Faculty Director, Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative

Details

Posted: 12-May-24

Location: Providence, R.I.

Salary: Open

Categories:

Academic/Faculty

Internal Number: 86622

Brown University seeks an accomplished scholar to serve as Faculty Director of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative (NAISI ), in partnership with an Executive Director and supported by a Steering Committee of NAISI faculty and a staff.

During a period of exciting growth and expansion, we look forward to welcoming an inaugural Faculty Director, beginning July 2022, who will provide the intellectual leadership and vision to help us create a dynamic and leading academic program in Critical Native American and Indigenous Studies. By contributing to the scholarly field of NAIS and by engaging with Native American/Indigenous communities that currently define the field of NAIS, this position will help transform Brown's program in the coming years as it continues to grow, innovate and lead the field.

The Initiative was established in 2016 to integrate the strong constellation of interests at Brown in Native American and Indigenous Studies among students, faculty and administrators across a number of departments. These efforts are supported by an exceptional array of resources for research, teaching and study, student organizations, and increased engagement with Native American tribes and communities in the region.  The Initiative contributes to the university's goals for greater excellence under its Building on Distinction strategic plan and Pathways to Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP).  In 2019 NAISI was awarded a Mellon Foundation grant to help establish a concentration (i.e., major) in Native American and Indigenous Studies at Brown. A future trajectory will include developing a center that will serve as the focus of research, programming, student engagement and community convenings.

The Faculty Director will be a tenured member of the Brown faculty and work collaboratively with fellow faculty, students, departments, centers and administrative offices across the university. Working closely with the Executive Director and the faculty Steering Committee, NAISI's Faculty Director will articulate and advance a vision in Native American and Indigenous Studies and oversee significant resources to support the goals of the Initiative, in partnership with the Executive Director (who oversees the administrative, logistical, staffing, budget management and outreach components of NAISI, working with colleagues and tribal partners across the University and region).

The Faculty Director will also provide leadership at the university in the areas of academic engagement, research and teaching in NAIS, and contribute to increased engagement with Tribal and Indigenous communities, with support from a small staff in NAISI (including a Tribal Community Member in Residence) and in their home department. Contributions to NAISI will include mentoring and professional support of graduate students, developing faculty and student seminar and workshop series, advancing the developing undergraduate concentration in Critical Native American and Indigenous Studies, and helping to develop a Native American and Indigenous Research and Cultural Center on campus. Academic and community engagement with Tribal and Indigenous partners and fundraising will also be integral components of the Faculty Director position.

Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative at Brown

NAISI is an interdisciplinary group of administrators, faculty, staff and students committed to teaching and research that explores, and increases understandings of, the historical and contemporary cultural traditions and practices, political experiences and issues connected to Indigenous peoples. Currently with a hemispheric focus, we seek to include a more global engagement in our courses, research and Indigenous partnerships.

The interdisciplinary Initiative includes faculty members and postdoctoral fellows from a range of disciplines: American and Ethnic Studies; Anthropology; Environmental Studies; History; Religion; Music; Theater and Performance Studies; Cognitive; Linguistic and Psychological Sciences; Development Studies; Portuguese and Brazilian Studies; Hispanic Studies; International Affairs and Law; and Behavioral and Social Sciences/Public Health. We also work closely with the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, the John Carter Brown Library and the Brown University Library, as well as other centers across campus (such as the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice, Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America,  Sarah Doyle Center for Women and Gender, and Brown Center for Students of Color).

Faculty Director of NAISI

In addition to reporting to the Provost's Office, the Faculty Director will work in close partnership with NAISI's existing Executive Director and a Faculty Steering Committee. The position's primary responsibilities will be to provide overall leadership of NAISI, articulate the developing visions for intellectual and academic engagement of Native American and Indigenous Studies at Brown, oversee the continued development of a NAIS curriculum (focused on an undergraduate concentration), and contribute to the development of a Native American and Indigenous Research and Cultural Center on the Brown University Campus.  With the Executive Director, the Faculty Director will serve as a liaison to and advocate with senior university leadership, and serve as the primary liaison with heads of departments, centers and other academic units, faculty, and advancement.

