UW-Madison Postdoctoral Association
A community by and for postdocs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Community Norms and Guidelines

5th Annual Postdoctoral Research Symposium

Welcome!

Thank you for registering for this year’s Symposium! We recognize each participant brings goals and needs to this event, and we want to provide an experience that meets your diverse goals and needs. This document explicitly states the goals and intentions of this year’s Postdoctoral Research Symposium and is meant to provide everyone with expectations about the event.

Symposium mission statement

To bring the community of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) postdocs together to celebrate our research and work, foster and make new connections/friendships, provide professional and career development, and to support and uplift one another.

Community goals

Provide an inclusive and welcoming community for all UW postdocs regardless of their gender identity and expression, age, time spent in academia, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, family, location, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), or class. Our goal is to foster a community where every person feels a sense of belonging.

Land acknowledgment

Even though this event is virtual, the committee honors the ancestral Ho-Chunk land the University sits on.

Community norms

First and foremost, we ask that everyone review UW’s Wisconsin Experience guidelines: https://wisconsinexperience.wisc.edu/. We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Sexual language and imagery are not appropriate for any UW event. Refrain from inflammatory remarks and topics of conversation and respect that each individual has different experiences and backgrounds. Also, please abstain from becoming intoxicated during the duration of the symposium.

To protect our community goals for the symposium, we ask that everyone follow some community norms. Norms are not required behaviors but are guidelines to follow when interacting with others.

  • Share the air: strive to speak purposefully and to listen fully.
  • Be aware of power dynamics and your own position in them.
  • Expect unfinished business.
  • Respect the privacy of things that are shared here.
  • Acknowledge that many issues we discuss are complicated. Avoid “either/or” thinking, aspire to “both/and” thinking.
  • Speak to your own experience. When in doubt, just ask. 
  • Be respectful when disagreements arise. Strive first to listen. Commit to resolution.
  • Respect other’s decisions to participate, or not, at any given time.
  • Take care of yourself: get up, walk around, and lie down as needed. It’s okay to excuse yourself!
  • Recognize people’s constraints.
  • Presume positive intentions.
  • Honor vulnerability.
  • Be mindful of inform/recommend/decide distinctions, and use that language when useful
  • Be mindful of convergent/divergent thinking, and use that language when useful