UC Davis Postdoctoral Scholars Association Charter Bylaws

Approved March 17, 2025

Name and Purpose

The name of this organization shall be the UC Davis Postdoctoral Scholars Association (PSA). 

The PSA seeks to provide resources, information, and representation for postdoctoral scholars at the UC Davis campus. The PSA is responsible for administering the quarterly Postdoctoral Travel Awards, the annual Postdoctoral Symposium, Monthly writing retreats as much as possible, maintaining a relevant and useful website, workshops as required, and other social activities. PSA doors are always open to postdocs for questions, guidance, and support.  

Membership

** Note: This excludes individuals appointed under the Lecturer series, which has its own organization, and other non-postdoc title codes.

All postdoctoral scholars who have a current UC Davis appointment in a postdoctoral title code (3252, 3253, 3254, 3255, and 3256) are automatically full members, excluding those appointed under the Lecturer series, which has its own organization, and other non-postdoc title codes.

A postdoctoral scholar is defined by NSF and NIH (Jan. 2007) as an individual who has received a doctoral degree (or equivalent) and is engaged in a temporary and defined period of mentored advanced training to enhance the professional skills and research independence needed to pursue his or her chosen career path. Note: This excludes individuals appointed under the Lecturer series, which has its own organization, and other non-postdoc title codes.

Officers 

  1. While specific duties are specified below, each PSA board is responsible for how tasks are administered. 
  2. The following 6 officers will be appointed by the active PSA members: Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer, Public Relations Officer, Career Development Officer, and Secretary. 
  3. Positions will be advertised in early May and self-nominations will be accepted by email.  All candidates shall provide a short statement of vision for the office of their interest for review by other PSA members. No elections are necessary unless two or more individuals self-nominate for the same position.
  4. Election will be conducted through a google form. All positions are expected to be filled by June 1 with handover completed by June 30.
  5. During the handover, outgoing board members will be responsible for preparing a dossier of important points for the incoming board (recommendations, suggestions, contact info of staff, how to rent a conference center, how to order food, etc.), and to facilitate a meeting between the new board members and relevant Graduate Studies staff. 
  6. Appointments typically follow the University's fiscal year (July 1- June 30). Outgoing Officers are expected to serve as advisors to their successors after their term ends. 
  7. Upon appointment, all PIs of new board members will be notified of the appointment of the Postdoctoral Fellow into the PSA office. 
  8. An officer shall provide one month's notice to fellow officers when they will not be able to perform their duties. 
  9. Should a board member leave mid-term, remaining board members shall advertise the open position by email, and interview nominees for each position. New board members shall be appointed based on the board’s consensus, if consensus cannot be achieved or in the presence of more than one nominee for the position, an election shall take place by email as described below. 

Officer Duties

  1. All officers are required to attend the monthly Graduate Studies-Postdoctoral Scholars Association meetings and the PSA board meetings. Failure to attend two consecutive meetings without valid written reasons may result in a review of the officer's position.
  2. The main duties for each officer are described below. These duties should be respected by all board members and could evolve or be negotiated within the board. If additional duties are required, it’s up to the board members to decide who will take on the new responsibilities.    

All officers are responsible for administering the mission of the UC Davis PSA. 

Shared Responsibilities

  1. All officers should participate in organizing at least one workshop or social event.
  2. Each officer should contribute to the quarterly newsletter.

Specific Responsibilities

THE CHAIR

A.    The Chair shall have the following roles/responsibilities. 

Primary Responsibilities: 

  1. The PSA Chair shall administer the annual UC Davis Postdoctoral Symposium. 
  2. Co-lead the annual Postdoctoral Symposium with the Vice-Chair.
  3. Alongside other board members, facilitate outreach events within the UC Davis community. 
  4. Act as the primary contact with the Office of Graduate Studies, Graduate Student Association and the Graduate Council (Graduate council attendance is mandatory for chair) 
  5. Attending bi-monthly Graduate Council meetings. The PSA chair is responsible for making announcements during the Graduate Council meetings. These announcements are generally based on updates about PSA activities, challenges, etc. PSA chair is a non-voting member, but their opinions are appreciated. These meetings are important to keep postdocs voice in decision-making discussions. Attend the monthly meeting with the dean and vice-provost of graduate studies. Ensure that decisions are made by majority vote. If the voting is not conclusive, the chair must make a fair decision. 
  6. The chair or the vice-chair have the responsibility to address conflicts, create a safe space for communication, and support PSA members with administrative hustles as needed 
  7. The chair has the duty to follow up on ongoing activities such as workshops, symposium planning, administrative procedures, budget evolution, etc. 
  8. In situations of decreased proactivity, the chair or the vice-chair have the right to take over timely important tasks.  
  9. The chair and vice-chair have the duty to start a fundraising campaign to raise money for the free-of-charge symposium. 

