RPE - Job Openings

The Arctic Research Center (ARC) at the University of Virginia (UVA) is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate in social science. This scholar will work at the intersections of Indigenous studies and climate equity as a part of the ARC as well as the Mellon Foundation’s Race, Place, and Equity Program at UVA. The postdoctoral scholar can choose to contribute to social studies of: ethical methods of knowledge production with Indigenous communities, Indigenous sovereignty over data and knowledge, climate equity, sustainable infrastructure, and responsible environmental data science, among other possible themes.

As a team of environmental scientists, architects, and social scientists, the ARC works to improve the sustainability of Arctic cities in a time of severe climate change through collaborative knowledge-making with Arctic residents. In this project, which is funded by UVA’s Environmental Institute, we are investigating how different snow management techniques affect the stability of permafrost. The project is based in Utqiaġvik, Alaska, which has a majority population of Indigenous Iñupiat residents. We will work with residents to study environmental and cultural relationships between water, permafrost, snow management, and the physical and social infrastructures they interact with. Together we will use these results to co-produce design recommendations to improve drainage. These physical and social strategies will help protect the city’s permafrost and thus its infrastructural resilience.

Dr. Caitlin Wylie will mentor the postdoc, as will the rest of the Arctic Research Center faculty. The postdoc will also belong to a cohort of postdocs through the Race, Place, and Equity Program, which provides additional mentoring, community-building, and professional development. We also encourage the postdoc to take advantage of UVA’s excellent professional development opportunities. UVA is actively building its relationships with Indigenous communities locally and globally, and the postdoc is welcome to join that initiative (e.g., the Native and Indigenous Relations Community, UVA’s Tribal Liaison).

Scholars from underrepresented communities, including Native American, Indigenous, African American, Latinx, Asian American, queer, and neurodiverse scholars, and scholars with disabilities, are especially invited to apply.

Qualifications

Candidates must hold a PhD in a relevant social science by the start date of August 1, 2025. Required skills include: 1) experience conducting ethnographic research methods and 2) experience participating in collaborative interdisciplinary research. Desirable skills include: 1) experience working with Indigenous communities, 2) expertise about Alaskan Indigenous cultures, 3) experience doing community outreach, and 4) strong communication skills in writing and speaking. The postdoc is expected to be in residence at UVA.

The postdoc will work on the ARC project for half of their time, and their own research the other half of their time. There are teaching opportunities if the postdoc would like that experience, but teaching is not required.

We expect the postdoc to:

• Conduct interviews and participant observation with researchers and community partners in Utqiaġvik, AK
• Contribute to the project’s social science objectives as well as pursue their own research interests
• Help organize workshops and events to bring together researchers and community members
• Help supervise undergraduate and graduate student researchers
• Participate in academic conferences and prepare single-authored and co-authored publications for peer-reviewed journals 
• Contribute to writing grant proposals 

Application Procedure

 Apply online and UVA JOBS.

• Please attach a cover letter
• a curriculum vitae,
• a sample chapter or paper, and contact information for three references. 

Please note that multiple documents can be uploaded in the CV box. 

Application Deadline

Review of applications will begin February 1, 2025, though the position will remain open until filled. The University will perform background checks on all new hires prior to employment.

This is a one-year appointment; however, the appointment may be renewed for an additional year, contingent upon satisfactory performance. Salary is commensurate with experience. This position includes benefits and a research stipend.

• For questions regarding this position, please contact Dr. Caitlin Wylie, Associate Professor.
• For questions about the application process, please contact Richard Haverstrom, Academic Recruiter.
• For more information on the benefits available to postdoctoral associates at UVA, visit the Postdoctoral Affairs website and UVA Human Resources website.

As part of an ongoing commitment to diversifying our programs, the professoriate, and the research workforce, the School of Nursing at the University of Virginia seeks applications for a Mellon Race, Place, and Equity Postdoctoral Research Associate in the History of Nursing and Healthcare. This program recruits postdoctoral scholars who have the potential to assume tenure-track faculty positions and who would benefit from mentored professional development opportunities.

The Mellon Race, Place, and Equity Postdoctoral Research Associate in the History of Nursing and Healthcare is funded by a university-wide Race, Place and Equity (RPE) grant from the Mellon Foundation and UVA matching funds to advance research and teaching related to race, justice, and equity (RJE). The Postdoctoral Fellow will be based in the School of Nursing’s Eleanor Crowder Bjoring Center for Nursing Historical Inquiry and work on RJE-related questions, specifically in the history of nursing and healthcare in North America.