Other responsibilities include contributing to programs that support faculty and student research, building connections with other campus institutes and centers with related interests, helping to develop multi-year plans and to allocate funding, and contributing to NAIS-related events and activities both across campus and public facing. The Faculty Director will have a public presence, representing the Initiative and Brown University in national and international conferences and other speaking engagements, maintaining an active research and publishing profile, assisting with faculty and student recruitment efforts, and engaging with the media and other external institutions. The Faculty Director may also engage with Native American and other student groups and will have established relationships with Native American tribes and/or Indigenous communities in the U.S., Canada and/or beyond.

The Faculty Director will also help to develop and execute a multi-year plan for advancement, growth and fundraising for NAISI, in addition to helping to allocate existing resources. Contributing to the development of, and articulating a vision for, a Native American and Indigenous Studies Research and Cultural Center will be another key contribution, as will cultivating and strengthening relationships across the Brown campus and with other academic institutions across the region and nation, and internationally. Additionally, specific (faculty and curricular focused) projects connected to Mellon Foundation funding include: developing workshop series for NAIS faculty focused on engagement with NAIS theory, methods and pedagogy; supporting applications for course development and curriculum innovation grants and for undergraduate teaching, research and summer internship awards; helping to expand curricular resources focused on NAIS; and expanding NAISI's teaching capacity with visiting and graduate student instructors. The Faculty Director will also be instrumental in the development of a long-term Strategic Plan for the continued growth of NAISI at Brown and will serve a three- to five-year term as director, renewable.

 

In seeking outstanding candidates to help lead NAISI on a continued growth trajectory, the University will give greatest consideration to the following attributes and qualifications:

Academic Accomplishment 

Because the Faculty Director will be actively engaged in faculty recruitment, evaluation, promotion, and retention in a home department, and is responsible for the quality of the various research and programming associated with NAISI, they should have a strong scholarly record appropriate for a tenured faculty appointment (Associate or Full Professor). The Faculty Director's focus on the academic and intellectual development of NAISI is critical to its success and growth and to increased visibility both across campus and to external partners (such as Tribal and Indigenous communities, non-profit organizations and other academic institutions). The candidate should have an active membership in professional academic associations, including NAISA and/or similar professional associations, and a strong record of conference, speaking and publishing. A record of successful grant-funded research projects (and/or fundraising) is also desired, or the ability to engage in resource development for growth of NAIS at Brown.

Community Engagement

The Faculty Director's record should also include experience of engagement with Native American, First Nation and/or Indigenous peoples or communities, a cornerstone of Native American and Indigenous Studies at Brown. This experience can be in the form of collaborative research projects, activism, teaching, and/or service with, by and for tribes, First Nations or Indigenous communities.

Leadership Experience and Style

As the Initiative continues to develop, the Faculty Director must be capable of interacting and collaborating with different stakeholders (faculty, staff, students, administrators, donors, Native and Indigenous tribes and communities, and others). Providing leadership on NAIS within their home department will also be an important contribution.  Key qualifications for this position include experience in and/or a record of successful grants or fundraising, program development, faculty recruitment, and a leadership style that is inclusive, self-reflexive and responsive to input, and collaborative.

Vision and Strategy

The Initiative strives to become one of the leading centers for Native American and Indigenous Studies in the country.  While maintaining continuity with the broad direction of NAISI's growth at Brown University will be important, the Faculty Director will also be expected to integrate their own vision for realizing the University's ambitions for the Initiative and to contribute to and expand those.

 

A search committee of NAISI-affiliated faculty, administrators, staff, and students will review applications. Please submit inquiries or expressions of interest to Dr. Robert Preucel, Search Committee Chair, [email protected] or Rae Gould, NAISI, [email protected] .

Review of applications will begin September 1, 2021.

Please submit application materials via INTERFOLIO:

• Cover letter addressing scholarly engagement, institutional and community-engaged work, and your interest in advancing NAIS at Brown

• Updated C.V.

• Names of three referees

As an EEO/AA employer, Brown University provides equal opportunity and prohibits discrimination, harassment and retaliation based upon a person's race, color, religion, sex, age, national or ethnic origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law, and caste, which is protected by our University policies.

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