Tulane has adopted the National Postdoctoral Association's (NPA) definition of postdoctoral fellow as "...an individual holding a doctoral degree who is engaged in a temporary period of mentored research and/or scholarship training for the purpose of acquiring the professional skills needed to pursue a career path of his or her choosing."
At Tulane, the appointment of postdoctoral fellows falls under guidelines developed by OGPS. Postdoctoral fellows (or postdocs) whose salaries are paid from Tulane sources of funding, such as sponsored contracts and grants, are subject to the university's policies and procedures for determining compensation. As employees, they are also eligible for Tulane's benefits program. Postdocs whose salaries are derived from non-Tulane or external sources of funding are compensated by their funding agency. These postdocs are not eligible for Tulane's benefits program. OGPS, however, serves all postdocs at Tulane regardless of source of funding.
OGPS awards a limited number of travel grants for postdoctoral fellows to present at professional conferences. All postdoctoral fellows based at Tulane are eligible to apply. Grants are a maximum of $500 for domestic travel and $1000 for international travel. Application guidelines and the application form are available here.
OGPS believes that professional development and mentorship is part of the postdoc experience at Tulane. We encourage each department, along with their postdocs, to create and maintain an Individual Development Plan. As resources for this, we encourage you to use the National Postdoctoral Association's Career Planning Resources, Science Career's Individual Development Plan tool and the NIH's Office of Intramural Training and Education as well as their specific page for current trainees. These are intended as guidelines, or examples, to help you create a plan that suits your needs.
OGPS is planning to develop professional development seminars for postdocs. If you have suggestions for topics or speakers, e-mail OGPS.
The National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) website contains many useful resources, including information on the responsible conduct of research, core competencies for postdocs, and International Postdoc Survival Guide. OGPS has compiled lists of campus resources as well as postdoctoral funding opportunities.
Information for NRSA Postdoctoral Trainees
The Center for Engaged Learning and Teaching (CELT) supports faculty, staff, postdocs, and graduate students as they prepare or continue to teach through a variety of workshops and resources. Their website details all of the work CELT does, including resources for all instructors at Tulane.
CELT has an extensive library of books on diverse topics all relevant to teaching - pedagogy, classroom management, assessment techniques, the science of learning, etc. Click here to see a full list of books and their descriptions. To borrow one or suggest an additional acquisition, email Ariel McFarland.
The Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies endeavors to keep an up-to-date listserv of Tulane's postdoctoral fellows to better communicate with you. If you think you ought to be on the listserv and don't believe you are, please contact jobrien2@tulane.edu to be added.
