Where can you find job and research opportunities?
Ask Carmen.

What do you do if you need computer support?
Ask Carmen.

How many different documents are prepared for a purchase order, whether it is $5 or $5000?
Ask Carmen.

When several entomology staff administered a fun quiz at a recent departmental meeting, every question included the multiple-choice answer: "Ask Carmen."

Come April 28, nobody can ask Carmen. After a University of California, Davis career spanning 32.40 years - all in the entomology department - Carmen Johnson is retiring.

The grants specialist, who joined the entomology staff in 1974 as a "secretary II," will be traveling, playing golf and spending more time with her family.

"I can't picture this department without her," said department chair Robert Washino, whose career spans four decades at UC Davis. "Carmen is conscientious and dependable and always there for us."

Said former department chair Diane Ullman, faculty member since 1995: "Carmen helped me on countless occasions, first when I was a student at UC Davis and then later when I joined the faculty. She helped me celebrate my marriage, the birth of my daughter and every little success along the way. More times than I count, Carmen solved a problem, got my grant cover page and budget ready in a New-York minute and just took the time to help me understand the UC Davis system. I will really miss her!"

Entomologist Frank Zalom echoed the praise. "I've known Carmen since I came to Davis as a PhD student in 1975, and I can say that I was probably as big of a pain for Carmen then as I am now. The only difference was that I was trying to figure out how I could spend my major professor's money instead of my own. I always appreciated the way Carmen figured out how I could get things done instead of just saying that what I wanted to do was impossible. This made it possible to do my job the last 30-plus years, and I will miss her a lot."

The entomology department also will miss the "Carmenisms" that she's coined:
. "UC Davis doesn't issue parking permits; it issues hunting permits."
. "When you finish one problem, another comes in to fill the void."
. "It's a little like trying to dig a hole in the sand. It just keeps filling back up."
. "I know that desk is busy. I did that, too."

Carmen Johnson remembers policies and procedures, names and faces, undergraduates and graduates, post-doctorates and professors.

"Over the years, several professors started here as graduate or undergraduate students or held postdoctoral positions for a time and later came back as faculty," she said. "The ones that come to mind are Jay Rosenheim, Robert Page, Rick Roush, Lynn Kimsey, Bob Kimsey, Diane Ullman, Frank Zalom and Greg Lanzaro. Some of them may not remember that I was here then, but I remember. "

A resident of Davis since 1965, Carmen moved here with husband David Peterson (now deceased), from the Imperial Valley. When asked what drew her to work at UC Davis, she said: "We had two young children to support and a new house to pay for so it was very important to find a better paying job with great benefits. My previous job (in a law office) paid about half of what the university was paying."

Johnson described her first day on the job, Sept. 19, 1974, as "overwhelming."

"Previously I worked in a law office where I was the only person in the office. Everything about the university's way of doing business was completely different than what I was used to. But I was determined to learn everything I had to know to do my job. So. I paid attention and listened to everything that was going on around me. I also took a lot of staff development classes. I asked a lot of questions, too, which probably drove everyone crazy. I also made a lot of phone calls and did some networking to create resources for help."

Her secretary II position involved "typing correspondence for faculty, typing course handouts, exams and manuscripts." She typed the course material "onto wax stencils and then ran them off on a mimeograph machine."

"They were hard to work with and very messy. Then we hand-collated all the copies for large classes - usually with last minute deadlines."

"That (a last-minute deadline)," she quipped, "hasn't changed much."

Johnson said her biggest change during her three decades was transitioning from typewriters to computers. "Computers now involve practically every aspect of our work," she said. "The old style printed ledgers that we used to reconcile against our own internal handwritten ledgers, or shadow system, have been replaced by electronic ones, too. The work is the same; it's just done electronically. Having computers to do our work was supposed to be more efficient and a time saver, but we're busier now than we ever because the expectation is that we can do more with this wonderful tool. The reality is that it's added a considerable amount of work for everyone."

Nancy Dullum, program assistant with the UC Mosquito Research Program and a 29-year UC Davis employee, including 24 years in entomology, praised Johnson for sharing her wealth of knowledge. "She's been very helpful over the years. If I'm in a glitch, she's there."

And what will the office do without Carmen Johnson, the resourceful resource person? "I didn't walk into the office on my first day on the job knowing what to do," Johnson said modestly. "It takes time on any new job to learn and find out what needs to be done. When you do it often enough, it almost becomes routine and looks easy. That's when everyone thinks you're the expert. All of our office staff is very capable and dedicated to doing the best job they can. If they don't know something, they know who to call to find out what to do. That's what I did."

Asked what she'll remember most about UC Davis, she replied: "The pride I felt working here. In some small way, I always felt I contributed to the research and teaching of the university by providing a service that supported the work of the department. That might sound sort of lofty or corny, but it's true. I'll also remember being involved in Picnic Day, being in the parade and helping with our exhibits. It's exhausting but I had fun working with faculty, other staff and students."

Carmen and her husband Richard, who retired from United Airlines about four years ago, plan to travel. "I'm learning to play golf and we've already gone on a couple of golfing trips," she said. "There's a beautiful golf course in Death Valley that we've been to twice. We plan to go again next spring. Golf is very challenging but I am enjoying learning how to play. I think it's going to be a lifelong learning process but I think that's part of the fun. "

"We'll also spend more time with our two grandchildren," she said. "Most of our family is in the area so we'll be able to see more of them, too."

Then they can "Ask Carmen."