CONSTITUTION OF THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATION

ARTICLE I- GENERAL ORGANIZATION

SECTION A – OBJECTIVES

1.       To establish a self-sustaining organization that will support MIT postdoctoral trainees in all aspects of their professional research training and career development.

2.       To provide a unified voice for postdocs and increase their profile within the MIT community.

3.       To serve as a liaison between postdocs and the faculty and administration of MIT.

4.       To enhance the postdoctoral training experience by fostering a sense of community and an environment of peer support.

5.       To help incoming postdoctoral trainees integrate into the MIT community, and to maintain an alumni network of past postdocs.

6.       To provide efficient dissemination and record keeping of relevant information to all postdoctoral trainees.

SECTION B – MEMBERSHIP

The members of the Postdoctoral Association shall be associated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and include any individual with the title Postdoctoral Associate, Postdoctoral Fellow, Postdoctoral Researcher, NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow, or any researcher whom identifies as a postdoctoral research staff.  The members will be classified as two types.

a.       Board of Directors (BOD), who are those enrolled as active members of the Postdoctoral Association and attend regular Postdoctoral Association meetings.  These include officers, departmental representatives, and committee chairs.

b.       General Members, who are all the remaining members of the Postdoctoral Association.

SECTION C - FACULTY POSTDOCTORAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

The Postdoctoral Association shall support an active Faculty Postdoctoral Advisory Committee (FPAC).  The FPAC should provide support to the Postdoctoral Association and aid in postdoctoral affairs at MIT.  This committee shall consist of a faculty Chair and no more than five other active faculty members, as convened by the Chair and approved in consultation with the executive officers of the Postdoctoral Association. 

SECTION D – ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT

The Postdoctoral Association shall maintain an active Administrator as appointed by the Office of the Vice President for Research (VPR).  This Administrator shall act as a liaison between the VPR and the postdoctoral community.

 ARTICLE II – BYLAWS

The Postdoctoral Association shall adopt Bylaws that supplement, interpret, and are in accord with this Constitution.

ARTICLE III – AMENDMENTS

This Constitution may be amended by:

1.       By a majority affirmative vote of the Postdoctoral Association’s BOD

or

2.       By a written recommendation from no less than 40 General Members of the Postdoctoral Association