The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for our University and broader community. Postdocs and Academic Student Employees are stepping up to the challenge to help sustain a strong research and teaching environment, even under the circumstances. Yet we are significantly strained in meeting mandatory and specified timelines and benchmarks in our research, and as many of us begin to approach the end of our appointments we face significant hardships: particularly for those of us with family/health challenges; visa renewal and travel restrictions; and those facing a now even more difficult job market. Our eligibility for many of the safety net programs available to other workers is at best in question.
We appreciate steps the University administration has taken to respond to these challenges so far, including offering automatic extensions to promotion/tenure clocks of faculty and librarians. We request in addition to these steps that the University take immediate action to:
- Automatically extend all current Postdoc and ASE appointments through September 2020
- Approve all requests for one-year appointment extensions of Postdoc and ASE appointments
We’re prepared to continue working together for a safer University community while we advance our research, teaching and service missions during these unprecedented times and look forward to our upcoming discussions.