8156

Faculty Membership

How to Apply, Continued Membership,
and Membership Termination

 

Faculty who are members of the Center for Population Biology (hereafter CPB) will automatically be members of the Graduate Group in Population Biology (hereafter the Group).

UC Davis faculty may join:

  • if their research area is either represented in or appropriate for the Core Course (PBG 200) - the embodiment of our disciplinary focus;
  • if their scientific contributions are of obvious merit and commensurate with those of current members; and
  • if they have contributed to or can be expected to contribute to the research, teaching, and administrative activities of the Group and CPB mission.

Nomination

Candidates for membership must be brought to the attention of the CPB Steering Committee. Candidates may self-nominate or receive nomination by a current CPB faculty member. Nominations are accepted year round and voted upon only during the academic calendar (October - June).

Application Packet

Candidates are required to submit a complete dossier, which contains:

  • a current CV with a history of education, appointments, awards, a research description, summary of grant support, a complete list of publications, and copies of up to two recent papers.
  • a statement outlining the candidate's reasons for joining the CPB and, if already on campus, any contributions made to the CPB or Group.
  • please submit the requested materials in either Word or PDF format to the CPB administrative assistant, gradcoordinator@ucdavis.edu.

Candidate Seminar

After the dossier has been presented to the CPB Steering Committee, the candidate must give a seminar in the CPB Tuesday Seminar Series. The seminar series is attended by CPB faculty, postdocs, and graduate students in addition to the campus community at large. Anticipate a 45 minute presentation and up to 15 minutes of question and answer immediately following the presentation.

Membership Vote

  • Ad Hoc Committee: The CPB Steering Committee will appoint an anonymous three-person ad hoc committee charged with an evaluation of the suitability of the candidate for membership. The ad hoc committee will comment on the candidate's research area, academic distinction, and CPB or Group activity (if applicable).
  • CPB Steering Committee: When in receipt of the ad hoc committee report, the CPB Steering Committee will vote on whether or not to recommend the candidate to the Group. The CPB Steering Committee will recommend the candidate only if their vote is either unanimous or has only one dissenting vote. If the vote is negative, the candidate will be given the opportunity to withdraw their request for membership.
  • Group Vote: If the CPB Steering Committee vote is positive, or if it is negative but the candidate wishes to have the Group's faculty membership vote anyway, a ballot will be sent to the voting faculty along with the recommendation of the CPB Steering Committee, which may be positive or negative. The candidate will be admitted to the Group if at least two-thirds of the faculty members cast positive votes.

Continued Membership

  • Administration: All members of the Group will be expected to participate in the administration of the Group. This participation may include membership on Group or CPB committees, help with new student recruitment or seminar series coordination, fund-raising, and other possible needs.
  • Instruction: All members of the Group will be expected to contribute to the instructional goals of the Group. These contributions may include teaching Monte Carlo seminars, the Core Course, or other graduate courses taken by Population Biology graduate students. Contributions may also include assiting with the First-Year Examination.
  • Student Service: All members of the Group will be expected to contribute to the educational goals of the Group. These contributions may include serving as a faculty advisor; serving on Guidance, Qualifying Examination, and Dissertation Committees; and more.

Termination of Membership

Membership of the Population Biology Graduate Group will be reviewed every three years, at which time faculty members will be sent a form that allows them to catalog their contributions to the Group over the preceding three years. The form also asks if they wish to continue their membership in the Group. It is expected that the research and training interests of some members will change over time and that they will no longer wish to be members of the Group. The review will give them a convenient opportunity to drop their membership.

Other members may be dropped for not completing the requirements for continued membership, as outlined above (administration, instruction, and student service).

We view a turnover in membership as a natural and healthy process, as the research interests of active scientists often change. However, it is not our intent to be draconian in our review of members; rather, we view the admittance of new members and retention of existing members as our primary mechanism to control the focus and quality of the Population Biology Graduate Group.