Postdoctoral Fellow (Part-Time Faculty) - National Louis University

Who We Are:

National Louis is a 135+ year old university that has been grounded in the values of innovation, access, excellence, and equity from its inception. As an institution, we believe in providing access to educational opportunity and that education is our greatest lever for social and economic mobility. We are a student-focused community that is committed to continuous improvement and superior student service.  We believe that through education we are able to empower change and build healthy communities. Our hard-working community is based on collaboration and respect for all team members and students.

What We Offer:

At National Louis University, we offer our employees an innovative environment to work together and inspire the ideas that will make an impact. As our external environment changes, our employees are provided the opportunities and tools needed to grow both personally and professionally to remain successful. NLU employees and dependents are offered a wide range of benefits, including but not limited to, Health Insurance benefits, Retirement benefits, Paid Time Off and Educational Benefits.

What You Will Do:

National Louis University has set the ambitious goal to to build the talent pool of Latinx faculty at colleges and universities at both the national and local levels, particularly the metropolitan Chicago area. To this end, NLU seeks to hire a part-time CLAVE (Comunidades Latinas Académicas con Visión de Éxito,” or Latino Academic Communities with Vision of Success) Postdoctoral Fellow who demonstrates significant potential for research and/or community engagement around Latinx or other BIPOC groups in doctoral education. The Postdoctoral Fellow's research proposals may include topics such as Latinx graduate student experiences; attributes of effective Hispanic-Serving Institutions; characteristics of academic institutions that act as barriers to the educational success of Latinx and/or other underrepresented BIPOC student educational success; and participatory research with Latinx community-based organizations.

The Postdoctoral Fellow will be supervised by a Faculty Mentor and will include opportunities to collaborate with the CLAVE Grant Project Director, mentors, and other CLAVE faculty in the university on projects aimed at understanding and disseminating research findings about graduate Latinx students’ overlapping identities, community resources and goals, and culturally relevant university programs and services. This role is funded by the CLAVE grant. The program offers the Partial appointment for scholar-practitioners who are working professionals. The CLAVE Postdoctoral Fellowship is for a 10-month appointment.

• Scholarship & Report Assistance: Support and assist program faculty lines of inquiry with the support of the Faculty supervisor. Activities include: support finalizing evaluation reports, support institutionalization efforts, support the ongoing CLAVE scholarship work group. Any specific research, scholarship, conference and publication proposals to be worked out in collaboration with the Faculty supervisor and co-authorship will be determined by program faculty supervisor and other collaborators on writing projects.
• Network Coordination Assistance: Support the Learning community process (CLAVE Network & HSI organization network), and support the HSI network coordinator. Activities associated with the Learning Community support includes the following examples: Organize new materials from the network over time, organize projects as they emerge over time, coordinate communications with community partners as needed, organize grants projects as they develop (i.e., data collection for hearing Latine/Hispanic voices more clearly, learn more about student perspectives on language and identity, and getting student input on mural development. Activities associated with the HSI Network Coordinator include: coordinate regular meetings over time, maintain meeting notes for keeping record of decision-making and learnings, manage network development over time, support network communications (e.g., organize contact list and updates), and create/manage a repository for the network for sharing information (e.g., ensure the members listed are active and remove members as needed/requested, etc.)

• Doctoral degree successfully defended by start date/within 0-5 years post doctoral degree
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion at Hispanic-Serving Institutions
• Research should be focused on topics such as Latinx graduate student experiences; attributes of effective Hispanic-Serving Institutions; characteristics of academic institutions that act as barriers to the educational success of Latinx and/or other underrepresented BIPOC student educational success; and participatory research with Latinx community-based organizations.
• Must be bilingual in English and Spanish
• Presentation Skills: Comes across as confident and well-prepared when making group presentations. Makes effective use of visual aids or presentation software and looks at ease while handling questions from the audience. His/her presentations hold the audience’s attention and tend to be the right length for the amount of information covered.
• Writing Skills: Produces clear and complete written reports that meet the needs of the customer. Written reports use words and tone that are appropriate for the intended audience and are produced and distributed in a timely manner
• Initiative: Recognizes opportunities and initiates actions to capitalize on them. Looks for new and productive ways to make an impact. Demonstrates this characteristic when it comes to generating new ideas or processes, capitalizing on new business opportunities, seeking out and taking on increasing responsibility or resolving problems as they occur. Uses sound judgment about when to take action and when to seek guidance or permission. This is in contrast to those who fail to notice opportunities, wait to be asked or instructed before taking action, seldom offer new ideas or express reservations about taking on additional responsibilities.
• Quality of Work: Has established a track record of producing work that is highly accurate, demonstrates attention to detail and reflects well on the organization. Is personally committed to high quality work and encourages others to have similar standards.
• Demonstrating Content Knowledge and Curriculum: Stays up-to-date on the subject matter, making certain that material presented, and answers to student questions, reflect current knowledge and concepts in the field. Aligns instruction to match the required curriculum and paces the course to ensure adequate coverage of all aspects of that curriculum. Stresses and highlights the most important points and concepts, especially when student achievement will be based upon department-wide or standardized tests.

NLU Inclusion Statement:

National Louis University is deeply committed to serving its community, advancing access and equity, and ensuring that all individuals are welcomed and valued.  We are dedicated to fostering a culture where diversity, equity, and inclusion remain at the core of who we are. These are more than just words to us: they are truly a way of life for the NLU community. We recognize that differences in abilities, age, ethnicity, gender (identity and expression), race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and background bring richness to our work environment. We affirm diverse perspectives, innovative contributions, and authentic presentations of self from every member within the NLU community. We believe inclusion is grounded in the actions we intentionally take each day. Our goal is to inspire and empower NLU employees and community members to cultivate an environment where we collectively focus on uplifting and advancing our institutional culture.

Please Include the following with your Application:

• Curriculum Vitae
• Cover Letter
• Transcripts (Official or Unofficial)

Optional Additional Attachments:

• Teaching Philosophy
• Additional Licenses/Certifications
• Course Evaluations
• Letters of Recommendation