MELLON HUMANITIES FIRST PROGRAM COORDINATOR

The College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) is one of the largest academic units on the UW Seattle campus, employing over 1400 tenure-track and research faculty, in 43 departments and centers, and generating an average $120 million dollars in sponsored research each year. CAS is comprised of 4 major divisions – Arts, Humanities, Social Science and Natural Science – whose cutting-edge research spans from malaria treatment to solar energy to human rights.  CAS is home to diverse music, art, drama, dance, digital arts academic units and degrees, and runs one performance hall (Meany) and two major museums (Henry Art and Burke).  CAS academic programs support more than 22,000 undergraduates and 2600 graduate students. The College occupies over 1 million square feet of space spread across campus and off-campus facilities in more than 50 buildings. 

As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem solving skills and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.

UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty.

Humanities First is an integrated first-year experience for humanities premajors, that is, individuals who have, at the time of admission to UW, expressed an interest in majoring in a humanities field. The chief elements of this first-year experience are a theme-based fall-quarter large lecture course; two-credit follow-up seminars in the winter and spring; and events and workshops at local cultural institutions such as museums. At the end of their first year at the UW, humanities premajors learn more about the university, their options for study here, and the many resources and opportunities that Seattle offers. They discover what it means to “think like a humanities major,” and they hear, from alumni and others in the community, how what they learn in the classroom translates into real world impact.

The period of the Mellon Foundation grant is three years, which is allowing us to develop, assess, improve, and document this integrated first-year experience over the course of several complete cycles, and at the end, we will be hosting a symposium showcasing our successes to which we will be inviting representatives from peer institutions to share what we have learned.

The initiative is at the end of its second year, and the third year of the grant will be concluding on June 30, 2023

The Humanities Division of the College of Arts & Sciences has an outstanding opportunity for a temporary part time Program Coordinator to join their team.

POSITION PURPOSE
This individual will work as a part of a dynamic team to provide administrative and program operations support for the HUMANITIES FIRST INITIATIVE. This position requires excellent organizational and coordination skills, effective prioritization and time management skills, a high degree of professionalism, and strong skills in written and verbal communication and knowledge of the humanities as taught in higher education.
The Humanities Division consists of twelve departments and more than one hundred and seventy full-time faculty. We teach and study the languages, literatures, and cultures of the world, and we empower our students to be effective communicators and twenty-first global citizens.

RESPONSIBILITIES
Under the direction of the Divisional Dean of the Humanities and the Humanities First Program Director, this position will coordinate all stakeholders involved in the initiative—UW faculty and staff as well as community partners—as well as oversee program logistics. This will include scheduling courses, arranging for class visits to local cultural institutions, publicizing the initiative, documenting grant-related activities, and producing reports for the Mellon Foundation.

Schedule is flexible, with a minimum of 20 hours per week (schedule to be determined monthly in collaboration with the Humanities First Program Director). This position is dependent on funding that is expected to end July 31, 2023 with possible renewal.