

Modern-day customers love exploring the possibilities associated with food. While sharing the supply chain credentials established trust, offering insights on how to unleash and savor lesser-known recipes takes engagement to impressive levels. As a food app development company, we recommend IoT triggers that inform viewers of add-on combinations to enjoy edible items with. Its a strategic way to augment food packaging with dynamic, ever-changing information that cannot be printed in the first place.

One of the IoT challenges a food delivery app development company like us comes across on our daily roaster is how to make products fly off the shelf without any marketing gimmicks. Turns out we can use IoT (duh!) to run flash-sales for items with low shelf life or those closing in on expiry. Buy one get two offers makes most of us drool.

While open food markets and retailers are the two major platforms for distributing farm produce to consumers, restaurants, road-side eateries, and hotels act as other outlets. Due to this reason, restaurant mobile app developers have been reshifting focus on how to drive IoT in operations. Lets see how businesses can go about their business the smart way with IoT.

For locations that regulate strict recycling legislations, reverse vending machines are a common sight. They incentivize people to deposit disposable/recyclable materials such as cans and plastic bottles by paying them a certain sum. Integrating IoT-enabled programs notifies the retail staff to empty the machine before a queue begins to form. Lesser queues translate into happy customers the lifetime effect of which can be felt in return-customers and their purchase orders.

Refrigeration or storage is a huge concern for the food manufacturing industry. At most locations, operations still depend on the same old, fractured system of human aided supervision. This discounts the fact that the human eye is prone to judgemental errors not to mention the public holidays when the storage units could be under-staffed. IoT-enabled remote monitoring systems can play a cameo in filling such ubiquitous gaps. They can prompt supervisors to action if the temperatures are fluctuating beyond the requisite limits and save precious food. Restaurant app development services like us, can create handheld smart controllers with which the user could moderate temperatures without physical presence.

Temperatures inside large supermarkets, malls, and retail chains are usually regulated by HVAC systems. But they are not intelligent and lack the ability to alter air-conditioning/central heating. An all-encompassing IoT suite could stabilize room temperature in accordance with the outside world. This would help in preserving perishable consumables that cannot bear the brunt of frequent temperature change. In addition, this energy optimization would even save millions of dollars in utility bills contributing further to cost efficiency.

Key Takeaway

The Internet of Things will continue to expand its applications territory into the foreseeable future to varied industries the foremost of which shall remain F&B. Given the well-established line of achievements Appinventiv has won in the years since inception, IoT solutions are definitely up our alley. Lets put it this way, if we dont excite you with our elevator pitch when we meet, the drinks on us. Well be waiting for your call.

Prateek Saxena

Co-founder of Appinventiv

In search for strategic sessions?.

Originally posted here:
14 Ways IoT is Impacting the Food & Agriculture Industry - Appinventiv

The story of Hennessy X.O for the past 150 years has been that of an odyssey. An odyssey that began in Cognac in 1870 before taking on the world and sharing the greatness of its blend with different cultures, from East to West.

The extra old cognac, intended for the inner circle of Maurice Hennessy and cellar master, Emile Fillioux, has become the emblematic blend of the Maison, defining an entire family of cognacs and setting the standard for excellence that lives to this day.

To commemorate Hennessy X.Os 150th year, the Iconic cognac maker unveiled its collaboration with Frank Gehry, one of the most important architects of our age, famed for always being open to experimentation and defying categorization.

Inspired by the Charente River and the multi-faceted experience of the blend, Gehry has created an X.O masterpiece carafe that reflects the iconic and meaningful stature of Hennessy X.O to celebrate this milestone. According to Gehry, he had to immerse himself within the history and creativity involved in Hennessy X.O At first it sounds mystical, but then you go there (Cognac), and experience all that goes into its creation, you see the location on the Charente River, and theres something magical about it. A common feature of Frank Gehry designs is the need to establish presence. It was important to me that it is handmade. Every step in creating Hennessy is handmade, and I wanted everyone to understand how special it is. I tried to create something that has feeling. To take the enormous amount of feeling that goes into making this cognac- all the people involved, all the history involved and express it so somebody who picks up a bottle gets a sense of all that gravitas. Its sort of a symbol of beauty and human expression, that can be transferred forever. Whenever you pick up the bottle, you are curious about the cognac.

The choice of materials for the Anniversary bottles are glass and bronze. The glass sculpture cracks beautifully when removed from the oven and the bronze mold is handmade, so that when the carafe is held, it is able to evoke emotions from all the centuries past.

