MSU-PDA Steering Committee
Open positions for 2023-2024
Professional Development Sub-Committee: 2 open positions
Postdocs on the Professional Development sub-committee will gain experience with planning events and seminars, and have enhanced opportunities to network with leaders in both academic and non-academic careers!
Social Sub-Committee: 2 open positions
Postdocs on the Social sub-committee will gain experience with planning events and networking
Communications & Digital Presence Sub-Committee: 1 open positions
Postdocs on the Communications & Digital Presence sub-committee will gain experience with writing and communications for a broader audience. Members will gain proficiency working with WordPress to manage a website and newsletter.
Advocacy Sub-Committee: 2 open positions
Postdocs on the Advocacy sub-committee will gain insight into the administrative structure of higher education institutions, and will gain experience working within these environments to increase the success of postdocs and other community members.
Members-at-Large: unlimited open positions
All PDA members will gain experience working with a team and communicating across different groups for a common goal.
Membership on the MSU-PDA Steering Committee is a voluntary one-year commitment. However, a Steering Committee member may choose to end their participation in the MSU-PDA Steering Committee at any time, without any consequence or repercussion to themselves.
MSU-PDA Steering Committee Members are expected to attend monthly meetings, whether it is in-person or virtually, and will be granted access to shared cloud storage where they are expected to keep all files and folders up-to-day and all materials confidential.
Roles & Responsibilities
The duties of the Professional Development Sub-Committee include, but are not limited to:
- Scheduling and attending quarterly meetings with the MSU-OPA to 1) discuss career and professional development opportunities for MSU postdocs, 2) brainstorm future career and professional development events to be hosted by the MSU-OPA, and speakers for events, and 3) provide feedback on career and professional development events hosted by the MSU-OPA.
The duties of the Social Sub-Committee include, but are not limited to:
- Planning, coordinating, advertising, and attending monthly social events for MSU postdocs and their families with the goal of generating a sense of community.
The duties of the Communications & Digital Presence Sub-Committee include:
- Maintaining and updating the MSU-PDA website (https://postdocs.msu.edu/) social media platforms (e.g.,LinkedIn, Teams).
- Managing the grad.newsletter.pda@msu.edu email account.
- Gathering content for, producing and distributing, the MSU-PDA Weekly Update.
The duties of the Advocacy Sub-Committee include, but are not limited to:
- Working with the MSU-OPA to advocate for the needs and address the concerns of MSU postdocs.
- Identifying opportunities for postdoc representation within university-, college-, and department-wide committees, and drafting letters or proposals seeking postdoc representation on these committees.
The duties of the Members At-Large include, but are not limited to:
- Providing assistance with decision-making and activities of the MSU-PDA when needed.
- Serving as MSU-PDA representatives on other MSU committees, organizations, or groups (e.g., College of Natural Science DEIAC, college/building/department-specific postdoc associations).
- Relaying information shared by the MSU-PDA Steering Committee to postdocs in their departments and encouraging postdocs within their departments to participate in MSU-PDA organized events.
If you have any questions or are interested in serving in any of these positions, please email us at pda@grd.msu.edu.
For more information about the MSU-PDA please review our bylaws.
