Director, UChicagoGRAD Development & Diversity

Department
 

Provost UChicagoGRAD

About the Department
 

UChicagoGRAD, a part of the Office of the Provost that supports graduate education across the University, is an innovative national model for preparing graduate students and postdocs to succeed while at UChicago and beyond. With teams focusing on admissions, fellowship advising, writing support and public speaking training, diversity initiatives, career exploration and planning, and administration, UChicagoGRAD works with campus partners to support students and postdocs at every stage of their academic careers and beyond. UChicagoGRAD functions as a one-stop shop for graduate students and postdocs to access resources that support timely degree completion and to enhance professional preparation that helps them translate their degrees into a variety of careers. UChicagoGRAD works with academic departments and divisions as well as campus-wide offices to develop and implement outreach, recruitment, and yield efforts; graduate and postdoc-focused programs, workshops, and events; training and support tailored to UChicago graduate students and postdocs; and administrative practices and policies in support of graduate education.

Job Summary
 

The director leads efforts within UChicagoGRAD to create and institutionalize programs, resources, and practices throughout the University that support the scholarly and career development of graduate students and postdoctoral trainees from racial/ethnic and other groups that historically have been underrepresented in American institutions of higher education; as well as those that prepare all graduate students and postdoctoral trainees to engage diversity in their scholarly lives. In partnership with the Office of Graduate Admissions, the director oversees recruitment efforts for graduate students from historically underrepresented and marginalized backgrounds. The director works closely with a host of campus partners, including but not limited to the Office of the Provost; the Center for Identity + Inclusion; the Chicago Center for Teaching and Learning; the Centers for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture and the Study of Gender and Sexuality; the Office of Civic Engagement; and staff focused on diversity and inclusion within graduate academic units.

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and assess effectiveness of programs and workshops to meet the unique needs of graduate students and postdoctoral trainees from historically underrepresented and other marginalized backgrounds, working collaboratively with UChicagoGRAD teams and other campus partners.   

• Develop, implement, and assess effectiveness of programs and workshops to meet the diversity and inclusion needs of all graduate students and postdoctoral trainees, coordinating with UChicagoGRAD teams and other campus partners.

• Work with student groups, faculty, and personnel from other units on campus to identify graduate student and postdoctoral trainee needs across multiple identity groups, obtain and track data, benchmark program and practice outcomes, etc., to continually inform campus practice and policies. 

• Develop and implement strategy to recruit graduate students from historically underrepresented and other marginalized backgrounds in conjunction with the Office of Graduate Admissions.

• Oversee the Diversity Outreach Coordinator and advise the student Diversity Advisory Board.

• Conduct one-on-one advising with graduate students, postdocs, and recent graduate alumni. 

• Actively engage national networks, consortia, working groups, and other collaborative entities to support the successful recruitment, matriculation, graduation, placement into diverse careers, and overall positive experience of graduate students and postdocs from historically underrepresented groups. 

• Participate in the national dialogue on institutional diversity as well as that on graduate education, staying informed on current trends, best practices, and challenges to inform and advance UChicago graduate diversity initiatives. 

• Build infrastructure and capacity for expanding and sustaining programs and resources, including seeking, identifying, and securing external grants, contracts, and partnerships as well as institutional support. 

• Uses in-depth knowledge and experience to recommend concepts for programming to leaders of various organizations and programs.

• Markets student activities programming throughout the year. Develops and implements protocols for evaluating the effectiveness of programs.

• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications
 

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

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