Mr. Gehry identifies Hennessy as a powerful brand that has existed for a very long time, a symbol that resonates the joy and expression of a lot of people making something beautiful. He describes his collaboration as the very specialness of making art, especially with a brand with integrity. Cognac making is an art, and this contribution of love and attention is to add joy to lives, even in the smallest way. Hennessy X.O is the cognac for every occasion. Its timelessness means that it exists in a realm beyond fashion

Mr. Gehry recognizes the contribution of taste, smell and feeling to the inspiration for his design All you have to do is open the cap and smell the liquid. This is testament to the multisensorial experience which has been parsed into seven distinct chapters that flow seamlessly into one another. While these perceptions tend to vary depending on each persons individual palate and understanding, they typically unfold as sweet notes, flowing flame, rising heat, chocolate lull, spicy edge, wooden crunches and an infinite echo.

The leader in Cognac, the Maison Hennessy has shined around the world with its exceptional blends for more than 250 years. Built on founder Richard Hennessys spirit of conquest, the brand is present in more than 160 countries.

Based in the heart of the Charente region, Hennessy is also a steadfast pillar of the regional economy, the standard-bearer for a sector rich in expertise. The Houses success and longevity are rooted in the excellence of its cognacs, each of which is born of a unique process of transmission from generation to generation.

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HENNESSY CELEBRATES 150 YEARS OF XO WITH CARAFE DESIGNED BY FRANK GEHRY - Forbes Africa

This is an article from World Review: The State of Democracy, a special section that examines global policy and affairs through the perspectives of thought leaders and commentators, and is published in conjunction with the annual Athens Democracy Forum.

In recent years a handful of African countries, including Sudan and Algeria, have said goodbye to longstanding authoritarian rulers, creating openings, however small, for democratic change.

The West African nation of Togo, however, remains firmly under the thumb of a military-backed regime that of the Gnassingbe family, the longest-ruling dynasty on the continent. In recent years, the regime has fully embraced the tactics of digital repression to extend its longevity, outflanking (for now) an increasingly emboldened community of online activists.

The citizens of Togo, a country of roughly eight million people between Ghana to the west and Benin to the east, have lived for more than 50 years under a brutal dictatorship. The nations military regime came to power in 1967, with the installation of the armys chief of staff, Gnassingbe Eyadema, as president. Mr. Eyadema died in 2005, bringing to an end a ruthless 38-year reign marked by widespread human rights abuses. In the months after Mr. Eyademas death, the military-backed candidacy of his son, Faure Gnassingbe, proved victorious in an election marred by serious fraud allegations.

The generations of Togolese activists who had fought the dictatorship of Gnassingbe the First hoped his passing would bring an end to the nations tyranny, paving the way for a brighter democratic future. Instead, Mr. Eyademas death, in February 2005, and the election of his son in April led only to horrific violence: Between 400 and 500 people were killed during those months, with thousands more wounded, according to a United Nations report.

In response to the arrival of Gnassingbe the Second, a new generation of activists came to the fore. The internet was their most powerful tool, and as internet penetration in Togo grew, so did the democratic resistance movement.

I was one of those activists, and like many of my fellow dissidents I have felt empowered in the years since Mr. Gnassingbes rise by the ability to denounce the government its corruption and gangsterism on social media. You may rule over Togo with no accountability, I wrote in a 2014 Facebook post, addressing the administration, but we citizens rule over the internet, and we will hold you accountable.

Unfortunately, the Gnassingbe government isnt keen on any form of resistance, whether in the streets or online. (Mr. Gnassingbe was re-elected in 2010 and 2015 amid accusations of fraud by Togos opposition.) In fact, in recent years it has become increasingly obvious that we underestimated the governments ability to adapt its repressive methods to the digital world.

In the late summer of 2017, major protests quickly spread across the country in support of the oppositions demands that President Gnassingbe resign and that term limits, abolished by his father in 2002, be reinstated. During the monthslong demonstrations, tens of thousands of protesters chanted Faure Must Go, a slogan coined by an activist movement that I co-founded in 2011 with other young Togolese dissidents living in and outside the country. The Faure Must Go movement relied on decentralized digital organizing, which helped many of us maintain our anonymity, protecting us from direct physical repression by leaders.

However, the governments response to the 2017 protests made it clear that we werent as secure as we had thought. In September, the regime shut down the internet for nine days. In the ensuing months, hundreds of protesters were arrested and several were killed, including a 9-year-old boy, according to Amnesty International.

