National Postdoctoral Association

June 24, 2009  Contact: Daniel A. Gorelick, Ph.D., Campaign Chair, daniel.gorelick at nationalpostdoc.org, or Cathee Johnson Phillips, M.A., Executive Director, 202-326-6427, cjphillips at nationalpostdoc.org

WASHINGTON, DC (NPA)—The National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) has announced its inaugural fundraising campaign, “Raising Our Voice.” The campaign will support programs that serve the United States postdoctoral community through:

• Raising awareness of postdoctoral scholars and their role in the research enterprise
• Increasing membership and participation
• Increasing long-term financial stability.

Since its founding in 2003, the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) has worked on behalf of the postdoctoral community. Today, the NPA has more than 3,500 registered individual members and more than 170 institutional members, which represent more than 40,000 postdoctoral scholars.

The NPA has played a major role in the following:

• The adoption of definitions of “postdoctoral scholars” by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
• The establishment of the NIH Pathways to Independence award to help postdocs successfully transition to tenure-track faculty positions.
• The Congressional requirement (America COMPETES Act) that NIH expand its data collection efforts regarding postdocs supported on research grants
• The Congressional requirement (America COMPETES Act) that NSF require mentoring plans in all research grant applications that seek funding for a postdoctoral scholar position.
• The establishment of several Postdoctoral Offices (PDOs) and Associations (PDAs) at institutions across the country.

Daniel A. Gorelick, Ph.D., who serves as chair of the “Raising Our Voice” campaign, said, “We are a young organization that has accomplished a great deal in its first five years. Now we must plan for long-term service to and advocacy on behalf of postdoctoral scholars and administrators.” Gorelick, a member of the NPA Board of Directors, is an AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow and will begin postdoctoral study in neuroscience at the Carnegie Institution for Science in September.

The NPA plans to raise a minimum of $250,000 in support of such efforts as:

• Advocacy on behalf of the postdoctoral community, including issues regarding compensation and benefits, diversity, international postdocs, and more.
• Continued development and maintenance of online resources for postdoctoral offices and postdoctoral associations
• The new National Postdoc Appreciation Day, slated for the first time on September 24, 2009
• Meetings, including the Annual Meeting, Regional Meetings, and Legal Seminars for International Postdocs
• Annual operating fund.

The NPA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, and donations are tax-deductible up to the limits of the law. For more information or to make a donation, please follow this link.