for
the Amherst campus of the University of Massachusetts
Feb.
23, 2001
|
New policy on postdoctoral scholars by Sarah R. Buchholz, Chronicle staff
new policy on postdoctoral research and education
was approved Feb. 15 by the Faculty Senate. The first of its kind
on campus, the policy was recommended by the Research Council and
covers most people in post-Ph.D. temporary appointments."It does represent quite a significant change for the campus to do this," said Chemical Engineering professor Peter Monson, who chairs of the Research Council. "Postdocs are becoming a larger portion of university research. Across the country and on this campus, over the last 10 years, there's been a very large growth in the number of postdocs." Monson said the council defined postdocs as people within five years of their Ph.D. who accept a temporary appointment (that is, typically less than three years); are primarily involved in research or scholarship; are preparing for a career in academia or research; are not part of a clinical training program; are working under the supervision of a member of the graduate faculty; and have the freedom and the expectation that their results will be published. "I think there's a sense across the nation with leadership from the [Association of American Universities] and the national academies that it's time to recognize that postdocs are part of the university community and that we should have a proper category for them and we should have policies that deal with them. We should recognize that postdocs are part of the educational work of the University and not simply short-term employees to carry out research projects." "Over a year ago...we found 207 people [when 37 departments and programs responded to a survey by the council], and up to this point there is no systematic policy on campus for dealing with them, no systematic program to ask the question, 'What are we doing with postdocs on the campus and what should we be doing for them collectively?'" Monson said the Research Council believes the number is larger by now and growing. These scholars are unevenly distributed across the campus, with more than 60 percent working in the College of Natural Science and Mathematics and 15 percent in the College of Food and Natural Resources, according to the survey. "The typical appointment is two to three years, but there are many people who are on postdoc positions for much longer than that," Monson said. "Most departments, including some departments that had more than 20 postdocs, did not really have policies or procedures for the length of employment and things like that," he said. "Most responses mentioned the need to deal with the problem of benefits. "The Office of Research Affairs has done a great deal to solve the problem of health benefits for postdocs," Monson said. Other issues that remained unaddressed included the need for more formal career mentoring, standardization of compensation packages, and the need for policies governing teaching assignments, he said. The council's conclusions "tended to jibe with the AAU report." The policy passed by the senate addresses a variety of issues. "We've got a length of appointment clause, which is not strict," Monson said. "It suggests that the total time people spend as postdocs should not be more than six years. "And we are having a waiver for full searches for appointments of less than three years. However, it's still quite common that people will want to do a national search for their postdoctoral positions. "We look to have a standard minimum benefits package, which should at minimum include a good health-care program. And as far as I can see, the administration has that part of the package worked out now. The variation of stipends across campus can be quite large, but I think it's important to have a minimum stipend, so we've asked for that with departments able to set higher minimum standards for their own areas as well. The policy requires that postdocs have access to career advice and placement assistance, and also there's a clause for termination for cause." The policy also lists obligations of postdocs, which include the discharge of their duties and ethical standards of research. And the policy asks the University to provide appropriate mentoring for post docs and proper evaluation of their performance. It also places the responsibility for monitoring postdoctoral policies and ensuring that they're applied consistently across the campus in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research. |