During this time, we received information suggesting that some activists had been arrested and tortured by the government based on evidence gleaned from private conversations that had taken place on WhatsApp, the encrypted messaging app. This gave us a strong hint that the government was spying on us, thus destroying our anonymity as online activists and putting our own security and that of our family members in jeopardy. I was in contact with some of the imprisoned activists for months; many were subsequently forced to flee the country or to go into hiding.

Thanks to a 2018 investigation by Citizen Lab, a cybersecurity research group based at the University of Toronto, we later discovered that a spyware program known as Pegasus was likely being used by the Togolese government to target smartphone users in the country. We believe the regime has used this program to attack the electronic devices of Togolese dissidents.

Pegasus is a product of the NSO Group, an Israeli company that has sold the surveillance technology to numerous governments around the world, solely, the company said, to aid in the fight against terrorism and crime. However, multiple allegations have emerged that the governments in question, some of them with poor human rights records, have also used NSO spyware to target activists, journalists and other civil society leaders. NSO is essentially selling arms to authoritarian governments, fueling abuse and oppression as it puts profits before human dignity.

By late 2018, the Togolese regime had managed to consolidate power by repressing protests and by organizing parliamentary elections under dubious conditions (which the opposition boycotted). It also passed a new cybersecurity law curtailing freedom of expression. As a result of the elections, President Gnassingbe gained the control he needed in Parliament to modify the constitution in his favor: A law passed in 2019 reinstituted the term limits eliminated by his father a major demand of the opposition but it did so while ignoring the three terms Mr. Gnassingbe had already served, potentially allowing him to rule Togo until 2030.

Other West African leaders, including Alpha Cond of Guinea and Alassane Ouattara of Ivory Coast, have recently followed in Mr. Gnassingbes footsteps by claiming that constitutional changes within their countries have essentially reset the term-limit clock to zero. (It is perhaps no surprise that the 2018 Citizen Lab report found potential Pegasus infections in Ivory Coast.)

When Mr. Gnassingbe ran for a fourth term in February 2020, the opposition had only a microscopic chance of winning. The regime, which retained control of the legislature, barred election monitoring groups from operating in Togo and deployed security forces across the country. Mr. Gnassingbe declared victory with 72 percent of the vote, surpassing his percentages in the 2005, 2010 and 2015 elections, amid further allegations of fraud made by the opposition.

Recent investigations by Citizen Lab and others have revealed that yet more government critics in Togo, including prominent Catholic leaders, have been targeted by NSO surveillance software, as part of an attempt to monitor their conversations and movements. The government seems to have succeeded at maintaining its grip on power in the face of mass protests. The Gnassingbe dynasty, in power for over a half-century, continues.

Yet the thirst for democracy in Togo is stronger than ever. The resistance must now go beyond holding authoritarian regimes accountable and demand that tech companies like NSO also be held responsible for the resources they provide to these governments.

The Togolese regime is ignoring a crucial truth: The internet has given the younger generation a taste of freedom and once people know what it feels like to be free, they can no longer be held in bondage indefinitely.

Farida Nabourema is the executive director of the Togolese Civil League, a nongovernmental organization promoting democracy and the rule of law in Togo, and the spokesperson for the Faure Must Go movement.

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In Togo, There Is Nowhere to Hide - The New York Times

The Columbine Health Systems Center for Healthy Aging is hosting a virtual panel discussion at noon on Friday, Oct. 16, to answer community questions about how young people can live longer, healthier lives.

One of the Centers new initiatives is to encourage people in their 20s and 30s to think about what they can do now to support longevity and health across their lifespan and into advanced age, says Nicole Ehrhart, director of the Center and professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences. Research shows that people in their second and third decades rarely explore these topics.

As such, the premise of the panel is to cut through the noise and abundance of health and wellness tips to provide clear recommendations for healthy aging in young adults.

CSU faculty members from the College of Health and Human Sciences will serve as panelists for the discussion, including:

All questions surrounding diet, nutrition, fitness, mental health and general well-being are welcome. Questions can be submitted by emailing healthyaging@colostate.edu. Some to be answered by the panelists include:

Thus, while the panel is geared toward younger people, it will provide general health advice that people of all ages can benefit from.

Attendees may register in advance for the webinar at col.st/pAe2s

The webinar will be recorded for later viewing on the Center for Healthy Agings YouTube playlist.

