Director, Delaware Research Alliance

Director, Delaware Research Alliance

Temporary Research Faculty Member (open rank)

The University of Delaware

Newark, Delaware

The faculty member will lead research and partnership efforts toward the newly funded Delaware Research Alliance whereby University of Delaware (UD) actively partners with state agencies such as the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE), Department of Services for Children, Youth, and their Families, Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, and other social, educational and health agencies to develop and implement a shared research agenda investigating emerging trends and effectiveness of solutions in Delaware, and develop relationships with external organizations to deepen and expand the Alliance. The Director position is a temporary (non-tenure track) faculty member. The position will initially be virtual. The Director, in collaboration with stakeholders, will guide the vision and mission of the Alliance. The Director will partner with internal and external stakeholders to develop methods to link existing state longitudinal data for ongoing analysis of education, health, and social issues and outcomes and will be instrumental in forming a central hub of research activity, leveraging the UD’s Partnership for Public Education (PPE), Center for Research on Educational and Social Policy (CRESP), Institute for Public Administration (IPA), and other research centers across the university engaged in social and behavioral research. This is a full-time, two-year position with a possible extension, dependent upon available funding and satisfactory performance in the role.

Responsibilities/Activities of the position include:

• Guide the development of the mission and vision for the Alliance
• Develop relationships with relevant external stakeholders to build the Alliance
• Develop and validate research strategies and projects in partnership with internal colleagues and external stakeholders
• Design and implement methods to streamline data collection, linking and management
• Lead analyses of longitudinal linked data
• Develop and implement dissemination activities to scholarly and practitioners, including briefs and presentations to partners and stakeholders
• Supervise Data Scientist/Limited Term Researcher (anticipated position) in managing secure data procedures, data file cleaning, updating and linking
• Facilitate Alliance-related communications both internally and external to partner organizations
• Create and oversee the processes of documenting existing and new data files.
• Train and manage graduate students who serve as data cleaners including orientation for new graduate students to organizational files, documentation, and processes.
• Track and facilitate data transfers
• Manage troubleshooting of data issues as required.

Qualifications

• Master’s or Doctoral Degree social science or related discipline, such as public policy, sociology, education, human sciences, psychology, etc.
• Background in longitudinal data analysis; experience managing and analyzing large, longitudinal datasets
• Proficient in various research methods and data analysis platforms
• Experience working with external stakeholders as part of a research project; successful communication with researchers and practitioners
• Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail
• Strong ethic and commitment to high-quality research, program evaluation and evidence-based policy
• Project management and supervisory experience
• Successful outreach, partnership building and communication with researchers and practitioners
• Leading and managing research projects
• Knowledge of and conversant in programming and statistical analyses platforms

The University of Delaware, College of Education and Human Development, and the School of Education. CEHD is a vibrant, dynamic college, home to the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences and the School of Education. CEHD employs approximately 60 tenure track faculty who educate over 1500 undergraduates and 350 graduate students, and has more than $21.5M in external research funds from major funding organizations such as the Institute for Education Sciences, the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. CEHD has twelve research and public service centers working at the intersection of research and practice in areas such as teacher professional development, curriculum, school leadership and special education. College faculty conduct cutting-edge research designed to improve children, adult and family outcomes in health, social services, early care, and education, where our work spans mathematics education, language and literacy, the science of learning, sociocultural approaches, developing statistical and analytic methods, and educational policy.

Cross-disciplinary efforts are strong across the college and university, providing a rich system of infrastructure and supports for building our presence in rigorous policy-relevant data-analytic research. Three organizations in particular add to the strengths of UD’s work in this area: (1) the Data Science Institute (DSI), a cross-campus initiative from all seven colleges at UD, which aims to accelerate interdisciplinary research in data science by offering interdisciplinary training in cutting-edge exploratory techniques such as video image analysis, (2) UD’s Partnership for Public Education (PPE) which embodies UD’s commitment to applying research to practice and policy, and (3) the Center for Research in Education and Social Policy (CRESP), whose mission is to conduct rigorous research, program evaluation, and policy analysis to inform decisions at the local, state, and federal levels.

In the last several years, faculty have garnered external funding in excess of $21 million and the college ranks among the top universities nationally in obtaining federal support for education research. Additionally, faculty in the School of Education are deeply engaged with K-12 schools and organizations that serve students and educational professionals in Delaware and other states. They are recognized for their contributions to local, state and national conversations about critical educational issues, lead organizations working to address those issues, and provide a range of supports to the agencies at the front lines of improving educational opportunities and outcomes. The faculty are a methodologically diverse and collegial group of nationally and internationally known scholars.

It is an exciting, dynamic time at CEHD. This is an opportunity to be a part of CEHD’s efforts, under the direction of Dean Gary Henry and in collaboration with the Biden School of Public Policy and Administration, to deepen our education and social policy presence in the state and around the country.

About the University of Delaware. Founded in 1743, the University of Delaware combines tradition and innovation, offering students a rich heritage along with the latest in instructional and research technology. Located in Newark, Delaware, within two hours of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., the University is a Land Grant, Sea Grant, Space Grant, and Carnegie Research University (a research designation accorded to fewer than three percent of the degree-granting institutions in the U.S.), and with external funding exceeding $240 million annually. A privately governed, state-assisted institution, the University enrolls approximately 17,000 undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. The University of Delaware has been recognized for the past five years by the Chronicle of Higher Education as one of America’s best university employers.

The University of Delaware strongly believes that our future success depends on our steadfast commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusive excellence. Diversity is a core value and guiding principle for our School's educational mission to prepare future scholars, educators, and leaders to educate and lead in increasingly diverse schools and communities. The University of Delaware is an Equal Opportunity Employer that encourages applications from all groups, especially those from under-represented minority groups.

Applications.

To Apply: Review of applications will begin April 9th and continue until the position is filled. Start date is June/July 2021 (negotiable). Applicants should include (1) a 2-3 page cover letter describing their qualifications for the position, including academic preparation, research accomplishments (including external funding), applied policy work, management experiences, research-practice partnership and any other relevant experience (2) curriculum vitae (CV), and (3) names of 3 references. Please do not send recommendation letters at this time; we will request them later in the process. Please submit your application through the University of Delaware careers page: www.udel.edu/udjobs Job ID 496400. For inquiries, contact: Professor and Director of Research Laura M. Desimone, Search Committee Chair, lauramd@udel.edu.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of Delaware is an Equal Opportunity Employer which encourages applications from minority group members, women, individuals with a disability and veterans. The University's Notice of Non-Discrimination can be found at http://www.udel.edu/aboutus/legalnotices.html. Employment offers will be conditioned upon successful completion of a criminal background check. A conviction will not necessarily exclude you from employment. The University of Delaware is an Equal Opportunity Employer with diversity as one of its core values.