STEM Education Postdoc, Texas State

 We are advertising a postdoctoral-level position associated with the NSF IUSE-HSI grant: “Building Capacity: Creating Faculty-Student Communities for Culturally Relevant Institutional Change” (NSF #1928696, PI Heather Galloway, Co-PIs Eleanor Close, Alice Olmstead, Cynthia Luxford, and Li Feng). The position will primarily focus on programmatic work and can involve synergistic research activities.

 

During this ~5-year project, we aim to engage faculty and students across Texas State University's College of Science and Engineering in workshops, departmental self-assessments, redesign of lower-division gateway courses, and project-level decision making. Participating STEM departments are receiving intellectual, material, and logistical supports to empower faculty-student teams in developing sustainable communities of practice focused on culturally relevant instruction. The project also involves three research strands that focus on communities of practice among faculty and students, STEM student trajectories at Texas State, and student graduation rates and STEM workforce outcomes for Texas State and other Hispanic Serving Institutions. We are currently approaching the end of year 2 of the project. More information is available on our website: https://www.cose.txstate.edu/STEMCommunities.html 

 

This position will be primarily focused on enacting and managing the programmatic aspects of the project. This will include expanding a well-established Learning Assistant program (https://learningassistantalliance.org/). In collaboration with the rest of the project team, the selected candidate will be expected to engage in programmatic activities such as: designing and facilitating workshops for STEM faculty; facilitating conversations within STEM departments about students’ experiences in their courses; designing and facilitating summer institutes and weekly preparation meetings for faculty-student course redesign teams; teaching a STEM pedagogy course for students; contributing to project-level meetings with emerging faculty leaders from across the college; and performing other management and administrative tasks as needed. Exact activities will vary depending on the stage of the project. The selected candidate may also engage in research activities related to faculty-student community development and faculty engagement. Co-PIs Close and Olmstead will be the co-advisors for this position.

 

Minimum qualifications are:

• PhD in a STEM and/or Education field
• Commitment to counteracting systemic inequities in STEM
• Motivation and ability to engage with diverse students and junior researchers
• Motivation and ability to engage with STEM faculty
• Enthusiastic and motivated learner

 

Candidates who identify as members of underrepresented minority groups are particularly encouraged to apply. 

 

The starting salary for the position is $50,000 per year. Review of applications will begin on April 23, 2021 and continue on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Preferred start dates are between May 15 and August 1, 2021. Initial appointments will be for one year, renewable as funding remains available (3-4 years). Relocation to San Marcos will be required when travel is no longer unsafe / restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Interested candidates should submit a 1-3 page cover letter and a CV to STEMEdPostdocs@txstate.edu. The cover letter should explain the candidate’s interest in the position and why they are a good fit for it, based on alignment with the required qualifications and any other desirable qualifications (e.g., past experience relevant to the job responsibilities). The cover letter should also specify a preferred state date and, if the candidate has not yet received their PhD, when they expect to receive it. The CV should include a list of professional experiences, publications, and contact information for three professional references. Shortlisted candidates may be asked to submit a writing sample and three letters of recommendation.

 

ADDITIONAL JOB INFORMATION

Texas State University is a large, diverse Hispanic Serving Institution in Central Texas, between Austin and San Antonio. The College of Science and Engineering includes seven STEM departments and a growing number of discipline-based education research faculty. Selected candidates will have regular opportunities to interact with faculty, students, and other postdocs who are engaged in education research (see, in particular, http://txstper.wp.txstate.edu and http://luxford.wp.txstate.edu/). Interactions and cross-project collaboration among postdocs working with the co-PIs will be encouraged, as well as participation in potential future grant-writing activities with the project team. 

 

Please contact Eleanor Close (eclose@txstate.edu) and/or Alice Olmstead (alice.olmstead@txstate.edu) if you have questions about the position. Please email STEMEdPostdocs@txstate.edu to apply and if you have general questions about the application process.