Postdoctoral Fellow (Dr. Conwell, Sociology)

Job Posting Title:

Postdoctoral Fellow (Dr. Conwell, Sociology)

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Hiring Department:

Population Research Center

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Position Open To:

All Applicants

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Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40

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FLSA Status:

Exempt

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Earliest Start Date:

Immediately

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Position Duration:

Expected to Continue Until Apr 30, 2025

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Location:

UT MAIN CAMPUS

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Job Details:

General Notes

Dr. Jordan Conwell at The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Sociology, is seeking a Postdoctoral Scholar to be part of a project titled, “Understanding and Reducing Inequality in the Returns to K-12 STEM for College and Early Career Outcomes.” The position is for one year, with the possibility of a one-year renewal contingent on satisfactory performance, available funding and programmatic need. Review of applications will begin immediately.
 

What benefits do I receive with UT?  The university offers an impressive benefits package. For more details on benefits, please see: https://hr.utexas.edu/prospective/benefits and https://hr.utexas.edu/current/services/my-total-rewards .

This position is eligible for a hybrid Flexible Work Arrangement (FWA) (on-campus and remote work). FWA arrangements are subject to manager approval and may shift due to changes in business needs.  The remote location must have a reliable internet connection to support working remotely. UT policies on Flexible Work Arrangements are available at https://hr.utexas.edu/current/fwa .
 

For more information about the College of Liberal Arts, please visit: https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/ .  
 

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https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/resources-for-faculty-staff/staff-leadership-academy/ .
 

For more information on college staff professional development, please visit:

https://wikis.utexas.edu/display/larc/Staff+Professional+Development+Fund .
 

Purpose

Sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the project is in two parts, and there is an expectation that the Postdoctoral Scholar will be meaningfully involved in both. The first is quantitative analysis of state administrative data from the Texas Education Research Center (ERC), National Student Clearinghouse, and Texas Workforce Commission. Analyses will measure the college and early career to returns to high school math and science test scores and coursework, with an emphasis on assessing potential racial and gender differences in such returns between students who graduate from high school with comparable measured STEM ability and experience. A second component will see the implementation and evaluation of an online Canvas course plug-in, developed in consultation with UT-Austin’s Liberal Arts Career Services, to help Sociology majors at UT link their undergraduate coursework to careers, with an interest in scaling the plug-in after evaluation.
 

Responsibilities

• Access, clean, and analyze Texas administrative ERC data on test scores, coursework, higher education experiences, and labor market outcomes;

• Prepare replication code, article manuscripts, conference presentations, and policy briefs related to research findings;

• Assist with implementation and evaluation of the online Canvas course plug-in (e.g., analyzing quantitative and qualitative feedback from student users, preparing manuscripts about this process for teaching-focused outlets);

• Help lead a research team of graduate and undergraduate students who will also assist Professor Conwell and the Postdoctoral Scholar with these tasks.

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Sociology, Education, or a related field by appointment start date, and received no earlier than three years prior to the start date

• Ability to work in Stata

• Strong quantitative analysis skills, including data cleaning, linkages, and coding; regression analysis and advanced methods; familiarity with current best practices for preregistration and replication

• Prior experience with state administrative education data and/ or national secondary data common to social science research on education (examples of the latter include High School Longitudinal Study, High School and Beyond)

• Demonstrated ability to conduct independent and collaborative social science research

• Willingness to mentor graduate and undergraduate research assistants

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior research on the topics of high school coursetaking and test scores; higher education experiences (college attended, major, courses); and/or labor market experiences (occupation, wages), and familiarity with the types of data (e.g., IPEDS, National Student Clearinghouse) and data linkages needed to understand school-to-work pathways along these lines

• Prior research on the topics of racial, social class, and gender inequality in education in the United States

• Interest in higher education evaluation research

Salary Range

$60,000 + depending on qualifications

Working Conditions

• Typical Office Environment

Required Materials

• Resume/CV

• Letter of interest

• 3 academic references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor

• 1 recommendation letter, can be emailed to [email protected]

• Statement of research experiences, research interests and how this opportunity aligns with long-term research goals

• 1-3 writing samples that demonstrate the applicant’s ability to conduct quantitative analyses of K-12 education, higher education, and/or labor market outcomes, and inequalities therein (at least one sample should be sole- or first-authored by the applicant; preferred format is that of a standard academic journal article; published work is allowed; policy briefs or other formats are allowed if a first sample is in standard article format).

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded.  Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.

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Employment Eligibility:

Please make sure you meet all the required qualifications and you can perform all of the essential functions with or without a reasonable accommodation.

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Retirement Plan Eligibility:

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length. This position has the option to elect the Optional Retirement Program (ORP) instead of TRS, subject to the position being 40 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

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Background Checks:

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

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Equal Opportunity Employer:

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer , complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

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Pay Transparency:

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

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Employment Eligibility Verification:

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form.  You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States.  Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment.  Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

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E-Verify:

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:

• E-Verify Poster (English) [PDF]
• E-Verify Poster (Spanish) [PDF]
• Right To Work Poster (English) [PDF]
• Right To Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

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Compliance:

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031 .

The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.