Secondary Responsibilities 

  1. Assist in maintenance of the PSA website. 
  2. Attend the annual National Postdoc Association conference alongside one other board member (funding permitting) 
  3. Give a hand with the newsletter. 
 THE VICE-CHAIR

B.    The Vice-Chair shall have the following roles/responsibilities: 

Primary Responsibilities: 

  1. Act as needed to help the Chair fill their role.
  2. Co-lead the annual Postdoctoral Symposium with the Chair. The Vice-Chair shall be responsible for acquiring a venue for the symposium (UC Davis Conference Center), arranging catering, and managing logistics on the day of the symposium.
  3. Serve as the designated point of contact for UC Davis postdoctoral scholars domiciled in Sacramento, facilitating communication and addressing specific needs of this subset of the postdoctoral community.
  4. Act as a liaison between the Postdoctoral Union and the PSA, to determine any potential collaboration between the two organizations and avoid planning conflicts. 
  5. In the Chair’s absence, the Vice-Chair is responsible for taking on the Chair’s responsibilities. 
  6. The chair or the vice-chair have the responsibility to address conflicts, create a safe space for communication, and support PSA members with administrative hustles as needed 
  7. Assist other officers in their responsibilities as needed.  
  8. In situations of decreased proactivity, the chair or the vice-chair have the right to take over timely important tasks. The chair has the duty to follow up on ongoing activities such as workshops, symposium planning, administrative procedures, budget evolution, etc. The chair and vice-chair have the duty to start a fundraising campaign to raise money for the free-of-charge symposium. 

Secondary Responsibilities: 

  1. Act as support for Career Development workshops, alongside the Chair and Career Development Officer. 
  2. Pass any important Union-related information to the Secretary and Chair for discussion during leadership meetings. 
THE TREASURER 

C.    The Treasurer shall have the following roles/responsibilities: 

Primary Responsibilities: 

  1. Primary contact with the Graduate Studies staff that manages the PSA’s funds 
    1. Manage the Quarterly Travel Grant applications, including: (i) Organization and archival of files  (ii) Distribution of applicants across judges and judging and administration of the awards (iii) Support for Travel Grant Reimbursement by liaising with relevant Graduate Studies staff 
    2. Oversee all PSA procurements for events and maintain detailed records of all expenses. This includes:
  • Coordinating with other officers to administer budgets for their events
  • Managing financial aspects of the annual Postdoctoral Symposium
  • Keeping accurate and up-to-date records of all PSA expenditures 
  • Providing regular financial reports to the board
    1. In the absence of the Secretary, the Treasurer shall assume the responsibilities of the Secretary.
THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

D.    The Career Development Officer shall have the following roles/responsibilities: 

Primary Responsibilities: 

  1. Serve as primary contact/coordinator for workshops  
  2. Liaison for other UC Davis departments and organizations (e.g. SISS, ICC, etc.) to determine what events these organizations will be hosting that might be of interest to postdoctoral scholars, and if PSA support is required/requested for events. 

Secondary Responsibilities: 

  1. Work alongside the Chair and Vice Chair in determining Career Development needs.
  2. Work alongside the secretary in designing the yearly the PSA Survey.
  3. Forward interesting Career Development opportunities for distribution to the Postdoc listserv and advertise the planned workshops in coordination with the Relations Officer. 
 THE RELATIONS OFFICER

E.    The Relations Officer shall have the following roles/responsibilities:  

Primary responsibilities: 

  1. Maintain the PSA website and act as the main moderator for PSA social media- Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and so on. 
  2. Advertising social events for PSA members. 
  3. Advertising PSA workshops. Send reminder notification 24 hours prior to the event. 
  4. Oversee the creation and distribution of the PSA quarterly newsletter alongside the Vice Chair and the Secretary.
  5. Design PSA event flyers.
  6. Organize social events for the PSA members in agreement with the board members.

