New pd|hub resource: Advocating for career and professional development (CPD) in times of institutional disruption

We are pleased to share a new pd|hub resource (download) to empower faculty, staff, students, postdocs, and administrative leaders to advocate for sustained or increased support for PhD career and professional development (CPD) at their universities. 

Recent disruptions and continued uncertainty in funding streams have placed academic research institutions in an increasingly challenging position. As these universities and research institutes reassess priorities and restructure budgets, the reaction may be to scale back or pause investments in areas deemed non-essential. Among those at risk is career and professional development (CPD) for graduate students and postdocs—an area that remains under-acknowledged but is critically needed.

CPD is a strategic investment that equips graduate students and postdocs with the tools to navigate diverse career pathways and ensures a healthy and robust research ecosystem. As institutions make difficult financial decisions, it is imperative to center CPD as a core component of academic infrastructure.

We call on faculty, staff, student, postdoctoral, and administrative leader advocates to engage in critical conversations to protect these investments on your campus. To support these efforts, pd|hub has developed a resource (download) that offers key messaging and actionable strategies to support individuals advocating for sustained or increased support for CPD within their institutions. This resource was developed in collaboration with the pd|hub Coalition of Higher Education Organizations, who recognized the urgent need for advocacy during these times of institutional disruption.

This resource highlights: 

• Key institutional benefits of CPD.
  
• Who to approach on your campus.
  
• Prompts for understanding the current ecosystem.
• Questions for advocacy.
  
• Considerations for investment.
• Programmatic elements to include.

We invite you to explore and share this tool widely. By championing CPD, you help ensure that professional growth of early career researchers remains a visible and protected priority during this critical time of change. 

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