Professional Development

The goal of this program is to provide a mentored professional development opportunity to train the next generation of scholars for future tenure-track positions at UVA or elsewhere. Postdoctoral Research Associates selected under this program will be appointed for two years (subject to annual review) and will carry out research, teaching and professional development activities directed toward securing a tenure-track position. The Postdoctoral Fellow funded through the Mellon grant will carry out transformative, cross-disciplinary research and will be expected to produce scholarship related to health equity, race, and justice in the United States using place-based methodologies for research. The fellow’s work should also strengthen existing initiatives that address RJE issues in the history of nursing and healthcare. In addition to mentoring within the Bjoring Center and School of Nursing, the Postdoctoral Fellow will join a University-wide cohort of Race, Place and Equity Fellows funded by a Race, Place and Equity grant from the Mellon Foundation and UVA matching funds, for additional interdisciplinary interactions, career development programs, and professional growth opportunities. Teaching is an important part of preparation for a faculty position, and different types of teaching opportunities may be available. This may include co-teaching courses on the history of nursing and healthcare and mentoring PhD students in the history of nursing and healthcare. The Postdoctoral Fellow will also collaborate with Bjoring Center faculty and staff to develop public history projects centered on the history of race, justice, and equity in nursing and healthcare.

With the aim of building professional research networks and community, the Fellow may choose to connect with one of the many organizations at UVA working on issues of race and equity. Some examples include: The Equity Center, the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies, the Native and Indigenous Relations Community, the Institute for Humanities and Global Cultures, the Democracy Initiative, the Memory Project, the Center for the Study of Race and Law, Digital Humanities@UVA and Environmental Humanities at UVA.

Postdoctoral Fellow Support

The Postdoctoral Fellow funded under this program will be appointed for two years contingent on a successful annual review. This is a 12-month residential appointment in the School of Nursing which will provide full research, teaching, and administrative support.  In addition to salary and benefits, the program will provide a research fund allocation for the Fellow.  

Requirements

Applicants must have a PhD. Candidates who received (or will receive) their PhD between August 24, 2022 and August 24, 2025 are eligible to apply. The RPE component specifically seeks applicants with a relevant scholarly focus in the history of nursing and healthcare or humanistic studies in nursing which could help to advance recent work at UVA that includes the President’s Commission on Slavery and the University, the completion of the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers, and the report of the Racial Equity Task Force. Potential areas of research focus might include, but are by no means limited to, race and the healthcare workforce; race, environment, and health; health inequity; settler colonialism and health; indigenous ways of knowing and healing; race and health policy; health justice movements. Scholars from underrepresented communities, including Native American, Indigenous, African American, Latinx, Asian American, queer, and neurodiverse scholars, and scholars with disabilities, are especially invited to apply.

The selected applicant will be required to complete a background check and health screening prior to their first day of employment per University policy.

The School of Nursing is an organization with a strong commitment to our mission and values grounded in the importance of lifelong learning. Candidates who are invited for interviews will be asked to describe how they could help foster a learning environment that inspires and engages a diverse community (please read the University of Virginia’s statement and resources related to diversity and inclusion).

To Apply

Apply online at http://jobs.virginia.edu/us/en/job/R0066419/Mellon-Race-Place-and-Equity-Postdoctoral-Research-Associate-in-the-History-of-Nursing-and-Healthcare. Internal applicants must apply through their UVA Workday profile. Complete the application, and upload the following Required materials:

• Cover Letter 
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement 
• Resume 
• Research and Teaching Statement 
• Writing Sample 
• Contact Information for Two Letters of Reference 

Please note that multiple documents can be uploaded in the box or you can combine them into one PDF. You MUST upload ALL documents into the CV/Resume box. Applications that do not contain all of the required documents will not receive full consideration.

Review of applications will begin on January 6, 2025.

For questions about the application process please contact Marcus Rozier, Academic Recruiter.

For more information, visit the School of Nursing website, or contact us directly: 

• Dr. Dominque Tobbell, Director, Eleanor Crowder Bjoring Center for Nursing Historical Inquiry: dtobbell@virginia.edu
• Dr. Melissa Gomes, search committee co-chair
• Dr. Randy Jones, search committee co-chair
• Dr. Lance Poston, search committee logistics support/Dean's office:  434-924-0099