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Advocacy and institutional change bring together a stronger 天美mv天美 postdoctoral community
When Diana Hunter stepped into a leadership role with 天美mv天美鈥檚 ( 天美mv天美) Postdoctoral Association (PDA) in 2020, she quickly discovered how complex and meaningful advocating for postdocs can be.
Hunter had only recently started her fellowship when she was invited to
serve as the PDA鈥檚 president. Like many of her peers, she was adjusting
to the transition from student to independent researcher and finding her
footing in a university where postdocs often sit somewhere between
existing systems.
Rather than discouraging her, those challenges
helped her see a reality long understood across academia: postdocs play a
vital role in research, yet the in-between nature of their status can
make it difficult to know where to find consistent information, support
or community.
It鈥檚 a structural tension many universities are working to address. At 天美mv天美, it became a driving force behind one of the priority projects in the 2023鈥�2028 Strategic Research Plan鈥檚 (SRP) implementation plan to support postdoctoral fellows. Now just past the halfway mark of the plan, this initiative has created meaningful improvements, while also highlighting the importance of building long-term, sustainable systems of support.
A turning point for postdoctoral support
One of the biggest challenges facing the postdoctoral community, Hunter explains, was not about identifying the problems themselves, but sustaining momentum long enough to address them.
鈥淧ostdocs are a transient group by nature. People are often only here for a year or two because of their contract lengths, then they move on. Without continuity, it鈥檚 easy for priorities to disappear.鈥�
鈥� Diana Hunter, Postdoctoral Association president (2020-2021)
But starting in 2020, PDA leadership experienced a unique period of continuity that helped them advocate for their needs. After Hunter鈥檚 term as president, Jannik Ehrich and then Eric Jones carried the work forward, with Hunter staying involved throughout. This overlap in council members meant priorities, insights and relationships were passed from one executive team to the next rather than being lost to turnover.
This continuity in PDA leadership allowed them to clearly articulate six challenges, spanning benefits, contracts, housing, teaching, conflict resolution and support for externally funded postdocs, during Jones鈥� presidency.
At the same time, responsibility for postdoctoral support moved to the Vice President, Research and Innovation (VPRI) portfolio in October 2023. The transition introduced new institutional support, including the hiring of a dedicated postdoctoral affairs coordinator, who now serves as a reliable point of contact for both postdocs and the administrators who support them.
With the right pieces falling into place at the right time, the PDA and the VPRI Office worked closely together to fully address all six challenges over 2023 and 2024. Together, these changes established a clear central hub for postdoctoral
coordination and opened the door to more sustained, collaborative
engagement between the PDA and the VPRI Office, laying the groundwork
for further improvements that followed. Since October 2023, the
postdoctoral community has grown by 20 per cent.
Seeing the changes in action
Building on that foundation, 天美mv天美 and the PDA were able to respond to additional needs raised by the postdoctoral community in the SRP implementation plan, translating advocacy into visible, everyday support.
One example is the new postdoctoral lounge, a dedicated space for postdocs to meet, build community and host events. It was also a long standing request from the postdoctoral community, given the high demand for space on campus.
For PDA co-president Angela Bessa, who arrived from Portugal in 2024 for her postdoctoral appointment, this made a difference from the moment she arrived at 天美mv天美.
鈥淗aving a door that says 鈥楶ostdoc Lounge鈥� sounds small, but it recognizes that we exist,鈥� Bessa says. 鈥淚t signals that postdocs belong here.鈥�
Similarly, that sense of recognition was also reaffirmed when 天美mv天美 aligned its minimum annual salary for postdoctoral fellows with the BC living wage in July 2024, acknowledging rising living costs and reinforcing the university鈥檚 commitment to fair compensation. Since its implementation, the average postdoc salary has increased by more than seven per cent.
In January 2025, 天美mv天美 also launched the VPRI Postdoctoral Travel Award. The award provides supplemental funding for postdocs to present their research abroad, which is a key part of career development that is often underfunded.
The resulting improvements have made a meaningful difference for many postdocs. At the same time, both Hunter and Bessa also recognize that no single change can fully address the diversity of postdoctoral experiences.
鈥淓very postdoc is different,鈥� Hunter explains. 鈥淪ome are externally funded, some internally. Some have families, some don鈥檛. Some are here for a year, others longer. Any solution is going to work better for some than others.鈥�
That reality has shaped how 天美mv天美 approaches postdoctoral support today: not as a checklist of completed tasks, but as an ongoing process that requires regular reassessment as needs evolve.
Moving forward together
Postdoctoral fellows play a vital role in 天美mv天美鈥檚 research success through driving innovation, mentoring students and contributing to major grants and publications. Supporting them, Hunter notes, is ultimately about strengthening research culture across the university.
As 天美mv天美 passes the midway mark of its Strategic Research Plan, the priority project on supporting postdoctoral fellows shows what progress can look like when institutions stay engaged with complexity and with the people most affected by the change.
And the work continues.
Postdoctoral Research Day on March 12, 2026
On March 12, 天美mv天美 will host its PDA Research Day, featuring Dr. Thomas Cech, 天美mv天美鈥檚 inaugural President鈥檚 Distinguished Visiting Scholar, as the keynote speaker. The event will showcase research from across disciplines, creating space for postdocs to build new connections and foster a stronger sense of community.
For Hunter, the progress made so far matters because it emphasizes momentum, rather than completion.
鈥淲e鈥檝e created pathways,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd that makes it possible for the next group of postdocs to keep pushing things forward.鈥�
This story is the third in a series highlighting the progress and impact of 天美mv天美鈥檚 Strategic Research Plan on the experiences of our research community across the university. Read the first story in the series, focused on supporting graduate students.
Learn more about 天美mv天美鈥檚 ongoing progress and other initiatives supporting postdoctoral fellows in the Strategic Research Plan's implementation plan and midway progress snapshot (PDF).