USC Rossier/Price Postdoctoral Fellowship Opportunity

[melguizo]

 Dear Colleagues,

Please help me distribute this opportunity within your networks.

Best,

Tatiana

 

USC Rossier School of Education and Sol Price School of Social Policy Postdoctoral Scholar:  A Mixed-methods Pilot Evaluation of a Universal Basic Income Program at a Community College

 

The University of Southern California’s Pullias Center for Higher Education at the Rossier School of Education (Rossier) in collaboration with Price Center for Social Innovation is seeking a postdoctoral scholar to work on a research-practice partnership project of the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD). This position provides a unique opportunity to collaborate with practitioners at the LACCD to understand the impact of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) pilot program at one community college in the district. Working in collaboration with the co-principal investigators of the project: Tatiana Melguizo, USC-Rossier; Gary Painter, USC-Price, LACCD researchers, and practitioners, the postdoctoral scholar will manage and analyze complex, longitudinal administrative datasets and draft presentations, reports, and policy briefs about the analyses. The postdoctoral scholar will also assist with writing of grant proposals, support the translation of research findings for program improvement, as well as developing other relevant collaborations to expand the impact of the program, and its potential of scale up.  

 

The postdoctoral scholar will coordinate the research-practice partnership activities related to this project; conduct the data management and analysis for this project; conduct literature reviews; design interview protocols, conduct interviews, and analyze qualitative data. Draft presentations, reports, and policy briefs; submit proposals to conferences (e.g., AEFP, SREE, APPAM, AERA); and present at meetings with practitioner partners. Specifically, project activities will involve communicating with LACCD and program staff; developing a thorough understanding of administrative and survey data; merging, managing, coding, and cleaning large, complex, longitudinal data sets and survey data; creating codebooks and well-organized, well-commented code; analyzing and graphing data; writing about results for both practitioner and research audiences; drafting reports and scholarly papers; assisting with grant proposals; and regularly attending planning and project meetings. The postdoc will also have the opportunity to devote time to pre-existing projects and, given the current COVID-19 conditions, may have the option to work remotely.  

 

We are particularly interested in applicants who have:

1. experience coding, merging, and managing complex longitudinal datasets in education, ideally from both the K-12 and postsecondary sectors and ideally involving administrative data,
2. experience using Stata to manage, analyze, and display data,
3. experience using qualitative methods of analysis such as: document analysis, interviews, and focus groups,
4. the inter-personal skills needed for participating successfully in a collaborative research-practice partnership,
5. experience and/or training in financial aid or comprehensive college transition programs in the U.S. and/or in the postsecondary success of historically underserved students in the U.S. (e.g., Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), first generation, English learners, and low-income students),
6. a doctoral degree in education or the social and behavioral sciences, 
7. keen attention to detail and an excellent work ethic,
8. genuine interest in research intended to help improve the quality and equity of students’ educational experiences and outcomes,
9. experience conducting rigorous, high quality mixed-methods research, and publishing in academic journals, and
10. experience translating research findings into materials and presentations useful for practitioner audiences.

 

The mission of the Pullias Center for Higher Education is to support the access and success of first generation and low-income students. The Center is located within the Rossier School of Education at USC. Since 1996 the Center has engaged in action-oriented research projects regarding successful college outreach programs, financial aid and access for low- to moderate-income students of color, use of technology to supplement college counseling services, effective postsecondary governance, emerging organizational forms such as for-profit institutions, and the retention of doctoral students of color. We seek individuals who are not only interested in conducting rigorous research but also intent on having their research translated in a way that enables multiple constituencies (e.g. policy-makers, administrators and teachers, parents and students) to make use of research findings.

 

The postdoctoral position will begin in January 2022. It is a temporary, fixed-term, one-year position. The candidate should have a PhD by the time of employment. The candidate will have active mentoring opportunities from all the collaborating institutions through workshops and conferences.

 

Applicants should include a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, a scholarly publication or dissertation chapter for which the applicant was the main author, an excerpt of code written for statistical software, and contact information for three references.

 

Please address the following questions when submitting your letter of interest:

1. What are your current research interests and how do they relate to the purpose of this project?
2. What experience do you have with managing and using large datasets?
3. What methodological training and/or experience do you have in using mixed methods?
4. How will your expertise contribute to the project?
5. How will this position further your research and career goals?

 

To submit an application for consideration, please submit your materials to: ra...@rossier.usc.edu. If you have questions about the position, please email: melg...@usc.edu.

 

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are integral to our university and school’s commitment to excellence in research, engagement, and education. We encourage applications from candidates who identify with groups that are historically underrepresented in the academy to apply.  Further, we encourage all applicants, as a component of their application package to discuss their experience or commitment to engaging with diversity through activities such as fostering an inclusive environment, working with students from diverse backgrounds, or incorporating diverse perspectives.

 

 

The University of Southern California strongly values diversity and is committed to equal opportunity in employment. Women and men, and members of all racial and ethnic groups, people with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply. Salary and benefits are competitive. For additional information about a specific position, please go to: https://policy.usc.edu/equal-opportunities/