By Vic Cox

Arriving a few weeks earlier than last year, the 2006 Staff Celebration Week will be packed with events, tours, and even a contest or two as it runs from the morning of April 17 through noontime on April 21.

A co-production of the Chancellor’s Staff Advisory Council (CSAC) and Staff Assembly, the celebration this year begins with the usual ice cream social at noon behind Cheadle Hall, but moved the traditional barbecue sponsored by Chancellor Henry Yang to Thursday, April 20, instead of on Friday. Most of the other changes consist of new or expanded attractions, such as a drawing for prizes at the barbecue or the “Eyes in the Sky” wild bird show on Monday afternoon, April 17.

Some activities have advance deadlines, such as the Faculty Club’s breakfast buffet from Monday through Thursday, which asks for reservations (x3096) by April 13. The Staff Assembly-sponsored drawing also requires that the special entry forms be turned in to Val de Veyra (x2269) in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering by April 14. The form is in Staff Assembly’s spring newsletter <www.staffassembly.ucsb.edu>, which should be available this week.

If a baker wants his or her cookie recipe in a book Staff Assembly is preparing for the 2nd Annual Cookie Bake-off contest, send it to Martha Olsen (martha.olsen@sa.ucsb.edu) no later than April 14. The deadline for entries in the staff arts and crafts display at the Faculty Club was last Friday, but if one has pottery for the April 20 Pottery Sale, contact Emily Battson (x2181) as quickly as possible.

Another novel touch is that CSAC has selected a new official logo (see below) as a result of a competition last quarter. Eric Mayes, a programmer with the Student Information Systems and Technology Department, won the $100 cash prize and $100 UCSB Bookstore gift certificate.

Merchandise with the old UCSB staff logo and the new CSAC logo are for sale online at <www.cafepress.com/csac_logo_staff> or <www.cafepress.com/csac_ucsb_staff >.