Provost Peter Lange said Thursday he would delay implementation of a new policy covering benefits for postdoctoral scholars until March so more faculty members, particularly those in the basic sciences, could weigh in on the proposal.
The decision at the December meeting of the Academic Council slows an effort that began in fall 2004 to unify policies involving postdoc salary, health, travel and other benefits, an effort that Lange said has proven to be more complex and complicated than expected.
(To read the proposed policy, click here.)
While the vast majority of postdocs are paid competitive wages, the rules for their work vary across campus, Lange said. The intent of the new policy is to regularize the rules for all postdocs and to increase benefits for a few whose support falls below Duke's standards.
Some 90 percent of the postdocs are paid through Duke for specific tasks, such as in research in science labs. These researchers are categorized as "postdoctoral associates." Because they are paid through Duke, although often with funds from the National Institutes for Health or other federal sources, postdoctoral associates are considered Duke employees. That makes them eligible for a range of Duke benefits.
However, about 10 percent or postdocs fund their projects themselves through external sources, such as an international government, Lange said. Since they're not paid by Duke, these postdocs, categorized as "postdoctoral scholars," aren't eligible for Duke benefits. One of the goals of the new policy is to qualify them for the many of the same benefits as other postdocs.
The proposed solution Lange offered is to have all postdoctoral scholars spend their first month at Duke funded by the university. After the first month, their external funding would kick in, but the initial Duke funding would make them eligible for some Duke benefits, including health, dental, vision and life insurance. Under the proposed policy, they would not be eligible for the Duke retirement plan and reimbursement accounts. (Postdoctoral associates, under the proposed policy, would be eligible for these benefits.)
The proposed policy also sets a minimum stipend, which will be raised over the next three years from $32,000 in 2007 to a standard set by the NIH in 2009. The current NIH standard is $36,996, which is expected to rise.
But some faculty members said they were concerned the policy didn't go far enough. Faculty in the basic sciences also said the policy had not been reviewed by the Basic Sciences Faculty Council and took several of them by surprise. Their concerns included issues of postdoc travel, leave policy and postdoctoral scholars' eligibility for the retirement plan.
Lange said the oversight occurred by mistake and added he would postpone implementation of the policy to March so that it can get a full review from the appropriate committees. He noted it had gone before several faculty committees, including the University Priorities Committee and the Academic Programs Committee and had been shared with department chairs.
"It's not clear why it didn't go through the Basic Sciences Faculty Council," Lange said. "The concerns about the process have merit."