Dear DFA members, UC Davis friends and colleagues,
I hope your quarter is starting off well and that you had a relaxing or productive summer, or perhaps both! While we are settling into the new academic year, fine-tuning our curriculum, getting to know our students, hiring TAs and RAs, getting our committee work started, and all the associated work we must do as professors, we also have to keep an eye on our working conditions and our rights as professors at the University of California. As we know, there are many ongoing issues we faculty need to address — the decline of state funding, problems with UC Path, the erosion of faculty governance, the lingering impact of COVID, threats to academic freedom — among many others.
In recent years, we have witnessed the deterioration of faculty rights at universities across the US, as funding is cut, faculty governance is eroded, and tenure is threatened and dismantled. Recent political developments have accelerated this crisis dramatically, particularly in states under the control of right-wing politicians. These attacks often lead faculty into despondency, depression, apathy, or resignation; understandable responses to assaults from powerful foes of higher education and intellectual freedom. There is no reason, however, to stand alone against attacks on our freedom of expression, standard of living, shared governance or other rights of faculty. It is this reason why faculty are organizing nation-wide, and why the Davis Faculty Association (DFA) exists. That is why you should join us if you haven’t already.
As differences and conflicts arise, a unified faculty voice puts us in a far more powerful position to defend our interests. For that to happen, faculty must get themselves organized. It’s not enough to sign a letter once in a while. It requires that faculty put in the effort to come together collectively to ensure our interests are defended. We, the faculty of the University of California, one of the most powerful educational institutions in the world, are in a unique position to make substantial changes — on campus, in California, in the world. But only if we are organized.
I want to emphasize that there are times the DFA is not in a position to act quickly to respond to current events, due to our nature as a representative, democratically controlled organization. There are times when positions taken by the DFA must be discussed by the membership, and not be issued by executive fiat. That kind of agility is better offered by single issue organizations or sometimes by spontaneously formed movements. That said, the DFA can offer something other organizations cannot — connection with faculty members across all colleges and departments, and an organizational structure that remains constant during the inevitable ebbs and flows of academic crises. The DFA, through the Council of University of California Faculty Associations, (CUCFA), provides continuity as well as connection to faculty within the other campuses of the UC system. Through the DFA’s partnership with the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), we are connected nationally to universities and colleges, both private and public, in all 50 states. The AAUP is now in alliance with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), which brings us into close contact with the national labor movement. This national connection makes us stronger and puts us in a better position to help professors in more precarious situations than our own. Our connection to the AFT has given us the opportunity to have delegates seated at the Sacramento Central Labor Council and the California Labor Federation, establishing a relationship with working people from all walks of life across California.
The Davis Faculty Association is the only independent organization that exists solely to represent and fight for faculty here at UC Davis. Together, we pool our resources and talents to ensure that our views are heard, loud and clear. We faculty are very busy, which is why it is even more imperative you join with us because while we are in the classroom, in the lab or in the field, the Davis Faculty Association is looking out for our collective interests — analyzing administrative proposals and documents, protecting our salaries and benefits, developing a community of faculty, meeting with our political representatives in Sacramento and Washington, DC, and many other tasks beneficial to all faculty.
Some of the recent advocacy and actions the DFA has been involved in include:
* Championing faculty interests with UCOP and the Regents, such as salary and benefits, healthcare, childcare, and retirement, including pushing back against the increasing burden of spiraling health-care costs.
* Advocating for faculty at the State Capitol, including lobbying for increased state funding of UC, and supporting or opposing specific legislation that impacts faculty interests.
* Coordinating with unions around University and campus issues, including the development of a new UC Davis Labor Center, and joining the Sacramento Central Labor Council.
* Defending the free speech rights of our students and faculty, particularly timely with the recent assault on UC students and faculty at UCLA and other campuses who have been mobilizing for a cease-fire in Gaza. The DFA recently joined six other UC Faculty Associations in filing a labor violation against the UC administration in defense of our fundamental freedoms of speech and assembly. You can see more on this at: https://ucdfa.org/2024/09/academic-freedom-ulp-charges-against-uc/
* Working with Academic Senates and Faculty Association chapters across the system, and the system-wide Academic Council and the Council of UC Faculty Associations to defend Academic Freedom and Tenure.
* Communicating with faculty on matters of university interest through email, social media, meetings, and our website.
*Working to maintain our commitments to our graduate student workers while maintaining our levels of research and teaching, including working to ameliorate the deteriorating student/faculty ratios in our classrooms.
To continue and expand this work I want to ask all of you to help out in these ways:
* Build our strength on campus. If each member reached out to just one other colleague and convinced them to join us in the DFA, we could double our membership quickly. Please consider taking this step to grow our strength. We are only as strong as our membership!
* Please reach out to us to join our executive board or run as an officer of DFA! Take this extra step to make a greater contribution to the success of our faculty and our university.
* If you’re not a member yet, don’t put this off! You can click here to join: https://ucdfa.org/join
* Pass this note on to others in your department or to other colleagues!
As an end note, I want to mention the passing of one of our stalwart DFA members and faculty colleague, Joe Kiskis. Joe was a professor in the Department of Physics and a UC Davis professor for many years. He was an invaluable member of the DFA, as he brought with him an intricate knowledge of the workings of the university. He was a walking encyclopedia of the APM, which he seemed to be able to recite backwards and forwards! We will miss him tremendously. Please join us for a memorial service to remember our deal colleague Joe Kiskis:
Date & Time: Friday, Oct 18th, 3:30 to 4:30 pm PST
Location: Physics Building Atrium and PHY 185 (Zoom option available)
Please complete the Google form by October 11th so we can confirm attendance: https://forms.gle/a1m2Cg8dpFDDQwKj6
If you want to speak with a DFA member, we would all be glad to speak with you. The current board members would be happy to answer any of your questions.
Sincerely,
Jesse Drew
Chair, Davis Faculty Association