Service Learning and Community Engagement (SLCE) Graduate Assistantship

The Center for Service and Learning (CSL), under the auspices of the Institute for Engaged Learning (IEL), seeks a Graduate Assistant (GA) who will play an integral role to enhance communications with faculty, staff, graduate students and community partners related to community-engaged teaching, research and scholarship. This GA reports to the Director of Faculty Development.  

The Center for Service and Learning (CSL) seeks to make civic engagement a distinctive aspect of the educational culture at IUPUI. The mission of CSL is to engage students, faculty, staff, and community members in educationally meaningful service to promote learning and development, advance best practice and research, achieve community goals through partnerships, and further the civic engagement mission of IUPUI. IUPUI is nationally and internationally recognized for its programs in service learning and civic engagement. Visit our webpage at http://csl.iupui.edu for further information about CSL programs and initiatives. The CSL is a member unit of the Institute for Engaged Learning (https://getengaged.iupui.edu/about/vision-mission/index.html ) and supports the work of the Office for Community Engagement (https://engage.iupui.edu/index.html) by serving as a core institutional partner to advance community-engaged teaching, learning and scholarship. 

In support of the Director of Faculty Development’s program responsibilities and under their guidance, the GA will:

·      Coordinate logistics and scheduling associated with faculty development workshops and convenings including: Engaged Scholars’ Roundtable, Coffee Chats, Civic and Community Engagement Across the Curriculum and other freestanding offerings;

·      Sets up registrations for CSL/community-engagement events using the CTL dashboard; serve as a backup for this function for IEL;

·      Conduct literature reviews, synthesize information and draft summaries for use in practice briefs, tips sheets, academic blogs, journal articles;

·      In cooperation with the Academic Communications & Graphic Design GA, provide content development support for CSL webpages, Civic Learning & Democratic Engagement Perspectives Blog, professional development opportunities, online course and program materials in Canvas, tip sheets, etc.;

·      Work closely with CSL Academic Communications & Graphic Design GA and IEL partners to insure the efficient and effective coordination and management of sponsored events, projects and programs;

·      Provide administrative support for the Dissemination & Leadership Development Grant Fund including, the implementation of administrative systems including: design, monitoring and maintenance of online forms, monitoring applications processing workflow, supporting applicant communication;

·      Provide administrative support for ongoing faculty/staff engagement programs and deep dive consults with academic units (e.g. NSF funded Ethics Cultures of STEM Faculty Learning Community and the Public and Engaged Scholarship Review Committee, programs with the Graduate School);

·      Schedules and coordinates agendas and maintains records for the CSL Faculty Projects and Programs Meetings.

·      Coordinates assessment of faculty and staff related CSL/community engagement learning opportunities and programs; contributes to IEL professional development assessments as needed;

·      Analyzes data and interprets evidence to develop internal and external reports related to CSL/community engagement faculty and staff learning opportunities and programs;

·      Contributes to special joint research and evaluation efforts involving the CSL/community engagement and campus partners (e.g. Cultures of Ethical STEM grant, Public & Engaged Scholarship Review Committee, the Office of Community Engagement)

·      Works with the Academic Communications & Graphic Design GA to use metrics to craft effective communications that express the value(s) of CSL’s/IEL’s community engagement focused work and amplify our offices reach with faculty, units and campus partners.

·      Additional duties as assigned.

The selected candidate will have the unique opportunity to develop advanced knowledge of issues impacting engaged campuses particularly those related to academic administration, faculty and staff development, organizational capacity building, evaluation and research. This assistantship holds excellent opportunities for the motivated graduate student to advance their project planning and management, leadership, collaboration, communication and analytical skills. In addition, the incumbent will also gain a unique perspective on the shifting role of higher education as a strategic contributor to community, economic and educational development. This position is ideal for those seeking a faculty/staff position in higher education post-graduation, or who have an interest in careers in education or the non-profit sector. 

The Center for Service and Learning (CSL) seeks to make civic engagement a distinctive aspect of the educational culture at IUPUI. The mission of CSL is to engage students, faculty, staff, and community members in educationally meaningful service to promote learning and development, advance best practice and research, achieve community goals through partnerships, and further the civic engagement mission of IUPUI. IUPUI is nationally and internationally recognized for its programs in service learning and civic engagement. Visit our webpage at http://csl.iupui.edu for further information about CSL programs and initiatives. The CSL is a member unit of the Institute for Engaged Learning (https://getengaged.iupui.edu/about/vision-mission/index.html ) and supports the work of the Office for Community Engagement (https://engage.iupui.edu/index.html) by serving as a core institutional partner to advance community-engaged teaching, learning and scholarship.

Preference will be given to graduate students enrolled in terminal degrees programs (e.g. PhD., M.F.A.) that are early in their graduate coursework and that are looking for an extended professional development opportunity. Students enrolled in Master’s degree programs that possess the appropriate skills and experience will also be considered.

The ideal candidate for this position will:

·      enjoy the process of learning and actively seek out new learning opportunities;

·      be comfortable working independently as well as in teams;

·      be detail oriented and a self-starter;

·      demonstrate creativity and the ability to problem-solve when faced with ambiguity;

·      be comfortable working directly with faculty;

·      demonstrate empathy, humility and resilience in the face of uncertainty;

·      be able to juggle and prioritize multiple tasks;

·      demonstrate excellent oral and written communication skills;

·      strong ability to express ideas, facts and synthesize complex information for academic and community audiences;

·      strong planning and organizational skills, including the ability to initiate and follow through on projects in a timely fashion with limited supervision;

·      demonstrated proficiency in standard office applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint;

·      advanced critical thinking skills to analyze, evaluate and synthesize evidence and information including the ability to present information concisely and with clarity in a variety of formats [including numerically, charts, graphs, literature reviews, tip sheets, reports, academic blogs, etc.];

·      have experience with university IRB processes;

·      Proficient skills in two of the following areas:

o  learning theories and instructional design

o  logic modeling and program evaluation

o  database design and management (e.g. Access, Excel, SQL, etc.);

o  mixed methods research and evaluation

o  qualitative research methods, data analysis, including knowledge of software (e.g. NVivo, Atlas Ti, etc.);

·      prior experience with civic and community engagement in educational settings;

·      (desired but not required) prior teaching experience in informal or formal learning settings

·      (desired but not required) prior experience with community engaged or translational scholarship.

To be considered for this assistantship, prospective candidates must be admitted to a full-time graduate program at IU and be able to work 20 hours per week with a flexible schedule for occasional evening activities. Preference will be given to students enrolled in terminal degree programs (PhD., M.F.A., etc.), however, Master’s degree candidates with the appropriate skills and experience are also encouraged to apply.

Students pursuing advanced degrees in Education, Social Work, Public Affairs, Philanthropy, American Studies, Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology or fields with related interests are strongly encouraged to apply.

Only students enrolled in graduate programs through IUPUI are eligible to apply for this position.