Boyvey Postdoctoral Teaching Fellows, 2021

Boyvey Postdoctoral Teaching Fellows, 2021

College/School/Unit: School of Information
Department:
Posted: Oct 22, 2020
Apply By: Open until filled

Description

The School of Information (iSchool) at the University of Texas at Austin invites applications for multiple Boyvey Postdoctoral Teaching Fellows. The Boyvey Fellows would teach primarily in the iSchool's new undergraduate degree programs, the B.A. and B.S in Informatics, although teaching at the graduate level is also possible. These positions are geared primarily toward early career scholars looking to gain more experience with teaching that can help to strengthen their future applications for tenure-track positions within and beyond the UT-Austin iSchool. The Boyvey Fellows will teach an annual 5-course (2-3) teaching load to allow for time for the scholar to publish from their research or carry out other research activities that can further strengthen their record, as well as up to $2,500 annually for research and professional development such as conferences. These will normally be two-year, non-renewable positions.

The School of Information plans to hire multiple tenure-track faculty members who will start immediately following this postdoctoral term. Boyvey Fellows will be encouraged to apply for these permanent positions, and will automatically advance to the first interview stage. The goal of the Boyvey Fellow program is to provide early career scholars the opportunity to benefit from supportive mentoring and two years of classroom experience developing and independently teaching classes that will provide an advantage when pursuing tenure-track positions within and beyond the UT-Austin iSchool.

The new undergraduate major has been fully approved with recurring funding to begin admitting students to start in Fall 2021. As the funding for the Boyvey Fellows is related to this new program, applicants should be able to teach courses in one or more of the following concentrations:

Cultural Heritage Informatics, which prepares students for careers managing, describing, organizing, preserving, and providing access to data and information in a wide range of technological forms in the cultural sector;

Health Informatics, which prepares students for careers leveraging data, information, and technology to improve healthcare delivery, healthcare management, and health outcomes;

Human-Centered Data Science, which prepares students for careers involving the interaction among people and artificial intelligence, machine learning, information retrieval, data curation, and data analysis;

Social Informatics, which prepares students for careers where they will play a critical role in shaping information policies, improving organizational efficiency and effectiveness, enhancing societal sustainability, and advocating for responsibility and the public interest;

Social Justice Informatics, which prepares students for careers leveraging data, information, and technology for societal good, helping to ensure a level playing field for everyone in the information age, and using technological tools to help make the world a better and fairer place; and

User Experience Design, which prepares students for careers in user experience, interaction design, human factors in computing, and web and mobile app design.

We invite applications from scholars from diverse disciplines reflecting those indicated in the concentrations, including but going far beyond the information field. Applicants are encouraged to review the iSchool website, particularly the information about the undergraduate Informatics major. Applicants who are not yet familiar with Information Schools are also encouraged to examine the resources provided at iSchools.org.

Qualifications

Candidates must hold a doctoral degree in a field that is relevant to their area(s) of teaching or be able to convincingly demonstrate that they will complete the degree before starting (e.g., by documenting a scheduled viva/defense). Candidates who currently or will potentially make outstanding contributions to the diversification of their scholarly fields and/or institutions of higher education are especially encouraged to apply.

Application Instructions

Applications will be accepted until the positions are filled. We will begin to review applications and interview candidates on December 1, 2020.

Required materials for Boyvey Fellows applicants include:

1. Current CV,
2. A cover letter (1-2 pages) outlining your suitability for this opportunity,
3. A teaching statement (2-4 pages) addressing how your teaching can contribute to one or more concentrations in the Informatics major, as well as discussing the courses that you would be able to teach in the Informatics major,
4. A research statement (1-2 pages) describing your research plans over the next two years, including how you might advance your research with the $2,500 research stipend
5. Names and contact details of 3 references who have agreed to provide a reference letter (we will solicit reference letters, if needed, later in the process), and
6. A diversity statement (1-2 pages). The purpose of the diversity statement is to identify candidates who have professional skills, experience, and/or willingness to engage in activities that would enhance campus diversity and equity efforts.

Questions about this position may be sent to facultysearch@ischool.utexas.edu.

About the UT Austin iSchool

The goal of the UT Austin iSchool is to be the premier research and education program for the 21st century field of information, where we are changing the future by engaging the present and preserving the past. Research and teaching at the iSchool changes the ways that we interact with information and technology, changes how information can make the world a better and fairer place, and changes the ways we protect and preserve our collective memory. For more information about the iSchool, see https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/about-the-ischool.

The UT Austin iSchool is a founding member of the international iSchools organization (https://ischools.org/), and has a long history of interdisciplinary scholarship and research focused on the human, social, cultural, and technical aspects of information. Our program is consistently ranked among the top programs in information internationally. We are a stand-alone school with strong connections across the university and with other institutions nationally and internationally; we are particularly interested in applicants who will further strengthen and extend our collaborative network. We offer an ALA-accredited Master of Science in Information Studies as well as degrees at the undergraduate and PhD levels. Our Master of Science degree in Information Security and Privacy is offered jointly with the UT Center for Identity. For more details on our current degree offerings, see https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/programs.

UT Austin has an internationally distinguished faculty making it one of the world's leading research universities. UT Austin embraces interdisciplinary research, and is the home to more the 200 dedicated research units and centers. For more information on UT Austin, see https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/about/about_ut_austin

About Austin

Austin is a city bursting with entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for discovery. Austin has a vibrant, internationally renowned music, film, and art scene, along with a thriving economy that leads the way in the technology, engineering, and health care sectors. It is a city with natural beauty in abundance, with a glittering river that runs through the center of the city, year-round sunshine, and a location in the picturesque Hill Country of central Texas. Austin is a creative center that attracts the best and the brightest from around the world. Often referred to as the Live Music Capital of the World, Austin hosts major annual events such as the Austin City Limits Music Festival and South by Southwest (SXSW), which includes Education, Film, Music, and Interactive Festivals. Austin serves as the corporate headquarters for Fortune 500 companies such as Dell, Whole Foods, and ABM Industries, plus successful tech start-ups such as Tivoli, Hoover's and more recently, SparkCognition, data.world, Indeed.com, Spiceworks, and WP Engine. Austin also hosts research and development offices for major technology-oriented companies such as Amazon, AMD, Apple, Cisco, eBay, Facebook, Freescale, Google, IBM, Intel, Oracle, Samsung, and Texas Instruments, who have established major operations in Austin to draw from the highly skilled talent the university produces. Savills World Research ranks Austin #1 in the Savills Tech Cities Index. U.S. News and World Report rated Austin #1 in its Best Places to Live list. Expedia ranks Austin #1 in its 21 super cool US cities list. More information on Austin can be found at https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/about/about_austin.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.


To apply, visit https://faculty.utexas.edu/career/66060

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