Sunday, July 29, 2018

2018 - 2019 PDA Elections

Congratulations to the new Delegates and Officers of the Postdoctoral Association! There are a few roles that have not been filled; if you are interested in one of the unfilled positions below please contact pda@umn.edu. We also welcome additional delegates to represent postdocs from various colleges.

Officers:

Catarina Saiote - President
Guru Venkatesan - Vice President
Katie Block - Secretary/Communications
Erin Treiber - Treasurer
Unfilled Position - Policy and Advocacy Officer

Other PDA roles:

Ivan Alekseichuk - Social Chair
Unfilled Position - Graduate Student and Postdoc Diversity Alliance Liaison

Delegates:

Medical School/Dentistry/Pharmacy
Katie Block
Kristina Burrack
Janna Dickenson
Coco Le
Avais Raja
Catarina Saiote

College of Science and Engineering
Ivan Alekseichuk
Geoff Rojas
Elizabeth Smith
Guru Venkatesan

College of Biological Sciences
Robin Rebbeck
Rahul Roy
Maureen Quin

College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences/Veterinary Medicine
Erin Treiber

Office for the Vice President of Research (includes Hormel Institute, Institute on the Environment, Minnesota Population Center, and the Supercomputing Institute)
Stephen Rose

Colleges/centers/institutes in need of delegates:
Non-affiliated Academic Health Center departments (e.g. Cancer Center, Center for Drug Design)
UMN-Duluth
College of Liberal Arts
College of Education and Human Development
Public Affairs
Public Health


Monday, July 16, 2018

PDA Elections July 26, 2018

Elections for officer and delegate positions will be held at the PDA steering committee meeting July 26th. See the position descriptions below and think about whether you'd like to get more involved in the PDA.

WHEN: July 26, 12PM-1:30PM
WHERE: Johnston Hall room 331 (East Bank Campus)
Google Calendar link HERE.

Fill out this form if you want more information about delegate or officer positions or would like to nominate yourself for a position.

NON-OFFICER POSITIONS:

Delegates
Delegates are self-nominating volunteers responsible for participating in monthly PDA meetings and representing the interests of their unit colleagues. Each college, center, institute, or satellite campus is given a number of seats on the PDA Steering Committee depending on the proportion of postdocs they employ.  PDA officers are elected from the pool of delegates.

Social Events Chair
Organizes monthly happy hours and advertises them in the Facebook group and Google Calendar. Assists in planning additional social events throughout the year.

OFFICERS:


President

Serves as the primary contact for the University of Minnesota administration. Ensures that all events, scholarships, committee meetings and budgets are created on time and are of high quality. Schedules and coordinates annual Town Hall meetings with the general postdoctoral population at the University of Minnesota. Serves as the liaisons to other postdoc associations at different institutions. 

 

Vice-President

With the President, ensures that all events, scholarships, committee meetings and budgets are created on time and are of high quality. Takes responsibility for the President's duties in the event of his/her absence.

 

Treasurer

Manages the UMN-PDA Budget and acts as a liaison to the Graduate School on all financial matters.

 

Secretary

Records and disburses minutes for each Executive Steering Committee meeting.

 

Policy and Advocacy Officer

Serves on the Faculty Senate to advocate for postdoc-friendly University policies with an understanding of the diverse needs of University of Minnesota postdocs.

Officer of Communications and Outreach

Communicates efforts of the UMN-PDA to the postdoctoral community through e-mail and maintaining the UMN-PDA website and calendar. Also serves as the face of the UMN-PDA at New Employee Orientations.

Graduate Student and Postdoc Diversity Alliance Liaison
Serves as the PDA's primary contact and voice in the Graduate Student and Postdoc Diversity Alliance. Identifies the needs of postdocs from diverse backgrounds and helps to develop PDA programing accordingly.

Why should postdocs participate as a Delegate or Officer?  

  1. Claim a seat at the negotiating table. This is your opportunity to increase the quality of postdoctoral experiences and tackle issues that need solving so that the University can be a leader in postdoctoral training.
  1. Develop transferable skills. Leadership is a highly sought after quality in job candidates. Participation in the PDA is a way to demonstrate communication, negotiation, creativity, and problem solving outside of scientific inquiry.

Friday, January 5, 2018

Grant Writing Workshop Jan 24 // Grand Challenges in Biology applications due Feb 1

NIH & NSF Grant Writing Workshop
Registration is now open for a day of grant writing workshops

Wednesday, January 24th 2018
Mechanical Engineering Building, Room 1130
RSVP here - limited to 40 people

9 am - 10:30 am - Yoji Shimizu, PhD will talk about writing grants for the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Shimizu is the Associate Dean of Graduate Education and Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology.

10:30 am - 12 pm - Frances Spalding, MAS will talk about the logistics of proposal submission and working with the Sponsored Projects Administration at the university. All grant submissions from UMN must go through SPA - find out how to make this part of the process of grant submission go smoothly! Ms. Spalding is the SPA Training Coordinator of the Electronic Grants Management System (EGMS).

12 pm - 12:30 pm - Lunch break - boxed lunches provided

12:30 pm - 2 pm - Jerry Cohen, PhD will talk about writing grants for the National Science Foundation. Dr. Cohen is a Professor in the Department of Horticultural Science.

Questions? Contact pda@umn.edu


Grand Challenges in Biology Postdoctoral Program
Deadline for applications is February 1st

Are you interested in collaborating on multidisciplinary research that addresses societally relevant problems? The Grand Challenges in Biology Postdoctoral Program is accepting applications for the 2018 cohort. It's a unique opportunity to take on big questions and work across disciplines to find answers. Postdoctoral associates will be encouraged to participate in grant proposal development workshops and other professional development activities offered at the College and the University of Minnesota, and they are permitted to serve as Principal Investigators on grant proposals.

Find more information about this opportunity from the College of Biological Sciences here.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Monday, November 6, 2017

PDA Newsletter: November 6, 2017

November 6, 2017

Call for Proposals for PDA Career Development Events
Do you have a great idea for an event that would interest postdocs? Is your on-campus group, department, or college looking for funding for your programming? Starting this fiscal year, the UMN Postdoctoral Association is able to financially support career development events hosted by other groups on campus. See the announcement here to find out more information on how to apply, and email pda@umn.edu with additional questions.


November PDA Happy Hour
Our next monthly happy hour will be at Able Seedhouse & Brewery in NE Minneapolis. There will be a free "micro-concert" from musicians from the Minnesota Orchestra. Find out more details about our happy hour on our Facebook event page - and join our Facebook group if you're not already a member!

WHEN: Thursday, November 16 @6PM


Paths to Permanent Residency for Postdocs
The UMN Postdoctoral Association is hosting a special seminar focusing on the options available for international Postdoctoral Scholars to attain permanent residence based on their professional skills. This seminar will be delivered by immigration attorney Robert D. Aronson.
WHEN: Wednesday, November 29 @4PM - 6PM
WHERE: Akerman Hall, Room 319

Please register for the event here.


Career Development Awards

Thank you to everyone who submitted a proposal for the Fall PDA Career Development Awards. We are reviewing the applications now and will announce the recipients shortly. We will also award Career Development Awards in the Spring - keep an eye out in the new year for our call for applications.

These are bi-annual career development awards for purposes of supplementing and encouraging attendance to events and programs furthering professional development (e.g., conferences, workshops, seminars, etc.). The award is intended for postdoctoral scholars who may not be able to otherwise attend the event.