Prospective Faculty

Faculty Membership Application Information and Evaluation Process

The Graduate Group in Ecology welcomes applications from prospective faculty who are part of the UC Davis system. The GGE has approximately 200 students and 126 faculty from 32 different departments on campus. Administrative personnel consist of the Chair, Vice Chair, a Student Affairs Officer, a five member Executive Committee, a five member Admissions Committee, a five member Awards Committee, and a four member Curriculum Committee.

To apply, complete the application and submit to Silvia Hillyer via e-mail (schillyer@ucdavis.edu) as an attachment. Please note the information provided below on the process for evaluation of faculty applications for membership.

Please Note: The Executive Committee has adopted a policy of three-year appointments for all members; membership renewal is subject to approval by the Executive Committee. Faculty members' contributions or service to the group, along with continued activity in the field of Ecology, will be used in the evaluation and decision to renew membership in the group.

Service Requirements

Please be aware that all members are expected to be active in group affairs. We believe that the active participation, both by faculty and students, in the affairs of the GGE is critical for the longevity, strength, and cohesion of the GGE. Responsibilities and requirements of members of the Graduate Group in Ecology include the following service to the program and students in the GGE:

  • Teaching or participation in an Ecology course or one of the courses required by the Group.
  • Offering of Ecology 290 at least once every four years.
  • Service on the Executive Committee or ad hoc committees.
  • Service on guidance committees (Exception: service on these committees by the major professor does not discharge Group responsibilities).
  • Service on Ph.D. qualifying examinations.
  • Service on M.S. oral/thesis committees and Ph.D. dissertation committees.
  • Ongoing research productivity in ecology.
  • Service as an AOE chair or graduate adviser.
  • Service on the Admissions, Awards or Curriculum Commitee

General Process:

  • The Executive Committee reviews and discusses each faculty membership application and votes on whether GGE membership is appropriate both in terms of the applicant's relevant academic achievements and in terms of their willingness to be active in GGE affairs and service requirements.
  • If the application is deemed inappropriate, it is denied and the applicant is informed by letter.
  • If the applicant is considered appropriate for the GGE, the application is forwarded to the Chair of the appropriate AOE for an advisory evaluation of the membership application.
  • The Executive Committee discusses the application and the AOE Chair’s comments and then conducts a final vote on the application

Application Evaluation Includes the Following Considerations:

  • In what ways will the applicant contribute to the GGE's academic program?:
    a.) Regularly scheduled courses? For example, ECL 200AB are close to their size limits, and the Executive Committee looks with particular favor upon applicants who are qualified and willing to teach such courses,
    b.) Ecology 290 seminars?
  • Has the applicant expressed a readiness to serve on GGE committees including: Executive, Admissions, Awards, Curriculum or other ad hoc committees?
  • Does the applicant have a documented record of high-quality scholarly activity in ecology (the training, expertise, and program focus of the applicant)? This is reviewed in a general sense (much as an editor makes a determination "is a manuscript appropriate for our journal?"). Items considered here include (but are not limited to): Degree training, titles of recent publications, journals published in, titles of grant proposals, teaching of "ecology" courses (relatively broadly construed). We evaluate both the quality of the scholarship and its relevance to the field of ecology.
  • Will the GGE be a primary focus for applicant contributions and activity? Are other Graduate Groups on the campus viewed as more appropriate? How many graduate groups does the applicant belong to (this intended to consider diffusion of effort and potential contributions)?
  • Does the applicant demonstrate intent to actively participate in the GGE, or are they primarily interested in obtaining access to the GGE applicant pool and resources? Applications motivated solely for the purpose of obtaining a particular student are viewed very skeptically by the Executive Committee.