WACO, Texas (Oct. 3, 2019) – Baylor University announced today the formation of a postdoctoral researcher hiring program to support and enhance research across the University. The postdoctoral hiring program will dramatically accelerate Baylor’s efforts to deliver top-level research marked by quality, visibility and impact through the planned addition of 65 professional researchers over the next three years.
Postdoctoral researchers are professionals focused on conducting research at top-tier universities across the nation after the completion of their terminal degrees. Postdocs – the academic shorthand for those in the role – deliver invaluable assistance to professors through the management of laboratory activities and daily research tasks as well as providing high-level expertise and intellectual capital to advance the meaningful work taking place in a professor’s lab or group.
“The postdoc program will help Baylor University attract the highest caliber research faculty,” Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D., said. “While Baylor has always been a magnet for Christian scholars across the country, this program will signal that we are serious about our aspirations to have a greater impact on the world through our research and scholarship. Postdoctoral researchers will be working in existing Baylor research programs, but will enable those programs to operate at a much higher level of productivity.”
Last month, Baylor officially announced the University’s pursuit of R1/Tier 1 recognition by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. By building on the framework provided by Illuminate, the University’s strategic plan, Baylor plans strategic investment in areas that support research across campus and build towards preeminence as a Christian research university.
“Nothing can fuel a research enterprise faster than experienced researchers,” Vice Provost for Research Kevin Chambliss, Ph.D., said. “Postdoctoral researchers are completely focused on growing and driving research, providing additional bandwidth for faculty researchers. Postdocs also directly and immediately move the needle in the Carnegie ranking through an infusion of additional research staff.”
Baylor plans to welcome 65 new postdoctoral researchers over the next three years, more than double the current number. Each postdoc will serve a three-year term. In the weeks ahead, professors will apply for postdoctoral researchers through the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, who will review the applications and select awardees in consultation with the relevant dean(s). The University will hire 20 new researchers to begin the program’s term on June 1, 2020, with plans to add 20 more for the 2021-22 academic year and an additional 25 for 2022-23.
“Postdoctoral researchers will also play a role in mentoring graduate and undergraduate students in their research, and can drive new external funding by providing more capacity for publication and grant writing,” Brickhouse said. “Since postdocs are at Baylor for only a few years, they can then take what they have learned here to other universities, thus spreading the impact Baylor has on higher education more broadly.”
