Updates on postdoctoral and postgraduate appointments

To: FAS ladder faculty; FAS Lead Administrators and Operations Managers
Cc: FAS Dean's Office; FAS Steering; Office of Postdoctoral Affairs

Dear colleagues,

We are writing to outline an updated process for invitation letters to prospective postdoctoral and postgraduate appointees and to provide information on how the university-wide hiring pause affects postdoctoral and postgraduate appointments.

Updated invitation letter process

We are adopting this process in light of current uncertainty around federal research funding. It will remain in place after the hiring pause has ended. While we hope to retain all postdoctoral and postgraduate scholars welcomed to the FAS, we do need to plan for the reality that some funding streams may end. For this reason, we ask that all academic units or PIs appointing postdoctoral and postgraduate scholars in the FAS observe the following process, effective immediately:

• As already stated in the policies for postdoctoral appointments, all appointing units or PIs must send formal invitation letters to candidates, laying out in detail the terms of their appointments. *Please note that for postgraduate appointees, an application must be submitted to the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs prior to the invitation letter being sent.
• Effective immediately, all invitation letters must include the following language:
  "Consistent with current University policy, please note that postdoctoral and postgraduate appointments may be terminated early due performance or, following the initial appointment year, financial reasons."
• The FAS Dean's Office (at fas.dean@yale.edu) must be copied on invitation letters.
• Department or program business offices and lead administrators must be copied on invitation letters.

An updated FAS-specific invitation letter template is now available on the FAS Dean's Office website. Use of this template is not required, but all invitation letters must include the funding contingency language provided above.

Effects of the hiring pause

Faculty may continue to hire postdoctoral and postgraduate appointees during the university-wide hiring pause from July 1–September 30, 2025, if at least one of the following conditions is met:

• The postdoctoral or postgraduate position is minimum 75% funded through grants or external funds
• The postdoctoral or postgraduate position is current-use gift-funded
• The faculty member requesting the appointment is non-tenured, ladder-track, and is using start-up funds
• The postdoctoral or postgraduate candidate received an invitation letter in writing and accepted this offer prior to July 1, 2025

Other postdoctoral and postgraduate positions can be considered for exceptions on a case-by-case basis, but the general expectation is that hiring for postdoctoral and postgraduate positions covered by university endowment, General Appropriation (GA) funds, discretionary funds, and start-up funds (for tenured faculty) will be paused. All exception requests must be made through the FAS Dean's Office. Exceptions will only be granted in very rare and urgent cases. Please reach out to fas.dean@yale.edu for guidance on this process.

Please reach out to your divisional dean with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Steven and Mary

Steven Wilkinson
Dean
Faculty of Arts and Science

Mary Magri
Senior Director, Finance and Administration
FAS, GSAS, and Yale College