Associate or Full Professor with Tenure in Disrupting Inequities in Education

Peabody College of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University invites applications for a tenured faculty position (at the associate or full level) to participate in the launch of a new research-practice partnership with Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) centered on disrupting historical inequities with respect to race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability status, and other student, family, and community factors. This partnership will support three primary strands of activity:

1. pursuing a co-designed agenda of research focused on understanding and addressing factors that produce inequalities in educational outcomes,
2. learning from knowledge developed in practice through a combination of descriptive work and evaluation of MNPS programs/strategies, with attention to how promising approaches might be adapted and scaled,
3. connecting MNPS educators and staff with Vanderbilt researchers and educators around issues of shared interest (with a set of tools and agreements to support collaboration). 

The successful applicant will join a growing group of Peabody scholars who have the commitment, credibility, and experience to lead and support others’ engagement in partnership research. Candidates should have a record of working in partnership with public agencies (preferably schools or other youth-serving agencies) and on research focused on reducing inequalities in youth outcomes in urban settings. Potential lines of scholarship include (but are not limited to):

• understanding and addressing impacts of social and cultural disruptions (e.g., COVID-19) on students’ academic and socioemotional outcomes
• policies and/or practices (at the district, school, or classroom level) that disrupt the production of educational inequalities with respect to race, economic disadvantage, language status, disability, or other factors in producing educational inequalities
• leveraging interdependencies of schools, city systems, and agencies (e.g., health, justice, housing) to improve youth development and well-being
• promoting the production and use of evidence in educational decision making, and strategies to support the uptake of evidence-supported practice at scale.

 Regardless of specific scholarly focus, candidates will demonstrate the ability to:

• lead and advocate for partnership research
• cultivate trusting relationships with district partners and other stakeholders to facilitate critical examination of research and its use
• work with district and university partners to co-construct a research agenda
• ensure the conduct of high quality/rigorous research on problems of practice and policy which matter to communities the research is intended to serve
• support school, district, and community partners in using research to achieve shared goals. 

Experience with design-based research or evaluation research is highly desirable, as is experience with mixed-methods research and/or experience working with methodologically diverse teams. Candidates should have a record of accomplishment in securing external funding to support research and an exemplary record of teaching, research, and service that includes mentoring and training future researchers within his/her research projects. 

Application Instructions

Candidates should submit the following via Interfolio at http://apply.interfolio.com/86587

• An application statement that describes the candidate’s (1) research focus, (2) teaching interests, and (3) approach to partnership work;
• A full curriculum vitae;
• Three samples of scholarly writing (at least one of which, preferably, is based on partnership research); and
• The names of three academic references plus an additional recommender from a policy or practice partner who can speak to the applicant’s partnership work and its impact. 

Review of applications will begin immediately, with applications considered on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Inquiries regarding the position can be directed to Jason Grissom (jason.grissom@vanderbilt.edu) and Marcy Singer Gabella (m.singer-gabella@vanderbilt.edu), co-chairs of the search committee.

Vanderbilt University has made the safety of our students, faculty and staff, and our surrounding communities a top priority. As part of that commitment, the University recently announced that students, faculty, and staff, are required to be vaccinated against COVID. As a prospective and/or a new employee at Vanderbilt, you will be required to comply with the University’s vaccination protocol.  Effective, August 1, 2021, proof of full vaccination or an approved accommodation will be required before the start of employment in order to work at Vanderbilt University.   

Accommodations for medical and religious exemptions can be requested with the Equal, Opportunity and Access Office https://www.vanderbilt.edu/eoa/.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

In compliance with federal law, including the provisions of Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, Executive Order 11246, the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 as amended by the Jobs for Veterans Act, and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, as amended, and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, Vanderbilt University does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of their race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, military service, covered veterans status, or genetic information in its administration of educational policies, programs, or activities; admissions policies; scholarship and loan programs; athletic or other university-administered programs; or employment. In addition, the university does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of their gender expression.