The Social Justice Institute (SJI) at Case Western Reserve University is inviting applications for a postdoctoral fellowship in social justice. The fellowship will focus on the goal of advancing knowledge, theoretical frameworks and practices in community engagement and community building across differences.

The position is a grant funded postdoctoral fellowship under the direction of Professor Mark Chupp, SJI Co-Director, effective fall 2023. Primary responsibilities will be intellectual and highly-skilled contributions to the Social Justice Institute’s ongoing projects, with a particular focus on promoting authentic engagement between institutions and respective communities in Cleveland, Ohio. This position will focus on synthesizing current practice-relevant knowledge and generating new knowledge with an emphasis on:

• working on research projects that build reciprocity and trust between members of the community and institutions and that increases their capacity to collaboratively problem solve and work toward social justice;
• working with local government, community development corporations (CDCs), and other community-based organizations around research on effective ways to create community driven change in historically disinvested neighborhoods;
• exploring frameworks and methods for promoting social justice for historically and currently marginalized groups and building bridges across differences in a polarized society; and
• advancing their own research and dissemination of Social Justice Institute research and evaluation findings, possibly including the production of briefs, policy statements, training protocols, webinars, and publication in high-quality peer-reviewed outlets.

In addition, this individual will assist in strengthening university-community relationships and ensuring that the university’s social justice activities are aligned with and addressing the needs of our Greater Cleveland community. We seek to build the reputation of our community- academic partnership as a model worthy of national benchmarking and replication. This position will emphasize evidence-based research, mentoring, community building, and working towards developing the next generation of social justice leaders.

This individual will have opportunities to build their research skills through community engaged research and other activities, such as data management, grant writing, and possibly mentoring graduate and undergraduate students. They will also be encouraged to teach SJUS 100: Introduction to Social Justice or an elective special topics course.

Benefits:

• The salary and benefits for this position are consistent with Case Western Reserve University’s salary structure as consistent with the current NIH National Research Service Award scale. Further benefits include membership(s) in relevant professional societies and applicable license fees, travel and attendance to one to two professional conferences for dissemination of project findings, and attendance at professional development workshops as appropriate. As appropriate and consistent with university policy and the fellows’ interests and training needs, they may also be eligible to take advanced doctoral level courses in arts and sciences, psychology, public health, etc.

About the Social Justice Institute:

• The Social Justice Institute strives to create a just world. For over a decade, we have examined the root causes of social injustice and developed innovative solutions by supporting creative research, scholarship, and pedagogy; social justice leaders on and off campus; and relationships within the university and into the community. We work to eradicate all systems of oppression by redistributing and expanding resources and opportunities while exalting human dignity. Our work is supported by a leadership team of individuals who bring the expertise of multiple disciplines within CWRU as well as the broader community.

Equal Opportunity and Diversity:

• In employment, as in education, Case Western Reserve University is committed to Equal Opportunity and Diversity. Women, veterans, members of underrepresented minority groups, and individuals with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

Applicants should either:

• be working toward a doctoral degree that will be conferred by the anticipated position start date, or
• hold a PhD or equivalent in a field related to social justice such as sociology, law, social work, or public health.
• Applicants’ PhD or equivalent should have been conferred within the last five years.
• Applicants should have experience working with mixed-method analysis, multidisciplinary research, and community engaged research.
• Applicants must have strong capabilities collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data in order to develop user-friendly, community-accessible research databases.

The successful candidate will have the capacity to establish and maintain research partnerships with community stakeholders; must be self-motivated and adaptive to pivots in research needs; will be able to work with minimal supervision; and must communicate respectfully within the context of varying beliefs, behaviors, orientations, identities and cultural backgrounds.

Interested applicants should submit the following in PDF format, to socialjustice@case.edu :

• a cover sheet with contact and biographical information,
• a statement of interest encompassing qualifications and research interests,
• an up-to-date curriculum vitae, and
• a publication or writing sample.

For candidates that advance forward, three professional references will be requested, one of which should be the applicant’s dissertation advisor, if applicable.

Applications will be accepted immediately and on a rolling basis until the position is filled. The anticipated appointment starting date will be August 15, 2023, with funding guaranteed for a term of one year with opportunity for renewal of the position for an additional year. Although possible, further employment is not guaranteed. Finalists may be asked to travel to CWRU for in-person interviews; travel may be partially or fully subsidized.