Every year in the 3rd week of September, Universities across the United States take part in the National Postdoc Appreciation Week (NPAW). Here at Stanford, the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) and Stanford University Postdoctoral Association (SURPAS) host a variety of events to celebrate the 2400+ postdocs who make Stanford what it is!
Campus Community Engagement in NPAW
If you’d like to plan something for postdocs (in-person or online) during this week, here are some suggestions for how you can get involved. None of these suggestions are time-intensive or expensive, but each can have a profound impact on our trainees.
Department Chairs:
- Encourage your faculty to interface with the postdocs in your department.
- Offer to cover the costs of coffees, meals, or drinks for faculty-initiated postdoc appreciation activities.
Individual Faculty:
- Invite your postdoc(s) out for lunch, coffee, or drinks.
- Give your postdoc(s) a small token of appreciation (e.g., an Amazon gift card, Stanford memorabilia, etc.).
- Engage with postdocs from other labs within your department.
Departmental Postdoctoral Administrators:
- Organize a department-level happy hour or coffee hour.
- Organize lunches that mix faculty and postdocs from other labs.
Campus Partners:
- Organize an office-level coffee hour.
- Offer a class or workshop focused on postdoc professional development.
These types of activities and gestures have a significant impact on the morale of postdocs. If you already have plans, please let us know so we can gather best practices.
Have zoom meetings this week? Download our Stanford Postdoc zoom background in celebration of NPAW!
Download the Stanford Postdoc zoom background!