Formal status: We formed in 2012 as Northwestern’s Postdoctoral Forum and have since been accredited as Northwestern’s first and only postdoctoral organization. Once every two weeks, we meet with a representative of Northwestern's Graduate School to plan future activities and the training of postdocs. We negotiate our basal budget semi-annually with individual departments and schools of Northwestern. We are a member of the National Postdoc Association.
Postdoctoral Forum or Association? In September 2018, we changed our name to Northwestern Postdoctoral Association. Read more.
How do you work? We are an organization of volunteers. Internally, we organize into one committee for social activities and a second committee to promote careers and the professional development of postdocs. We are always open to suggestions. In addition, an executive committee synchronizes the actions of the two main committees, provides organizational support, keeps regular exchange with other parties inside and outside of Northwestern, negotiates budgets, and enables general inquiries.
How do you ensure to serve all postdocs? Our activities are driven by motivated community members within Northwestern’s postdoc programs. We aim to enable every postdoc at Northwestern to become such a leader and to provide them with a chance to demonstrate leadership without needing to worry about basic infrastructure or outreach. This way, we can represent all areas of Northwestern. We are liable to multiple schools of Northwestern and depend upon these schools to establish contact with new postdocs and to secure stable funding. Special roles within our association are given for terms of one to two years to people elected by our members. Novel special roles may be introduced without elections through our executive committee in consultation with Northwestern’s graduate school.
Are you political? No. Everyone at Northwestern profits from a strong postdoc community that crosses distinct institutes. We do not endorse individual people and avoid university politics. To date, we have never faced any constraint from Northwestern, and we appreciate Northwestern’s collaborative spirit. We exchange with other groups outside of Northwestern through the National Postdoc Association, which also allows us to address considerations that primarily reflect the policies of funding agencies.
Postdoctoral Forum or Association? In September 2018, we changed our name to Northwestern Postdoctoral Association. Read more.
How do you work? We are an organization of volunteers. Internally, we organize into one committee for social activities and a second committee to promote careers and the professional development of postdocs. We are always open to suggestions. In addition, an executive committee synchronizes the actions of the two main committees, provides organizational support, keeps regular exchange with other parties inside and outside of Northwestern, negotiates budgets, and enables general inquiries.
How do you ensure to serve all postdocs? Our activities are driven by motivated community members within Northwestern’s postdoc programs. We aim to enable every postdoc at Northwestern to become such a leader and to provide them with a chance to demonstrate leadership without needing to worry about basic infrastructure or outreach. This way, we can represent all areas of Northwestern. We are liable to multiple schools of Northwestern and depend upon these schools to establish contact with new postdocs and to secure stable funding. Special roles within our association are given for terms of one to two years to people elected by our members. Novel special roles may be introduced without elections through our executive committee in consultation with Northwestern’s graduate school.
Are you political? No. Everyone at Northwestern profits from a strong postdoc community that crosses distinct institutes. We do not endorse individual people and avoid university politics. To date, we have never faced any constraint from Northwestern, and we appreciate Northwestern’s collaborative spirit. We exchange with other groups outside of Northwestern through the National Postdoc Association, which also allows us to address considerations that primarily reflect the policies of funding agencies.