PAC was formed in 2004 to serve the needs of individuals holding
postdoctoral positions at CU Boulder or in the national labs
collaborating on campus research projects.
The Co-Presidents of PAC are Alina Handorean and
Rob Johnson.
The PAC is under the tutelage of the CU Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, and enjoys direct guidance and mentoring from the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, Patricia Rankin.
PAC's mission is to provide an environment that fosters professional advancement through programming, support services, and networking opportunities for all Postdoctoral fellows. Through these activities, we as Postdocs will be better able to define our roles in the university and community, allowing us to become successful educators, researchers and professionals.
Because postdocs fit into a unique position in academe, they are a unique group with unique needs. Most Postdocs are research fellows who are conducting research under the supervision of a CU faculty member or as part of a research group at one of the national labs in Boulder. Postdocs are hired under a wide variety of job titles.
For the purposes of our association, Postdocs are employees who hold an earned doctoral degree from an accredited institution and who are not currently enrolled in classes for the purpose of pursuing a degreeor are not tenure-track faculty members.
The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Colorado at Boulder placed supports for postdoctoral fellows under the Graduate Teacher Program in 2003. An initial Postdoc focus group requested that the university provide professional development to address Postdoc's unique needs and positions, specifying a focus on training for faculty and research positions, job search support, research team management techniques, and an introduction to nonacademic or alternative career paths for individuals who hold the doctorate. Because the Graduate Teacher Program offers extensive preparing future faculty activities and two certificates in teaching at the university level as well as a Professional Development Certificate for Business, Government, Industry, and the Arts, postdoctoral fellows were referred to the Graduate Teacher Program for training in teaching.
In 2004, CU Boulder joined a national survey effort on postdoctoral fellows led by Sigma XI. Survey data on the 50 institutions surveyed, as well as answers to the 17 questions posed locally to postdoctoral fellows in the Boulder area, underscored the need to provide professional development for both academic and nonacademic careers for postdoctoral fellows. In 2004, we created the Postdoctoral Association of Colorado (PAC) to give a public face to our support for postdocs in the Boulder area. Postdoctoral fellows at the University of Colorado at Boulder and in the National Labs are welcome to attend teacher training activities through the Graduate Teacher Program and to participate in all Postdoctoral Association of Colorado activities. In 2011, PAC was transferred back to the Office for the Vice Chancellor for Research.
