Davis Faculty Association (DFA)

The DFA belongs to the Council of UC Faculty Associations (CUCFA). By far the largest independent dues-supported organization representing the faculty at the campuses of the University of California, CUCFA coordinates activities of the Faculty Associations on a statewide level, acts as collective bargaining agent for faculty at UC Santa Cruz, and maintains a lobbyist in Sacramento.

Location: The DFA’s office is off-campus; its Executive Director, Eric Hays, can be reached by email at info@cucfa.org.

Formation: UC Faculty Associations are independent organizations composed of members of the Academic Senate. They were set up in the 1970’s to protect faculty interests by monitoring and influencing decisions of the University Administration and the legislature in matters of salaries, benefits, and working conditions of the faculty. Because it is state-funded, the Academic Senate may not use its resources to lobby on behalf of faculty interests; the Faculty Association is not restricted in this way. Thus the Faculty Association provides a framework within which members of the Academic Senate can do a job that very much needs to be done.

Governance: DFA members elect an Executive Board of eleven members. Terms are two years, and elections are held in April or May of each year (a list of our current DFA Board of Directors is available elsewhere on our website).

Eligibility: All members of the Academic Senate, including Emeriti and lecturers with security of employment, except those who hold more than half-time administrative positions above the rank of Department Chair, are eligible to join.

Relation to Academic Senate: The DFA is an independent organization which makes no use of Academic Senate resources. DFA fully supports the role of the Academic Senate in governance of the University as expressed in the present delegation of authority by the Board of Regents.