It's all a balancing act -- work and life.

From expanding child care to creating a more flexible tenure process, an advisory committee to Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef recently issued a report that examined some of the most important "work-life balance" issues for UC Davis faculty.

The Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Work-Life Balance for Ladder Faculty submitted its report to the Chancellor's Office on May 15. The next step is for the administration to review and consider its recommendations. The committee noted that the campus has already taken some steps toward enhancing work-life balance for faculty, based upon recommendations by earlier committees.

"This should enhance our success in recruiting and retaining first-rate faculty," says Cristina González, senior adviser to the chancellor and professor of Spanish. She chaired the work-life committee.

In his charge to the committee, Vanderhoef stressed that the nation was facing dramatic social and demographic changes and that Davis faculty reflected these changes. "Facilitating balance between academic work and personal life will enhance our ability to recruit and retain talented faculty members. More importantly, it is, in these days and times, simply the right thing to do. It will strengthen our sense of community and improve our campus," he wrote.

The committee examined policies at peer institutions, sought input from UC Davis faculty, and reviewed material from the American Association of University Profes-sors, among other tasks. The group, which met six times since being formed last fall, was an outgrowth of an earlier work-life committee that was created to review campus policies on parental leave and modified duty regulations.

González says that while many universities offer some type of benefits in the "work-life" area, no institution's approach was deemed ideal. "In other words, there was no clear model out there for us to emulate. In fact, UC appears to be the most progressive research institution in the country in terms of work-life balance policies," she adds.

The committee's report included recommendations on the following issues:

Leave and modified duty

The committee suggested that the university continue to provide campus funding for childbearing/adoption leave. This allows ladder rank faculty one quarter of leave in the event of a single or multiple birth, adoption or placement, up to two separate events. Leave must be taken in the quarter in which the child is born, adopted or placed, or in the following quarter.

The report also supports campus funding for "modified duties" or reduced time arrangements for care of children, and suggests that the campus take steps to provide funding for modified duties for care of seriously ill partners or spouses, parents and children.

This means that faculty members receive one quarter of modified duties (teaching release equivalent to 50 percent of the average teaching load per quarter of the faculty member in question) in the event of a single birth, adoption or placement, up to two separate events. Reduced time arrangements must be taken within 12 months following the birth, adoption or placement of a child.

It's also noted that faculty members are welcome to consult with their chairs and deans to determine the possibility of further accommodations outside of central campus funding.

Tenure, merits and promotions

The committee suggests allowing faculty to apply for the stoppage of the tenure clock -- without prejudice or penalty -- for no more than two years to accommodate serious illness of a partner or spouse, parent or child, as well as childbearing, adoption or placement. It's also recommended that faculty in similar circumstances be permitted to defer post-tenure merits and promotions for two years as well.

González notes that with more women joining the academic workforce and with many people living longer, the number of available caretakers is decreasing, while the portion of the population requiring care is expanding.

A growing number of faculty members, both male and female, have substantial family responsibilities, she adds.

"This is taking place at the same time as faculty workloads are increasing," she says, "as universities are becoming bigger and more complex, and as societal demands on institutions of higher learning are continuing to grow."

The report points out that these tensions are not going to disappear, and the campus should continue to monitor them and to address them with new policies, as appropriate.

Child care facilities, other issues

The committee also conducted an informal survey of faculty. On child care, many faculty members suggested that the campus make available more child care opportunities, from infant care to after-school programs. One issue of major concern is the proposal to build more child care facilities on campus.

González says, "We commend the proposal currently under review to construct a campus child care center, which we consider necessary to address the needs of faculty and staff not currently met by the market.

"We recommend that the campus continue to build or subsidize affordable child care facilities, with flexible schedules, in order to accommodate increasing demand. This is an area of great importance to faculty and should be treated as a top priority."

Housing prices in Davis also pose problems for faculty members, the report states. While noting that some colleges offer housing subsidies, the report recommends that the practice be adopted by all campus units.

The report also urges additional breast-pumping rooms on campus, attention to faculty's family responsibilities in regard to scheduling evening classes, and changing the parking fee structure so faculty and staff members would pay based on their salary levels.

Members of the Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Work-Life Balance for Ladder Faculty included Linda Bisson, committee on Academic Personnel; Ann Bonham, medical pharmacology; Judy Callis, molecular and cell biology; Anupam Chander, law; Barbara Horwitz, Office of the Provost; Barbara Merino, education; Motohico Mulase, mathematics; David Simpson, English; Binnie Singh, Office of Academic Personnel; Tom Young, civil and environmental engineering; and Diane Wolf, sociology.

"We believe that implementation of the recommendations discussed above would go a long way towards addressing work-life balance issues for ladder faculty," González says.

Visit http://worklifebalance.ucdavis.edu/ ladderfaculty/ for information about the Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Work-Life Balance for Ladder Faculty and its recent report.