--Dan Wick, Chair

Academic Federation

For the past two years I have served as Chair of the Academic Federation and I wish to take this opportunity to thank all of the members of the Federation who have called or written me to express their interests and concerns about issues affecting the Davis campus. I would also like to thank the members of the Academic Federation Executive Council for their support and help. In addition, the Federation has been aided superbly by Jennifer Kantorowski who has provided us with outstanding staff support throughout my time as Chair.

The relations of the Academic Federation with the campus administration have never been stronger thanks to the assistance and cooperation of Chancellor Larry N. Vanderhoef and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Robert D. Grey. Their strong support of the Federation continues to ensure the strength of the organization which, as you know, is unique in the University of California system.

The upcoming academic year will see the important report of the recently appointed Committee to Evaluate Campus Personnel Reviews of Academic Federation Titles (see page 3). The work of this committee underscores the fact that the Academic Federation, as always, stands ready to support its members in their important contributions to the University of California's missions of teaching, research, and public service.

COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES ELECTION RESULTS

--Barbara Goldman, Secretary

Two nominations were submitted for the Committee on Committees so, as directed by Bylaw V. (C), the Rules and Elections Committee served as an ad hoc Nominations Committee and nominated additional candidates. In accordance with Bylaw V. (D) 5. of the Academic Federation’s Bylaws, I declare that the election by mail ballot shall be cancelled and I have cast a single vote for each of the candidates.

The following members are elected to the Committee on Committees and shall take office on September 1, 1998:

Larry D. Godfrey, Associate Extension Specialist

Raquel Scherr, Lecturer

Ted Sibia, Librarian

Sue Williams, Supervisor of P. E.

Those members of the Committee on Committees whose terms of office do not expire are:

Raymond Goldbar, Supervisor of P. E.

Sham Goyal, Specialist

Jared Haynes, Lecturer

Catherine Vandevoort, Associate Adjunct Professor

ACADEMIC FEDERATION

OFFICERS FOR 1998-99:

Chair: Kevin Roddy, Lecturer

Vice-Chair: Sharon Baker, Librarian

Secretary: Barbara Goldman, Lecturer & Supervisor of Teacher Education

THE 1998 ACADEMIC FEDERATION

EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AWARD RECIPIENTS

--Kathy Lin

Chair, Public Affairs Committee

The Academic Federation this year selected Deborah Canington of Division of Biological Sciences, Section of Plant Biology and Alida Morzenti of Animal Science as the co-recipients of the eighth annual Excellence in Teaching Award. They will be honored at a presentation and lecture on June 15, 1998 at the University Club.

The words used by students and faculty alike to describe Deborah Canington are all superlatives such as “extraordinary,” “superb,” “ideal,” and “inspiring.” She has brought these qualities to all aspects of her career at UC Davis, from when she was a student to her teaching, coordination, supervising, and curriculum development for both Plant Biology and the Division of Biological Sciences. A student of hers says she presents her materials in a “concise, understandable and thought-provoking way.” Another says “Dr. Canington's approach is to stimulate students to think about the answer to their questions, rather than to give outright answers.”

In her personal statement, Deborah compares successful science teaching with good storytelling, only the stories must be based on scientific fact. A good story not only presents new material, but demonstrates creative thinking by connecting new and old materials in novel ways and tying together seemingly unrelated facts. She also says “Students sometimes need reminding of what is possible, and I want to give them hope and a goal.”

Alida Morzenti is an authority on Avian Sciences and her expertise on raptors is recognized throughout the country. One nomination letter reads, “Alida loves to teach, and her commitment to the students and to the discipline is apparent in the huge amount of time she spends on her courses and on her students. In all of her classes, Alida challenges her students to reason as well as to think creatively, and she consistently maintains very high standards.”

In her personal statement, Alida says, “As my own approach to teaching has evolved over the years, I often think of those teachers who most influenced me. I try to provide the inspiration and motivation that they provided for me. I believe that learning should be fun and that is my job to prepare and present material in such a way that my students will be motivated and want to learn. I am willing to put forward whatever effort it takes to help them to do well. If I can motivate my students the way that I was motivated by my teachers, I feel that I will have been successful as a teacher.”

