Assistant Professor (WOT), Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences School Mental Health Assessment, Research, and Training (SMART) Center

Description

The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington invites applications for a full-time 100% (1.0 FTE) faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor without tenure due to funding (WOT) on the Faculty Scientist pathway, with an anticipated start date of August 1, 2026. We seek applicants who demonstrate commitment to excellence in research, teaching, and service in a diverse and inclusive academic community. The successful candidate will join our faculty on a full-time basis for a twelve-month appointment, 3-year term, renewable, beginning August 1, 2026.

The base salary range for this position will be $9,167 - $10,417 per month, commensurate with experience and qualifications, or as mandated by a U.S. Department of Labor prevailing wage determination.

The successful candidate will be expected to:

• Lead a research, evaluation, and training and technical assistance program focused on School Mental Health and Implementation Science through the School Mental Health Assessment, Research & Training (SMART) Center.
• Develop and implement study protocols that can guide SMART Center training and technical assistance as well as produce generalizable knowledge.
• Lead data collection and analysis activities for research and evaluation projects.
• Lead grant and contract proposals for research and evaluation funding as PI, Co-PI, and Co-I.
• Prepare publications, presentations, and public-facing reports to disseminate results.
• Develop materials relevant to and in support of training and technical assistance delivered by UW SMART and its collaborators.
• Build and sustain partnerships with community organizations, schools and districts, and local, city, and state agencies.
• Support SMART Center staff through professional development, mentorship, and effective and equitable supervision.
• Collaborate with other SMART Center faculty and faculty and staff from other departments on projects related to school mental health and community-based research approaches.
• Provide leadership regarding areas of expertise, including community-based research, equitable implementation in schools, culturally- and contextually-relevant evaluation processes, community-based, mixed methods research design and analysis.
• Participate in Department, Center, and University service activities that align with expertise.
• Other duties as assigned by Chair.

School Mental Health Assessment, Research, and Training (SMART) Center

The overarching mission of the School Mental Health Assessment, Research, and Training (SMART) Center is to promote high-quality, culturally-responsive programs, practices, and policies to meet the full range of social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) needs of students in both general and special education contexts. The SMART Center aims to accomplish this mission by using innovative and practical research methods to: 

• Develop contextually appropriate, low-burden programs that prevent or ameliorate SEB problems; 
• Develop strategies for communities, districts, and schools to increase the use of effective SEB programs, practices, and policies; 
• Support indigenous providers such as teachers and school-based mental health providers in their roles; and 
• Enhance the interconnections across school, home, and community contexts. 

The Center represents a transdisciplinary collaboration between faculty in the College of Education (CoE), the School of Social Work (SSW), and the School of Medicine (SoM; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences) at the University of Washington. Through this collaboration, SMART facilitates more equitable, effective, and integrated approaches to research and technical assistance surrounding the design and implementation of evidence-based SEB interventions.

Research and evaluation are fundamental to the SMART Center’s mission of advancing the science on school mental health and developing innovative methods to improve the adoption and sustainment of evidence-based practices (EBP) in the education sector. SMART Center faculty maintain a collaborative, externally-funded program of research with local and national colleagues that has direct relevance to the Assessment and Training arms.  To support the Center’s research goals, we maintain a “local laboratory” in Seattle, King County, and the Puget Sound Region (supporting schools, providers, and learning through the process) to evaluate innovative methods of service delivery and quality improvement. 

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences 

The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences is an integral component of the UW School of Medicine and shares UW Medicine’s mission to ‘Improve the Health of the Public.’ We accomplish this by provi