Secondary responsibilities: 

  1.  Help organize PSA symposium: Coordinate Registration of attendees, promote symposium on social media, print any materials required for that day.
 THE SECRETARY

F.    The Secretary shall have the following roles/responsibilities:  

Primary responsibilities: 

  1. Manage, distribute, and process the yearly PSA Survey  
  2. Distribute the survey to the PSA listserv, and process the results for presentation to the board members. 
  3. Assist the Treasurer in organizing and facilitating the Travel Grant each quarter 
  4. Plan board meetings (in person or on zoom) and establish a meeting agenda with the chair. Manage time during meetings and write a meeting report including the agenda, decisions, and pending matters. 
  5. Respond to email requests or questions. Reach out to other members if the request or the question cannot be answered. 
  6. Call for abstracts for symposium in a timely manner, collate all abstracts and prepare the abstract book.

 Secondary responsibilities 

  1. The secretary should be the second representative of PSA other than the chair during the Graduate Council Meetings.  
  2. Procure and collate information for the PSA Newsletter, as well as oversee any PSA subcommittees in charge of producing the PSA Newsletter 
  3. Act as one of the moderators for PSA social media- Facebook, twitter and so on. 

Conduct of the Meetings

  1. As part of their responsibilities, all Officers are expected to attend the board meetings.
  2. Agendas and meeting time/location shall be announced via e-mail.
  3. The Chair will call the meeting to order.
  4. Approval of the minutes. The Chair shall ask if there are any additions or corrections to the minutes. After general consent, the minutes will be declared "approved" or "approved as amended" by the Chair.
  5. Reports from subcommittees or special guests/representatives if pertinent.
  6. Order of subsequent business will be as follows:
    • Unfinished business from previous meeting
    • Any business that was to be considered at the previous meeting
    • New business. The Chair will ask the members if there is any new business to be discussed.
    • Announcements. The Chair may make or call upon others to make announcements. Also, members can make any announcements briefly.

Voting

  1. Voting motions can be made by any member when the Chair considers it appropriate.
  2. Voting motions will not decide upon in the same meeting so that the motion can be presented via e-mail to the other members not in attendance. This gives these individuals a chance to cast a vote in the next meeting.
  3. The Chair will preside over the discussion/debate on the voting motion.
  4. A voting quorum of at least eight PSA members must be met for legitimacy.
  5. Decisions shall be made by majority vote.

Subcommittees

  1. Subcommittees shall be created by the PSA, as needed, by general consensus.
  2. The subcommittee will be comprised of volunteers from which a chair is selected.
  3. The goals and duties of the subcommittee will be outlined at its formation and approved by the PSA.

Review and Amendment of Bylaws

  1. The bylaws can be reviewed by the PSA board members at any time.
  2. Proposed changes to the bylaws can be made by any board member. The proposed changes shall be presented to all board members for review.
  3. For a bylaw amendment to be adopted, it must be accepted by at least two-thirds of all board members through a vote.
  4. After board approval, the amended bylaw will only take effect after it has been ratified by at least two non-board PSA members at a congress.
  5. The PSA shall call a congress as necessary to address bylaw amendments and other important matters. The frequency and timing of these congresses will be determined by the board based on the needs of the association.
  6. Notice of a congress shall be given to all PSA members at least two weeks in advance, specifying the date, time, location, and agenda items, including any proposed bylaw amendments.
  7. At the congress, the proposed bylaw amendments shall be presented and discussed. Two non-board PSA members are required for ratification and must be present at this congress.
  8. Once ratified at the congress, the amended bylaws will immediately take effect. The Secretary shall record the date of ratification and update the official bylaws document accordingly.
  9. The Chair must ensure that all PSA members are informed of the newly adopted bylaw changes within one week of ratification.

Note that the graduate studies does not interfere with the PSA bylaws and that PSA as a semi-independent association has solely the right to edit their own bylaws.