ACADEMIC FEDERATION

NEWSLETTER Spring 1999

FROM THE CHAIR’S DESK

--Kevin Roddy, Chair

Academic Federation

The article on the Federation in Dateline began and ended with a comment that we are constantly seeking respect on campus. While this is certainly true, it is only part of the story. Compared to other universities, and even to other campuses in the University of California system, Federation academicians receive both official and informal recognition for what they do; the “Davis advantage,” particularly in the College of Agriculture, has meant a broadly egalitarian, open culture here.

And respect, we all might argue, has to be continually earned; mere office does not confer it. So what more can we do to earn it, when every indication of our work evinces productivity and excellence? I would like to recommend that we start by forgoing our bitterness and cynicism about the

barriers that universally impede us. We do need to destroy those barriers, or at least dedicate ourselves to wearing them away; but a negative mindset, however appropriate, cannot be our habit. Rather we must be positive, and seek our rewards by the measures that matter most: the approval of our students, the accomplishment of great research, the satisfaction of the community.

However necessary it is to keep encouraging each other to obtain our proper status as full participants in the University community, I look forward to the day when, having achieved our goals, we can indulge ourselves the luxury of concentrating solely on teaching, research, and public service. I thank the members of the Executive Council, of the various Committees, the Federation as a whole, and especially Ms. Jennifer Kantorowski for hastening that day.

NOTES FROM A CHAIR EMERITA

--Jane Kimball

As I sit here in my now half-empty office contemplating the pleasures of retirement and reflecting on the satisfactions of my career at UC Davis, I count among the foremost of the latter my long association with the Academic Federation. It is difficult to believe that the organization is celebrating its 30th anniversary and even harder for me to realize that I have been involved in its activities for most of that time. The Federation has been tireless in its efforts to provide a voice in campus affairs and recognition for the contributions of its members to teaching, research and public service on the Davis campus.

With strong initial support from former Chancellor Meyer, the Academic Staff Organization, as it was

then called, set up a peer review system for appointees in non-Senate academic title series and gained representation on many important campus committees. From there the efforts of many capable and dedicated individuals and the support of the campus administration made possible the establishment of the James H. Meyer Distinguished Achievement Award and later the Award for Excellence in Teaching to recognize the contributions of Federation faculty. The Professional Development Leave Program and increased access to research funds followed, as did eligibility of Federation members for a variety of campus administrative positions, including a new position, Special Assistant to the Vice-Provost-Academic Relations, to deal with matters pertaining to the Academic Federation. We can all be justly proud of these accomplishments.

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AF RESEARCH COMMITTEE UPDATE

--Jeff deRopp, Chair, Research Committee

The Research Committee dealt with a variety of issues Winter and Spring Quarters, with a few items summarized here.

1) AF Extramural Funding. The Office for Vice-Chancellor Research shows 427 grants where an AF member is PI active in fiscal year 1998-1999, with $36,268,131 in total costs (direct costs plus overhead). This is a substantial increase from last year.

2) Research Travel Awards. 62 Research Travel Awards for a total of $25,000 were funded in the 1998-99 fiscal year.

3) AF Excellence in Research Award. The Committee gained approval of a proposal for establishment of an annual award to an AF member for Excellence in Research. The Committee then drafted guidelines for the preparation of dossiers and evaluation of candidates. The first Call for nominations will be Fall 1999 and will be distributed electronically. We encourage AF members and others from the campus community to nominate candidates for this Award.

(“Notes from a Chair Emerita” continued…)

As Kevin Roddy pointed out in the last issue of this Newsletter, perseverance and commitment have been characteristic of the organization’s leadership over the years. Because Federation members are dispersed throughout the campus, the struggle to gain equity across departments has been a prolonged one, and the Federation is launching a new effort to identify inequities based on irrelevant issues. Departments and research units also vary greatly in the voice Federation faculty are allowed to have in the personnel process and in departmental affairs. The forthcoming report from the Committee to Evaluate Campus Personnel Reviews for Academic Federation Titles should be helpful in identifying areas where changes are needed to improve the present academic review process for Federation members.

