American Council of Learned Societies

Postdoctoral Research Fellows

POSITIONS AVAILABLE: ACLS ANNOUNCES SEARCH FOR POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOWS

See: http://www.acls.org/ex-pos.htm

January 2001 . . . ACLS plans to appoint up to two postdoctoral Research Fellows, who will work from the Council's New York offices on a variety of projects. The positions will provide Fellows with an introduction to the intellectual, administrative, and organizational issues important to the Humanities, the related Social Sciences, and their Learned Societies on a national level, and with an opportunity to contribute to the leadership that ACLS provides. ACLS will appoint the Fellows for terms of at least two years. While ACLS responsibilities will take priority, Fellows will be permitted to spend up to one-fourth of their time focused on their own scholarly research. Salary and benefits will be competitive with those of New York non-profits.

While the successful candidate's experience and background will help to determine the precise outline of her/his responsibilities, a Research Fellow will be expected to assist the President and Vice President with papers, speeches, and other library-based research projects related to the ACLS mission and to the President's public role. He or she will also assist other ACLS Program Officers in the administration of grant programs, the organization and preparation for meetings, and the design and refinement of databases. The Fellows may be asked to prepare written reports for the President, Board, and Council, as well as to develop and edit materials for ACLS publications and for its Website.

Applicants must hold a Ph.D. in a field represented by ACLS, possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and demonstrate active interest, even if not proven experience and effectiveness, in academic administration. The position also requires excellent analytical and organizational skills, as well as the qualities essential for working effectively with a wide range of colleagues, grantees, advisors, and institutional partners. A Fellow must be adept at using information technology both as a research tool and for the analysis of data. Broad familiarity with a part of the history of humanities scholarship, while not a necessary qualification, is highly desirable.

The mission of the ACLS, founded in 1919, is to advance humanistic studies in all fields of learning in the humanities and related social sciences and to maintain and strengthen relations among national societies devoted to such studies. As the pre-eminent representative of humanities scholarship in the United States, the ACLS is nationally known and respected as a funder of humanities research through fellowships and grants awarded to individuals and, on occasion, to groups and institutions. The centerpiece of this work is the ACLS Fellowship Program, which now awards more than 60 fellowships per year from the earnings of its endowment. Over the past 60 years more than 4,000 scholars, including many of the leaders in the humanities today, have held ACLS Fellowships. In 1997, ACLS began a campaign to double its endowment devoted to fellowships and thereby to increase fellowship stipends significantly over the coming years. This campaign has been highly successful in its initial stages, and ACLS also has expanded the number of fellowships it offers through grant-funded programs.

In addition to strengthening its fellowship programs, ACLS has identified the following areas as priorities for the next several years: exploring how digital technology can enrich humanities scholarship and enhance scholarly communication; understanding better the changing patterns of scholarly careers, especially for pre-tenured and recently tenured scholars, in both universities and liberal arts colleges; and cooperating with humanists outside the US on projects of scholarly value, especially in regions of economic transition and distress. ACLS also has a long-established role in studies of Chinese civilization.

Nominations and applications (including a c.v., a writing sample of no more than 20 pages, and the names and addresses of at least three references) should be sent to:

Research Fellow Search 2001
American Council of Learned Societies
228 East 45th Street
New York, New York 10017

Fax: (212) 949-8058

We seek to fill these posts as soon as possible. Salary is commensurate with qualifications and experience. Applications will be reviewed until the posts are filled. ACLS is an equal opportunity employer.