• Send a welcome email letting the postdoc know when and where to check-in on their first day. Include a reminder to bring in I-9 acceptable documentation.
  • Make sure the new postdoc meets with your unit’s HR representative to complete I-9 and orientation checklist.
  • Holidays, Vacation, and Sick Time
    • Information on holidays can be found in Chapter 21, Section 1 of the Operations Manual.
    • Postdoctoral Scholars at the University of Iowa are entitled to annual paid leave of 15 working days and annual sick leave of 18 working days but do not accrue vacation and are not entitled to vacation pay.
    • Time off is not recorded in Employee Self-Service and should be tracked by supervisor and postdoc.
  • Pay Dates
    • Postdocs will be paid a monthly salary, generally on the first of the month (unless the first is a holiday or weekend). Monthly paydays are listed on the payroll calendar.
  • Additional Resources
  • Recreational Facilities
  • Ensure they have appropriate access and entry to needed buildings and rooms
  • Ensure proper computing resources and access to necessary files, systems, and printers
  • Provide departmental staff contact list directory
  • Provide University of Iowa campus map
  • Add the postdoc to departmental and other listservs
  • Introduce them to others in the unit and across campus as appropriate
  • Point them to the Postdoctoral Affairs site and the University of Iowa Postdoctoral Association (UIPDA) to meet other postdocs around campus, network, access professional development opportunities, and more.
  • Encourage new postdocs to sign up for the National Postdoc Association affiliate membership
    • Be sure to tell them to select Affiliate Membership, as the University of Iowa is an Organizational Member.
  • Communicate with your postdoc regarding needed mandatory training. Also ask your postdoc to check with local HR to identify any additional mandatory trainings. Training requirements depend on grant funding sources and the type of research and work environment. Postdocs can have one or more areas of mandatory trainings, such as anti- harassment, lab safety, animal welfare, human subjects, HIPAA, and the responsible conduct of research.
  • Work with the postdoc on a training/individual development plan in the first month of employment. This can be used for self-management but also encourage the postdoc to work with trusted mentors to obtain feedback on the plan to help support the postdocs needs and help plan your time for these activities to occur. Two individual development planning and career exploration websites include MyIDP for postdocs in the sciences and Imagine PhD for postdocs in the humanities and social sciences.