Postdoctoral Digest: COVID-19 Guidance
Welcome to the Postdoctoral Digest, BU’s one-stop shop for information related to postdocs. Ideas or feedback? Email postdocs@bu.edu.
Special Edition: COVID-19
This special edition of our newsletter is focused on highlighting the University guidance and resources related to COVID-19 directly pertinent to doctoral students. Please visit the University-wide and Research Support COVID-19 websites for the most up-to-date information.
Mental health and wellbeing
We recognize that we are living in uncertain and stressful times. Your mental health and wellbeing is as much of a priority for us as your physical health and safety.
Boston University has a collection of mental health resources available to doctoral students collated on the Behavioral Medicine website. Graduate students are also eligible for a free subscription to the Headspace app.
Our Postdoc Academy course has content focused on resilience that may be helpful during this time.
Finally, the American Psychological Association offers guidance for preserving mental health in times of social distancing.
Connect with your colleagues on Slack
Want some company during this time of social distance? Connect with fellow postdocs via our new BU Postdocs Slack Channel. Share articles via journal club, organize a virtual writing session, ask for help, or just check-in with our community on a regular basis.
Events
All events scheduled to take place prior to 4/13/2020, including the Navigating the Stressors of Academia event, have been cancelled. We will provide updated information for events scheduled in April and May, including the Postdoc Retreat, in our Postdoctoral Digest regularly scheduled for early April.
For other professional development opportunities and resources be sure to check out our Professional Development & Postdoctoral Affairs website.
Guidance for postdocs
Postdoctoral Associates/Lecturers or other postdocs with teaching roles should not be required to conduct any in-person instruction through April 13, 2020. Consult with your faculty teaching advisor or School/College to understand how your teaching responsibilities will be translated into a virtual classroom space.
The regular deadline for cancelling April MBTA passes has passed but we have worked with Parking and Transportation to accommodate these cancellations.
Employee postdocs should email parking@bu.edu with their BU ID number and a request to cancel their April MBTA pass by close of business on March 25. If employees wish to cancel May passes, they should do so through BUworks (Employee Self Service – Campus Services – “Apply/Manage MBTA Pass and MBTA Parking Benefits”).
Non-employee postdocs should email postdocs@bu.edu with their BU ID number and a request to cancel their April MBTA pass by noon on Tuesday, March 25.
Online teaching training
Translating In-person Teaching Strategies Online: Professional Development & Postdoctoral Affairs, in partnership with the Center for Teaching and Learning and the Office of Distance Education, will be offering training sessions for graduate students and postdocs with current teaching roles who are interested in developing skills for online teaching and facilitation.
This 90 minute virtual workshop will be a mixture of practical tips for maximizing Zoom and Blackboard functionalities, as well as strategies for achieving student engagement and learning in an online environment. We will also provide time for Q&A.
Sessions will be offered on the following dates and times:
March 23, 2020 1:00 – 2:30 pm EDT
March 25, 2020 1:00 – 2:30 pm EDT
March 26, 2020 2:00 – 3:30 pm EDT
March 27, 2020 10:00 – 11:30 am EDT
Postdocs are also eligible to participate in Zoom training sessions offered for faculty and instructors by Digital Learning & Innovation. Information about these sessions can be found the Remote Teaching Preparedness website.