Required Qualifications: 

• Ph.D. in Geography, Urban Studies, Urban Planning, Anthropology, Sociology, American Studies, Ethnic Studies, Economics, Natural Resources, Environmental Studies or related field.

• Interest in and affinity for working in interdisciplinary research teams that include social sciences, humanities and natural sciences.

• Track record of publication and overseeing research design and implementation.

• Interest in environmental justice or other frameworks at the intersection of racialization and environmental governance.

• Effective and responsive team member with track record of successful collaborative engagements.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated commitment to anti-racist and/or decolonial scholarship.

• Demonstrated familiarity with urban studies and/or urban geographic scholarship on racialization and urban segregation.

• Experience working as a community organizer or in a non-academic setting on social or environmental issues.

• Experience collaboratively designing research with communities whose priorities are not typically represented in academic research. 

• Experience with pedagogy and curriculum design for community-engaged scholarship.

• Experience with spatial analysis, data management, and data visualization techniques.

• Experience integrating qualitative and quantitative data sources.

• Experience designing and facilitating community engagement processes for social or environmental issues. 

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The CREATE Initiative, funded by the University of Minnesota’s Grand Challenge program, seeks a post-doctoral researcher to work on community-engaged, anti-racist research on urban environmental change. The position will be based at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Geography, Environment and Society and supervised by Dr. Kate Derickson and Dr. Bonnie Keeler. The position is funded for two years.

CREATE is co-directed by Dr. Bonnie Keeler (Institute on the Environment and the Humphrey School of Public Affairs) and Dr. Kate Derickson (Dept. of Geography, Environment and Society) in partnership with faculty across the University of Minnesota and a network of community leaders in the U.S. and internationally. CREATE supports research at the intersections of water and equity, particularly with communities whose priorities have historically been underrepresented in academic research. The CREATE Initiative aims to pilot new models of engaged-scholarship, grounded in historical context, that address geographies of racial inequality, infrastructure investments, and the delivery of environmental services. The Initiative also offers training to graduate students from a range of disciplines interested in designing collaborative co-developed research on environmental justice and water issues.

CREATE will build on ongoing collaborations with the Mapping Prejudice Project - a comprehensive spatial visualization of historical racial covenants that have shaped the development of Minneapolis neighborhoods, the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance, and the Natural Capital Project's Livable Cities program. Working with community-based partners in Atlanta and Minneapolis, the Initiative is conducting research to identify how past urban infrastructure investments continue to shape outcomes with implications for racial equity and future park and water infrastructure planning. 

As part of CREATE, the post-doctoral researcher would conduct research to identify how past urban infrastructure investments continue to shape environmental outcomes with implications for racial equity, water quality, and future policy and planning.  We seek a motivated and resourceful scholar interested in playing a leadership role in this new initiative, including developing collaborative relationships with external partners, identifying and exploring research questions at the intersection of water, equity, and urban transformations (past and future), and mentoring students in actionable, community-oriented research. The post-doctoral researcher will also assist with designing and teaching a 1-credit course and participate in supervising and facilitating graduate summer research with community-based collaborators.  They will also take a leadership role in planning and writing scholarly papers on the basis of the work of the Initiative. 

Principal Duties and Responsibilities
50%
Project management and coordination to support the CREATE initiative on the intersection of water and equity in urban environments. Lead engagements and capacity-building efforts with stakeholders, academics, NGOs and other groups to promote collaborations.  Participation in curriculum design and instruction of course in approaches to community-based collaborative research and facilitation of connections between community-based partners and graduate student researchers.

50% Literature research and synthesis at the intersection of environmental justice, urban geography, and urban environmental management. Development of scholarly papers and other research products for a range of audiences including public, community and government based on the work of the CREATE initiative. 

Working Conditions The majority of the work will take place in an office setting. Work may require some domestic travel to Atlanta or other U.S. cities.

For 10 years, the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota has accelerated the transition to a sustainable future, focusing on areas including clean water, global land use, renewable energy and climate adaptation. IonE is forging meaningful partnerships across boundaries, empowering environmental leaders, and delivering real-world solutions.   

The Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota ranks among the country’s top 10 professional public policy and planning schools, widely recognized for its success in advancing the common good through a comprehensive, world-class program. The School offers six distinctive master’s degrees, a doctoral degree, and six certificate programs that match students’ passion with the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to solve real-world challenges.

The Department of Geography, Environment and Society at the University of Minnesota is a top-ranked, nationally and internationally recognized department that includes programs in Geography, Urban Studies, BSE (Biology, Society and Environment), and Geographic Information Science.  Studies in Geography offer an integrative perspective on the relations among social, political, economic, and physical phenomena in space and place, and provides a methodological emphasis in Geographic Information Science. Urban Studies is an interdisciplinary undergraduate program that focuses on the conceptual and analytical frameworks and specialized skills needed for professions focused on urban change or development in public agencies, non-profits, or private business, or for graduate study in urban planning, law, social welfare, public affairs, or the social and environmental sciences. BSE, in addition to comprehensive training in biology, examines the relevance of the biological sciences to social, environmental, or health-related problems. MGIS program, first of its type in the U.S., is a professional degree program that provides a comprehensive GIS degree that balances work in the theoretical/conceptual, technical, and application domains of GIS; delivers course work at times convenient for students employed full time; and emphasizes societal impacts of GIS technologies. In addition to the four programs mentioned above, the department assists in the advising of CLA's Public Health minor.  The Department provides up-to-date computing, cartography/GIS, and physical geography laboratories, support for tree-ring analysis, soil characterization, and paleoenvironmental reconstruction, and one of the nation's finest libraries supporting all undergraduate, graduate, and professional research and training programs.

Applications must be submitted online.  To be considered for this position, please click the Apply button and follow the instructions.  You will have the opportunity to complete an online application for the position and attach a cover letter and CV.

Additional documents may be attached after application by accessing your "My Activities" page and uploading documents there.  In addition to a cover letter detailing your experience and interest, and a current CV, you must attach a writing sample. 

This position will remain open until filled.

To request an accommodation during the application process, please e-mail [log in to unmask] or call (612) 624-UOHR (8647).

The University recognizes and values the importance of diversity and inclusion in enriching the employment experience of its employees and in supporting the academic mission.  The University is committed to attracting and retaining employees with varying identities and backgrounds.

The University of Minnesota provides equal access to and opportunity in its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.  To learn more about diversity at the U:  http://diversity.umn.edu.

Any offer of employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a background check. Our presumption is that prospective employees are eligible to work here. Criminal convictions do not automatically disqualify finalists from employment.