Just like Rodney Dangerfield, the Academic Federation has spent its lifetime seeking just a little respect. Over the years, however, the 30-year-old campus organization of 750 non-tenured faculty has put itself several points ahead of the comedian on the respect front. "Davis is the only UC campus with a federation," organization chair Kevin Roddy says, hypothesizing that the reasons may be both demographic and cultural: Compared to other UC campuses, Davis has one of the largest, if not the largest, number of non-tenure faculty titles and positions, and it has a strong tradition of shared governance among the administration, faculty and staff. The federation represents a group of lecturers, librarians, adjunct and clinical professors, extension specialists, researchers, coaches and other academic positions, says Roddy, himself a hybrid lecturer/staff member. Job security varies greatly: Some, like the agronomists, are tenured, while others, like the professional researchers, rely on grants for their salaries. Still others, such as lecturers, work on one- to three-year contracts. According to campus statistics, the federation has grown over the past decade by about 15 percent. Lecturers, who joined the federation in 1986 after a union contract was approved, are the largest subgroup, with about 300 members. This subgroup has grown nearly 50 percent larger than it was 10 years ago. Clinical and adjunct professors, most found at the veterinary medicine and medical schools, make up another 120 or so affiliates, while Cooperative Extension specialists number about 100, professional researchers about 150 and librarians almost 60. Using persistence and an "all for one" attitude, federation leaders have provided for their members professional leave, annual recognition awards, and an important ongoing voice on campus committees and academic directions. "The federation is very active on campus," says Barry Klein, vice provost for academic personnel. "The whole campus values them as important members of our community." Carving this space--and respect--at the university hasn't been easy, organization leaders admit, partly because this loose band of academics doesn't fit in any one employment category and because many do not have security of employment. In fact, the existence of two levels of academic employees at UC Davis--both the tenure-track Academic Senate and the non-tenured federation--is not unique. The existence of a permanent body of non-tenured full-time faculty members is a national phenomenon that is growing, according to a study reported in the April 9 Chronicle of Higher Education. The U.S. Department of Education reports that, from 1975 to 1995, the proportion of full-timers working on contract at colleges and universities (just a portion of the federation membership) climbed from 19 percent to 28 percent, while the proportion of those in the tenure track fell from 29 percent to 20 percent. "What you are watching is an emerging life form--with all of the birth pangs," Roddy says. Started by Chancellor Meyer To recognize those roles and celebrate the federation's three decades, Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef hosted a reception for federation members last week. The highlight of the evening occurred when the group honored the man who established the group, Chancellor Emeritus James Meyer. "Former Chancellor Jim Meyer, some 30 years ago, saw the wisdom of a management organization that specially organized and recognized this employee group that operates with great overlap between the senate faculty and the staff," Vanderhoef says. "The campus, without any doubt, is better off for this unusual foresight." Roddy credits a long list of far-sighted federation members with working inside the campus shared-governance system to create a credible organization. Those campus leaders include Charles Lacy, dean of University Extension; Pam Gill-Fisher, associate athletic director; Jane Kimball, humanities and social sciences reference librarian; Catherine Vandevoort, an associate adjunct professor at the primate center; and Linda Hughes, a program manager with the Internship and Career Center. "It was only through the concerted efforts of a number of dedicated and capable individuals that the organization has been able to make the progress it has in gaining recognition for the contributions of its members to the university," Kimball says. She is credited with, among other initiatives, helping to change the name of the group in 1991 from "Academic Staff" to "Academic Federation" to better reflect the true composition of the group. Senate faculty members and top administrators were also instrumental in offering the federation recognition, adds Roddy, who says, "We have a palpable atmosphere of cooperation at UC Davis from everybody--they all have contributed to the fruition of the federation." The federation has brought benefits to its own members, perhaps most importantly, through the three separate personnel committees that evaluate merit and promotion actions for its 14 titles. In addition, it has also provided the campus with leadership on a number of fronts, whether it was by providing representatives during the Phase III budget-paring committee work or by serving on hiring committees. Widespread contributions Roddy points to a number of other campus accomplishments brought through federation members. For instance, the athletic faculty has been influential in helping maintain the ideals of scholar-athletes in the athletics program. Federation members are in charge of Summer Sessions, the Writing Center and University Extension. Members are also principal investigators for research projects at the primate center, veterinary medicine and medical schools, and other areas. John Vohs, chair of the Academic Senate, said the organization members are invaluable participants in the campus's instruction and research enterprise. "I believe the federation colleagues I have taught with and worked with on various campus committees are among the most dedicated and talented members of our community," he adds. Recognizing the stellar academic achievements of its members has been a major goal for the federation. Over the years, federation leaders, in collaboration with the administration and the chancellors, have established annual achievement and teaching awards to publicly recognize the high caliber of the non-tenured faculty. Beginning next year, federation researchers will be eligible for a research award established recently to recognize the role federation members play in campus research. According to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, about $1 of every $8 in total extramural research funding obtained by the campus last year came from grants in which federation members--about 250--were the principal investigators. Jeff deRopp, an associate researcher with the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility in the medical school, who chairs the federation's research committee, believes that the federation improves the opportunities for its members to pursue extramurally funded research and achieve recognition for professional accomplishments. Merit-process improvements planned Next academic year, federation members can look forward to improvements in their complicated merit and promotion processes, according to Vice Provost Klein. A task force chaired by chemistry professor emeritus Charlie Nash and Barbara Goldman, associate director of teacher education in the Division of Education, will make recommendations on the subject later this spring. Klein said he will be working with Steve Blank, a Cooperative Extension specialist and academic assistant to the vice provost specializing in Academic Federation issues, over the next academic year to rewrite the guidelines to create fairer and more equitable processes. Klein is optimistic about the federation's future. "Every year we make progress on improving the personnel process for federation members," he says. The organization's ultimate goal, federation leader Roddy says, is very clear among its membership. "Rather than have to constantly prove ourselves, we want to be respected on campus for what we are."