Director of Charter and Community Initiatives (academic rank of Clinical Assistant Professor)

Description

The School of Human Evolution and Social Change (SHESC) (https://shesc.asu.edu) at Arizona State University (ASU) invites applications for a Clinical Assistant Professor in the role of Director of Charter and Community Initiatives. The position provides intellectual and practical leadership to SHESC’s missions in service, instruction, and research, with a specific focus on advancing the ASU Charter, which states that our success is measured by whom we include and how they succeed, how we advance research and discovery of public value, and how we assume responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities we serve. This is a 12-month, full-time, benefits-eligible, career-track position located at the Arizona State Campus in Tempe, Arizona.  The anticipated start date is October 15, 2024.

The School actively aligns its priorities with ASU’s Charter and promotes an inclusive environment, recognizing that (a) social science is relevant and impacts communities and is improved by engagement with them, and (b) excellent social science supports and reflects multiple perspectives and backgrounds in what it studies, who does it, and how it is disseminated. Relevant activities to advance the ASU Charter within the School include: educational programs and events that position SHESC students, faculty, and staff to advance cultural competency and structural inclusion at all levels, community-university collaborations to provide educational outreach, community-centered and community-serving research, and events that integrate skills and perspectives across the School to address pressing concerns within Arizona communities.

The Director of Charter and Community Initiatives is a highly collaborative transdisciplinary position that engages and articulates with all aspects of the School’s activities, such as research, community-focused events, student recruiting and support, instruction, and mentoring. The Director of Charter and Community Initiatives works within the School to identify and meet ASU Charter goals, as well as to connect with varied stakeholders, both within and outside of ASU. A detailed description of the responsibilities as summarized here are provided in Major Responsibilities and Duties below.

 

The Director of Charter and Community Initiatives works closely with and reports to the Director of the School. Other key stakeholders include the school leadership team, SHESC research center Directors, laboratory and field school faculty leads, operational staff leads, the academic/instructional team lead, and the communications team lead. The position requires active networking and a high-level of collaboration with local community partners (such as NGOs, community foundations, or relevant administrative bodies (e.g., Indigenous groups).

The Director of Charter and Community Initiatives will work with the Charter Initiatives Committee consisting of faculty, staff, and students to determine current needs. The position may supervise staff (such as project coordinators or postdoctoral fellows) and may include direct mentoring and training of faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduate students, such as through workshops, research apprenticeships, student research projects, and practica. This position will contribute to the teaching mission of the School in consultation with the Director.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

• Leads signature outreach/community projects on behalf of the School. This includes:
• Leading the organization and implementation of ASU outreach with community groups relevant to the School’s community engagement
• Working with the directorate, other internal stakeholders, and external community partners to identify and implement outreach activities/events that integrate skills and perspectives across SHESC for addressing community concerns/needs
• Serving as community liaison to integrate input on SHESC’s community engagement activities and to identify and initiate community-centered research, such as community-based participatory research
• Working closely with the communications team to ensure that outreach and inclusion activities are communicated appropriately, regularly, and in a timely fashion to all relevant internal and external audiences
• Advances and supports SHESC educational programing and activities related to the ASU Charter, including:
• Teaching, training, and/or mentoring students through coursework, serving on Ph.D. committees, undergraduate and MA/MS thesis committees, and/or research and outreach activities, such as the Summer Scholars program
• Enriching existing educational programs/courses by contributing content or providing traini