New Orientation Session for New Postdoctoral Scholars on Campus
August 15, 2025
Session 1 = 9 to 11:30 am (Postdocs, Main Orientation)
Lunch = 11:30 to 1 pm
Session 2 = 1 to 2:30 pm (Postdocs and Advisor, Individual Development Plans)
Registration is NOW Open - HERE
All new postdoctoral scholars on campus should attend either the full Summer Orientation or a new postdoctoral scholar "Welcome." The "Welcome" format of orientation serves to give new postdocs the basics of the full required orientation program in the spans of an hour over the lunch period. It is designed for scholars that initiate their training during the year rather than in synchrony with the start of the school year in August. You could converse with Human Resources representatives about initiating your employee benefits within the 60-day onboarding window, learn about support for global engagements, join the leadership team of our postdoctoral association (PDA), and hear about opportunities for fellowships, travel awards, and professional development activities.
Debi, Director of the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
Agenda:
Session I = For all Postdoctoral Scholars
Coffee/Tea Welcome and Registration - 9:00 - 9:30 am
International Engagements (Schaad/Lawson) - 9:30 - 9:45 am
Program in Instructional Excellence (Kelly) - 9:45 - 10:00 am
Join the PDA!! (Rivers) - 10:00 - 10:10 am
General PD Opportunities, Expectations, and Professional Development (Fadool) - 10:10 - 10:45 am
Break
Human Resources - Health Insurance and Retirement Benefits (Hoffman) - 11:00 - 11:30 am
Session II = For all Postdoctoral Scholars and Advisors
Introduction to the Individual Development Plan (IDP) (Fadool) - 1:00 - 1:30 pm
Planning your IDP in Partnership - 1:30 - 2:15 pm
Mentoring Compact (Fadool) - 2:15 - 2:30 pm
National Postdoctoral Appreciation Week (#NPAW2025) Fall Symposium!!
(Celebrated Nationally from 15 to 19 September)
Registration for ALL #NPAW2025 events will open in late August As Described below
We are currently accepting Enteries (enter HERE) for 5-Minute Research (5MR) Auditions
Entry for Auditions for the 5MR Closes on August 1, 2025 (FIRM)
If you would like to participate as a competitor in the 5-minute research competition, all speakers have to undergo a practice audition held on zoom conference, from which 10 top candidates will be selected. Auditions will occur on Wednesday afternoons throughout the month of August. Remember there are no rules for the 5MR! - any format is acceptable - but you must not go over 5 minutes to explain your research in an entertaining and educated layman's style that can pique the interests of all disciplines across the university and outreach to the community. All top candidates will receive $100 for their participation as speakers on the day of the event (September 19, 2025), judges will select First through Third Place Awardees, and the audience will select a People's Choice Award. Where else could you earn $1,000 in 5 minutes!??
Please see here for judges rubric/scoring sheet that are used in the 5MR competition
You may also view videos from the 2024 competition on YouTube by following this link and selecting the previous presenter's name.
NATIONAL Postdoctoral Appreciation Week (#NPAW2025) EVENT SCHEDULE =
Mentor/Mentee Coffee, Tea, and Pastry
Wednesday, September 17, 2025 - 9:00 to 11:00 am - KING Life Science Terrace Garden Rooftop = Postdocs and their advisors/mentors are invited for a coffee, tea, and pastry breakfast to be held mid-week on the top of the third-floor roof/terrace garden in the King Life Sciences Building/Biological Science. Come out and relax with fellow postdocs and advisors to start your day on Weds! We appreciate the special team that you foster!
POSTDOCTORAL POSTER SESSION
Friday, September 19, 2025 - 1:30 to 3 pm - College of Medicine Atrium = Postdocs come on out and share your research focus through poster presentation in the afternoon. No need to make a new poster, but feel free to make second use of a recent poster from a conference, and explain it to your colleagues in another discipline! Poster participants must by postdoctoral scholars and upload an abstract of their work by Thursday, September 12th to be included in the Fall Symposium Booklet. There will be a People's Choice voting for best presenter that will occur at 3 pm at the end of the session for a $500 award to highlight the postdoc with the best talent for explaining the discipline of their research to a fellow scholar. Come on out and share your research!
5-MINUTE RESEARCH COMPETITION (5-MR)
Friday, September 19, 2025 - 3:30 to 5:15 pm - College of Medicine Auditorium = Ten finalists will present their research in a creative oral competition in which there is only ONE rule! - not longer than 5 minutes!!! Presenters will be scored by a panel of notable judges in our FSU and Tallahassee Community. Ever wonder why there is resistance to COVID vaccines? How electrons dance? How particles make up all matter? Why older care kinship givers need extra care? Ever consider how your brain detects tastes when you eat or how lots of fat/sugar can lead to diabetes? Come and find out - support your postdoctoral researchers in this endeavor as they explain their research results in a public audience. Postdocs, graduate scholars, undergraduate students, faculty, and staff are all invited to attend the 5MR competition! There will be a People's Choice voting for best oral presentation that will occur at 5:15 pm at the end of the 5MR competition.
POSTDOCTORAL AWARDS RECEPTION SPONSORED BY PRESIDENT MCCULLOUGH
Friday, September 19, 2025 - 5:30 to 7 pm - College of Medicine Atrium and Courtyard = There will be an awards ceremony, announcing annual awards for travel grants, Fulbright recipients, UROP Postdoctoral Mentor Award, and of course winners of the Poster session and the 5MR competition. Special thank you to President McCullough for hosting the reception for the postdoctoral scholars and the research community.
Parental Leave Survey - We want your input!
The PDA and OPDA invite faculty and postdocs to follow a survey
FACULTY SURVEY - HERE
POSTDOC SURVEY - HERE
A literature review conducted in 2017 found that paid parental leave was associated with improved infant and maternal health outcomes (Heymann et al., 2017). In 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that 17% of all civilian workers had access to paid family leave, and 89% had access to unpaid family leave (including maternity and paternity leave, adoption leave and caring for a sick relative) (Statistics, 2019). Under federal law, postdoc fathers and/or mothers who have worked at FSU for at least 12 months have the right to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in accordance with the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Currently, tenure-track faculty at FSU have access to 16 weeks of paid parental leave. However, there is currently no paid parental leave policy in place for FSU postdocs.
We are interested in learning more about the thoughts and opinions of faculty members regarding a proposal for paid parental leave for postdocs. Please answer several questions to allow us to better understand the opinions of faculty. Your answers will help us in formulating a proposal for postdoctoral parental leave tailored to the needs of our institution. We will share the results of the survey with the Postdoc Advisory Board that governs postdoctoral scholars at FSU.
Please note that this survey is anonymous and you will not be able to be identified.
This survey should take approximately 5 minutes of your time.
Thank you!
Shannon Montgomery, PDA President
References
Heymann, J. et al. (2017) ‘Paid parental leave and family wellbeing in the sustainable development era’, Public Health Reviews, 38(1), p. 21. doi: 10.1186/s40985-017-0067-2.
Statistics, U. S. B. of L. (2019) Access to paid and unpaid family leave in 2018. Available at: https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2019/access-to-paid-and-unpaid-family-leave-in-2018.htm (Accessed: 24 March 2021).