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'Aging in Your 20s and 30s' panel to be held Oct. 16 - College of Health and Human Sciences - Source

Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala HarrisKamala HarrisRepublican COVID-19 outbreak rocks the 2020 race VP debate to install plexiglass between Pence and Harris Growing White House coronavirus infections highlight debate safety concerns MORE (D-Calif.) ison the cover for Elle magazines November issue, in which the senator participates in a broad interview spanning racial inequality, her upbringing and President TrumpDonald John TrumpState Department revokes visa of Giuliani-linked Ukrainian ally: report White House Gift Shop selling 'Trump Defeats COVID' commemorative coin Biden says he should not have called Trump a clown in first debate MORE.

In her interview with journalist Ashley Ford, Harris starts off by discussing her experience attending a civil rights march in Oakland, Calif., where she was born, as a child. At the time, Harris had been in a stroller with her parents, both activists who immigrated from Jamaica and India, and had fallen out at one point.

Eventually, Harris said her parents, who had continued marching afterward, noticed her absence and returned to get her.

My mother tells the story about how Im fussing, and shes like, Baby, what do you want? What do you need? And I just looked at her and I said, Fweedom, she said.

During her childhood, Harris, who also previously served as a former prosecutor and later as attorney general of California before becoming the second Black woman and first South Asian-American to become U.S. senator in 2017, said there was no question that you had to dedicate yourself to fighting for justice on some level or another.

That the measure of you is so much bigger than you; its the impact you have, its what you do in service to others, Harris, whose godmother, Mary Lewis, also helped establish San Francisco State University's Black studies department, continued. And thats how I was raised. I was raised that it is not about charity and benevolence, its about your duty. No ones going to congratulate you for itits what youre supposed to do.

Ford also pressed the senator on her meaning of justice in the interview, to which, Harris responded: "Its about freedom, its about equality, its about dignity. When you achieve equality, and freedom, and fairness, its not because I grant it to you. Its because you fought for it because it is your right.

This is not about benevolence or charity; it is about every human beings God-given right. What do we collectively do to fight for that? Thats what justice represents to meits about empowerment of the people, said Harris, who is also the first Black woman and Indian American to run as vice president on a major party presidential ticket.

As protests against racism and police brutality continue in parts of the country fromspring, summer and into fall following the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black Americans, Harris vowed in the interviewtokeepsupportingthe brilliance of the Black Lives Matter movement.

What I hope and pray is that we can get to a point where, through what are undoubtedly difficult conversations, we confront the real history of America, Harris said. Doing it in a way that is motivated by love, but also is fully honest.

Harris credited optimism during the interview as the fuel driving every fight she has been in and said her motivation comes from believing in what can be unburdened by what has been.

John LewisJohn LewisHow to fight the onslaught of election disinformation The House's stake in filibuster reform Hillicon Valley: Productivity, fatigue, cybersecurity emerge as top concerns amid pandemic | Facebook critics launch alternative oversight board | Google to temporarily bar election ads after polls close MORE, the dearly departed, like many others shed blood on that bridge. Because he really believed in what could be. It will often feel like [we are only] against something, but the motivation that carries us through, with any longevity, is knowing what were fighting for, the senator told the magazine.

She also spoke briefly about Trump during the interview while discussing the night she was elected senator in California years back.

In every one of my elections, part of our routine is we do a small friends-and-family dinner before we go to the campaign night celebration, she told the magazine.

When it became clearer that night that Trump was going to win the election, Harris recalled a conversation she had with her godson.

My godson, Alexander, who was seven years old at the time, came up to me, crying, and said, Auntie Kamala, theyre not going to let that man win, are they? And you know the babies in your life I held him, she said.

I mean, it still brings me pain to remember how he felt, and what it made me feel, which is that I needed to protect this child. I had one way, in my mind, I thought the evening would go. And then there was the way it turned out. And so by the time I took the stage, I had ripped up my notes, and all I had was Alexander in my heart. And I took the podium and I said, I intend to fight. I intend to fight, she said.

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Kamala Harris featured on cover of Elle magazine's November issue | TheHill - The Hill

The University of California strives to reflect diversity in its students, faculty and staff. With the largest proportion of applicants to the UC System now students of color, it is critical that UC San Diego recruit more diverse faculty to better reflect the statewide population, and to foster an inclusive campus climate. To underscore its commitment to advancing faculty diversity, the University of California Office of the President has funded two major initiatives at UC San Diego through the UC Advancing Faculty Diversity (AFD) grant program.

