Our Purpose
Black postdoctoral fellows across the Harvard Medical School (HMS) campus often find themselves siloed within their respective institutions, creating a critical need for an HMS-wide network. This network would unite the talented and diverse pool of Black postdoctoral trainees across the HMS Quad and its 15 affiliate institutions. No single HMS institution, such as the Quad or Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), has the critical mass required to sustain a robust professional network or build a thriving supportive community on its own.
In response to these challenges, the Harvard Medical School Black Postdoctoral Association (HBPA) was founded on March 6, 2020. Our organization’s mission is to foster a sense of connectedness within the HMS Black research community, creating a space for collaboration, resource-sharing, and opportunity exchange. HBPA is dedicated to enhancing the social well-being, research growth, and professional development of its members. Through this platform, we strive to build relationships, uplift each other, address shared challenges, and advance career development.
We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the past board members who have served and contributed to the growth of HBPA. Their dedication and leadership have laid the foundation for our continued success. To learn more about our past HBPA board members, click here.
Meeting the Moment:
Six Strategic Steps to Support Black Postdoctoral Trainees
Point 1: Official recognition of the HBPA by HMS
We invite HMS to join us in formalizing the Harvard Medical School Black Postdoctoral Association (HBPA) as a self-governing HMS-wide group jointly supported by the Office for Diversity, Inclusion, & Community Partnership (DICP) and HMS affiliates, with intersecting partnerships between the postdoctoral and the diversity offices across all 15 affiliate institutions.
Point 2: A permanent membership on the HMS Taskforce for Diversity and Inclusion
To ensure that black postdocs at HMS are fully heard and involved in diversity efforts and programming across campus, we recommend that permanent ambassadorship positions in the Office for Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Partnership (DICP) be reserved for some members of the HBPA; ambassadors would function in the capacity of board of director for DICP program planning purposes.
Point 3: The creation of a HMS-wide postdoctoral database, with disaggregated demographic information (e.g., race, ethnicity)
In response to Theme 4 of the Better Together Plan, we recommend that HMS creates and maintains a strategy for identifying and tracking HMS-affiliated postdoctoral fellows across all HMS-affiliated departments and institutions, and that this database, comprised of disaggregated demographic data (i.e., race, ethnicity, gender, HMS affiliation, research lab), be accessible by groups such as the HBPA, for the sole purpose of recruiting and promoting the professional advancement of these fellows.
Point 4: HMS-sponsored black junior faculty recruitment symposium
We propose the creation of a HMS-sponsored Black Junior Faculty Recruitment Symposium. The symposium would recruit and fund a select number of Black postdoctoral fellows from across the country aspiring to become independent academic researchers.
Point 5: Anti-racism training workshops for HMS-affiliated research faculty.
We propose that all HMS faculty undergo required sensitivity training, racial bias, and anti-racism training.
Point 6: Support of local and national social justice groups fighting against racism and anti-black police violence
We propose that HMS fully support, advocate for, and make a generous donation to the MatchMe Harvard campaign, which is aimed for the Massachusetts Bail Fund, Violence in Boston, Black Lives Matter Boston, and the National Black Justice Coalition.
HBPA BYLAWS
This document lays out the procedures, expectations and responsibilities of the HBPA Governing Board, Committee Chairs and its members.
