CEA Program: Grad Student English Department Assistant and Community Liaison
DUE is home to IEL which is sponsoring these types of positions across campus. This specific position is part of the Community Engagement Associates program in which students work in a specific department on campus to support campus and community engagement initiatives. You will see more information on the specific job and department below.
Overview of department:
English Department in the School of Liberal Arts
Project summary:
The English Department seeks a graduate Community Engagement Associate who will help to facilitate co-curricular and non-curricular community engagement projects. The CEAs would help us to deepen the community engagement occurring in our Children’s Literature (ENG-L390) and Young Adult Literature (ENG-L376) courses in Fall 2021, as well as assist with the development of several co-curricular projects in the English Department that engage with the community: the Rufus & Louise Reiberg Series, the IUPUI Student Reading Series, the English Club, the Scholastic Writing Awards, English Week, and the new English Department blog “Word Works.” We hope the CEAs could be particularly instrumental in facilitating more interaction between the English Department and local high schools.
Specific tasks that the community engagement associate will complete:
Duties of the position typically include the following:
- Manage social media platforms/listservs to promote Reiberg Readings, Student Readings, English Club events, Scholastic Awards announcements, and English Club events
- Connect with other instructors and leaders of community organizations to integrate literary works by authors in the Reiberg series into their curricula
- Participate in and/or facilitate student readings
- Collaborate with the English Club to develop connections with local social justice-oriented organizations and plan and promote events
- Develop and facilitate programming for the English ThinkSpace and the annual English Week event
- Work with the English Department on English Week to attract and feature members of the community who have benefited from IUPUI's curricula or students
- Plan, solicit, and write blog entries for the English Department’s “Word Works” blog
- Research strategies for identifying the needs of local school systems
- Communication and critical thinking skills
- Curricular development theories
- Skills for functioning as a liaison between non-profits, public school systems, and the university system
- Graphic design skills
- Social media platform essentials
- Public writing skills
Specific qualifications (knowledge, skills, class standing, etc) we desire the project coordinator to have:
- In good standing in a graduate program
- Strong written and oral communication skills
- Basic graphic design skills
- Proficiency with various forms of social media
- Strong sense of initiative, creativity, and independence
- Connections in the Indianapolis secondary school system
- Knowledge of local community organizations
- Enthusiasm for literature, linguistics, creative writing, film, and/or rhetoric
- Strong organization and leadership skills
- Flexible schedule
- Commitment to local social justice
Learning objectives:
By the end of this position assignment, the student will meet the following learning objectives
- The CEA is able to name at least one civic issue and articulate how various societal systems and processes address this (and other) civic issues.
- The CEA values collaborating with others, especially those individuals representing diverse cultures, races, ages, genders, religions, lifestyles, and viewpoints.
- The CEA demonstrates empathy, openness, inclusiveness, and sensitivity when working with diverse others.
- The CEA feels a sense of responsibility and commitment to use the knowledge gained in their higher education experiences to serve others.
- The CEA communicates effectively across a variety of media.