Two areas that have concerned the Federation for over two decades, the role of Lecturers and the establishment of Federation chapters on the other UC campuses, are still on the current agenda of the organization. The University persists in defining Lecturers are ‘temporary employees,’ despite the fact that some of the Lecturers I know have been at Davis as long or longer than I have! Attempts to establish Federation chapters on other campuses have not been successful to date for a variety of reasons. I am pleased that this item remains on the organization’s agenda and am hopeful that the organization’s accomplishments on the Davis campus will prove to be an incentive for the establishment of other UC chapters. Another issue on which progress has been slow but steady has been the conferral of Principal Investigator status on Federation members. For several years this has been done by exception on a case-by-case basis, which can result in divergence of practice among departments and research units. Automatic conferral of PI status has not resulted in degradation or abuse, and an extension to all Federation members would seem to be a next logical step.

I am confident that the future leaders of the Federation will continue to pursue avenues for the greater integration of its membership into the teaching, research and public service missions of the University. We can be proud of our contributions in each of these areas, and I am proud to have been associated with such an outstanding group of people through my involvement with the Academic Federation. Hail to you all and a fond farewell!

ACADEMIC FEDERATION

OFFICERS FOR 1999-2000:

Chair: Kevin Roddy, Lecturer

Vice-Chair: Linda Hughes, Academic Coordinator

Secretary: Cathi VandeVoort, Adjunct Professor 1999 EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING

AWARD RECIPIENTS

The Academic Federation selected Charlayne Allan, Lecturer in Classics, and Randy Harris, Lecturer in Physics, as the co-recipients of the 1999 Excellence in Teaching Award. The award ceremony was held on Tuesday, June 8, 1999, 5-7 p.m. at the University Club. More than 150 guests attended the award presentation and lecture. We are pleased to recognize two excellent instructors for their hard work.

Charlayne Allan has been a lecturer in the Latin program and Coordinator of the First Year Latin Program at UCD since joining the campus in 1990. She teaches six of the seven lower division sections as well as serving as principal instructor in General Education courses in Classics. The challenge of making a “dead language” interesting to students from many different backgrounds is only part of what drives her. “As the study of the language, at least in my classroom, is intrinsically linked with the study of the culture and the people who spoke that language, I expect that [students] will leave the first year classroom with an understanding not only of the ablative case…but also with an appreciation of the ways in which our world has been shaped by antiquity, by people not so different from us, who spoke a living language…I believe fervently that the study of antiquity is deadly only if we instructors fail to recapture its liveliness and immediacy.”

Randy Harris has been a lecturer in the Department of Physics for over a decade. He credits his success as a teacher to his ability to remember what it was like to be a student. “While I might have been impressed by the scientific knowledge of an instructor who talked over my head, it was the teachers who knew

(continued on back cover)

(“Teaching Award” continued from page 3)

how to help me understand the science, and obviously enjoyed doing so, who became heroes to me—and they still are. To succeed as they succeeded, to improve upon their success wherever possible—this is what motivates me as a teacher.” His students and colleagues would say Dr. Harris has succeeded. The majority of his teaching time at UCD has been as a lecturer in the large introductory courses that serve non-physics majors. Dealing with so many students from many diverse majors, some of who would rather be anywhere else, is a challenge that Dr. Harris sincerely enjoys. As the Department’s nominating letter points out, “the ratings Dr. Harris receives,…are typically higher than regular faculty receive in the upper-division major courses!...Dr. Harris receives very high student evaluations in spite of demanding as much, if not more, than other faculty teaching these same courses.”

Congratulations to both distinguished recipients!

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

Chair: Kevin Roddy

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 news-letter in copy, print, or electronic media must be obtained in advance from the Editor.