An interdisciplinary cluster hiring project will recruit 10-12 faculty whose research is focused on racial/ethnic disparities in STEM fields with a significant focus on the Black Diaspora and African American communities. UC has provided $500,000 in one-time funding to assist with aspects of the recruitments. The new faculty will be located in the Division of Physical Sciences,Division of Biological Sciences, Jacobs School of Engineering, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,School of Medicine,the new Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, Scripps Institution of Oceanography,andthe Halcolu Data Science Institute.

Building on the Center for Faculty Diversity and Inclusions existing infrastructure of faculty affinity networks, a second initiative will seek to improve retention of underrepresented faculty through activities such as coaching for faculty mentors and coalition building. UC San Diego was awarded $200,000 in one-time funding to launch this project on our campus. The Center for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion, a unit of the UC San Diego Office for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, managed the submission of both grants, and is a key partner in both initiatives.

Thandeka Chapman, a professor in Education Studies, is one of the project leads for the grant whose proposal, Advancing Diverse Faculty, Curricula and Research through a Cluster Hire at UC San Diego, seeks to recruit 10+ new faculty through a multidisciplinary cluster hire at the intersection of race/ethnicity and STEM. In addition to increasing faculty diversity in fields where faculty of color are underrepresented, the cluster would advance research on and for communities of color; diversify course offerings affiliated with the African American Studies Minor and the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) course requirement; and provide valuable mentoring for UC San Diego students.

Today, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic where social disparities translate into disparate health outcomes, this innovative proposal is both timely and globally relevant. UC San Diego leadership, including Chancellor Pradeep Khosla and EVC Elizabeth Simmons, are committing to 10-12 full-time employees (FTEs) for this initiative, and hiring under this cluster is one of only three hiring freeze exceptions that the Chancellor is allowing this year.

The interdisciplinary cluster hire represents a renewed commitment in academia to address complex racial/ethnic and social issues and ideas in STEM from cross-disciplinary perspectives, said Chapman. It is our hope that through their efforts at UC San Diego, these new faculty members will benefit and enhance all aspects of our academic programming by giving students, faculty and staff opportunities to engage in critical issues of race and STEM that trespass traditional school and departmental silos, and work towards transformative change for underrepresented racial minorities and low-income communities.

Education Studies Professor Makeba Jones, also a principal investigator (PI) for the project, added, It is vital to say that at its core, this effort is much more than a cluster hire; its a systemic effort to address racial inequities on campus for African American undergraduate and graduate students by creating a cadre of scholars who focus on the African American Diaspora in the areas of medicine, health and the environment. Faculty will not only produce innovative research in STEM fields related to African American communities, they will also be involved in teaching undergraduates through the African American Studies minor and majoras well as mentoring both undergraduates and graduate students.

Faculty recruitment doesnt end with the hiring process. A proposal by Associate Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Frances Contreras and Mardestinee Perez, director of Faculty Development and Diversity, entitled A Holistic Strategy for Academic Success and Retention at UC San Diego resulted in University of California funding to improve campus climate and retain faculty as part of the systemwide AFD program. The proposal seeks to improve the retention of underrepresented faculty through a holistic strategy of support, connection and leadership development. New efforts will complement ongoing institutional efforts to improve department culture and academic leadership.

An issue that is often overlooked, particularly when we examine faculty diversity, is the critical issue of retention which is often intertwined with the state of the university and department climate, said Contreras. If faculty are engaged and able to thrive in their work environment, they are more likely to remain at UC San Diego and establish their academic careers and national reputation. Our efforts focus on helping faculty exercise their personal agency in navigating their department and this campus, while also assisting the campus to develop and examine infrastructures, processes and practices to improve department climates.

Perez oversees all programming at the UC San Diego Center for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion, a key campus entity for faculty retention efforts. Having a diverse faculty enriches research and teaching, increases innovation and adds cultural value to the campus. If we are going to invest time and resources in faculty recruitment, we need to pay attention to retention. It is important that we create an environment where faculty want to stay, not just because UC San Diego is a prestigious institution, but because they feel good about working here and they feel valued. We need to create that sense of belonging, and not lose opportunities for connection and supportespecially during this virtual workenvironment.

Contreras added, We are working to ensure that our cadre of diverse faculty want to call UC San Diego their academic home for the long term, said Contreras. They can help us to build a dynamic faculty network committed to the public mission of our university to both generate knowledge while also cultivating future generations of thought, industry and community leaders.

To learn more about efforts to advance faculty diversity at UC San Diego, visit the Center for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion.

Originally posted here:
Grants Totaling $700K Fund Two Major Projects Aimed at Advancing Faculty Diversity - UC San Diego Health