Indeed, the 1998 Excellence in Teaching Award recipients seem to have a formula for successfully presenting materials and conveying concepts to students. They are true teachers. It is clear that the UC Davis community is fortunate to have both Deborah Canington and Alida Morzenti in the classrooms. Congratulations to both of them on their outstanding achievements!

THE JAMES H. MEYER DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

The recipient of the 1998 James H. Meyer Distinguished Achievement Award is Anthony T. W. Cheung, Adjunct Professor in Medical Pathology. The dinner and reception to honor Dr. Cheung will take place during the fall quarter. Stay tuned for more information on our distinguished recipient in the fall issue of the AF Newsletter.

COMMITTEE TO EVALUATE PERSONNEL REVIEWS

OF ACADEMIC FEDERATION TITLES

--Barbara Goldman, Secretary

Vice Provost Himelfarb appointed the Committee to Evaluate Campus Personnel Reviews for Academic Federation Titles. This Committee was appointed to take the next steps as recommended by the 1996 Ad Hoc Committee which was appointed to examine the legitimacy of UCD-APM-220A, Exhibit D and its relationship to Academic Bylaw 55. This APM section states that voting procedures for selected Academic Federation titles shall be established by “the department's tenured faculty, who are members of the Academic Senate.” In its review, the 1996 Ad Hoc Committee found no established authority for this Academic Senate role.

The Committee, appointed by the Vice Provost, is charged with: 1) identifying and recommending “best practice” for academic peer review for each Academic Federation title series; 2) recommending fair and uniform procedures for academic review within departments and programs; 3) recommending appropriate methods of charging peer review committees with the responsibility to mentor candidates being reviewed; 4) reviewing the “Annual Call for Merit Increases and Promotions for Academic Personnel” and recommending, where appropriate, changes that will improve the fairness and thoroughness of the academic review processes; and 5) reviewing any related policy, procedures, or document that materially affects the personnel reviews of an Academic Federation title series and suggest any changes needed.

Academic Federation Committee members are: Sue Williams, Supervisor of Physical Education; Cathy Vandevoort, Associate Adjunct Professor; Barbara Goldman, Lecturer and Supervisor of Teacher Education. Academic Senate members are: Charles Nash, Professor Emeritus; Robert Blake, Professor; and Vito Polito, Professor. Goldman and Nash will co-chair the Committee. The Committee's work will be completed by the end of the 1998-99 academic year.

It is anticipated that Academic Federation members representing various title series will be called on to provide information to the Committee. In addition, all Federation members are invited to provide Committee members with information that has bearing on the Committee Charge.

♦The Academic Federation’s home page address:

www.mrak.ucdavis.edu/acadfed/federation.htm

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The AF Newsletter is published by the Academic Federation of the University of California, Davis.

Chair: Dan Wick

Secretary/Editor: Barbara Goldman

Layout & Design: Jennifer Kantorowski

Opinions expressed in this newsletter are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect AF policy. Permission to reproduce material from

this newsletter in copy, print, or electronic media

must be obtained in advance from the Editor.

THE 1998-99 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AWARDS

--Mary Bly, Chair

Professional Development Committee

Of the eight Professional Development Leave proposals submitted this year, three awards were able to be funded. Following is a brief description of the award recipients and their projects:

Tianwei Xie, a Lecturer in the Chinese and Japanese Department, will develop a computer network-supported textbook of the Chinese language that can be accessed by students on campus or from home;

Tzipora Goldkorn, an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Pulmonary Division of the School of Medicine, will develop a research program that will use an animal model to investigate the signal transduction pathways induced by autoimmune antibodies; and

Gary Sue Goodman, a Lecturer in the Composition Program of the English Department, will study journalism as a visiting fellow at Mother Jones, a magazine of investigative journalism, to prepare to teach the specialized advanced writing course in journalism (English 104C).