One-hundred and Thirty-First Meeting Minutes
June 6th, 2011 5:00 P.M. (Stellar-Chance 104)
Attendance: Angela Brown, Arindam Basu, Tim Connelly, Sebastien Vigneau, Elizabeth
Feeser, Weiwei Dang, Rohinton Tarapan, Caleph Wilson, Carolin Brun, Guray Erus, Mary
Anne Timmins
Minutes of April and May meetings were approved.
General Discussion:
o Carousel system is available for posting bulletins on campus TV screens
Updates from Co-Chairs:
o Tax workshop was held June 1
 Powerpoint slides will be e-mailed to all postdocs. They cannot be posted on
the website due to copyright.
 Tim Connelly asked why the tax rules have changed. Mary Anne explained
that the goal is to provide an equitable environment for all postdocs, which
includes having all postdocs under the same tax rules. Mary Anne reiterated
that the tax rules are written by the Tax Office, not the BPP. The BPP is
working with the tax office to improve communication about the tax changes,
but the BPP cannot offer tax advice.
 Tim asked to start a discussion of the tax changes on the BPP LinkedIn page.
It was agreed that the LinkedIn and Facebook pages are available for
discussions. It was suggested that an e-mail be sent to tell postdocs that the
BPP LinkedIn and Facebook groups exist.
 Caleph Wilson suggested adding a link on the BPC site to the IRS estimated
tax page.
o Rohinton and Patrick compiled information about careers in policy and industry and
added an alternative careers page to the BPC website. BPP will add a link to the page
from their careers page.
o Postdoc Appreciation Week is September 19-23, 2011. Please suggest activities.
o BPC will have a budget for the 2011-2012 academic year. Committee chairs should
submit budget proposals for their activities by July 31. Mary Anne says BPP may
have funds to pay for specific activities or initiatives.
o BPC needs a secretary, FNC co-chair, and council members-at-large. Angela and
Beth will put together an e-mail about the open positions to send to the listserv.
Updates from Subcommittees:
o Community Service (Sarah/Angela)
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BPC received the iPraxis “Partner of the Year” Award. Mary Anne pointed
out that this honor should be advertised. It will be mentioned during the
Symposium awards ceremony.
Diversity (Caleph)
 meeting held on May 25 as a year-end “vent session.”
 working on next edition of the newsletter
 planning an event at the BioPond on 7/13 or 7/20
 Diversity Seminar Series will be held in June and then take a break until fall.
Social (Beth)
 happy hours held on 5/13 and 6/3 attended by 40+ people and 20 people,
respectively
 10+ Penn postdocs attended Jefferson happy hour on 5/20. Collaboration with
Jefferson is working out well.
 Future events – happy hours 7/8 and 8/5, hike 6/18, Penn Museum concert
7/20
 It was suggested that we post social events on the LinkedIn and Twitter pages.
Environment (Caroline and Guray)
 talking to other environmental groups on campus
 working to add recycling bins in offices to increase participation in recycling
 will work on joining larger university initiatives to tackle environmental
issues
Fundraising (Weiwei)
 Vendor Fair is July 26
 Postdoc attendance will be key to the event’s success. Everyone
should be talking up event and should bring labmates or friends to the
fair.
 To date, 8 vendors have paid. 12 others have said they will attend.
 Invitrogen is interested in sponsoring BPC events, such as the monthly happy
hour. Weiwei will set up a meeting with Invitrogen reps and Beth (and
others).
Misc: Weiwei suggested having former postdocs give career seminars, possibly as an
annual alumni event in the spring. Mary Anne reports that the BPP is working on
finding postdoc alums.
FNC (Rohinton)
 2 people attended May orientation
 Rohinton will serve as FNC chair. Additional committee members are needed.
Website (Prema/Angela)
 alternative career information was posted
 Please contact Prema if you notice anything that needs to be updated.
Treasurer (Arindam)
 roughly $1800 in BPC account
Seminars
 ~20 people at June seminar
Careers (Rohinton)
 new committee chair needed
Symposium (Beth)
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Discussed 3 possible schedules for the 2011 symposium
 All council members present, plus several who expressed opinions via
e-mail, preferred the half-day schedules over the full-day schedule.
 The council voted 7-1 in favor of the half-day schedule that does not
include lunch.
Next Meeting July 11th, 2011