Assistant Professor in Anti-Black Racism and Social Inclusion

Application Window

The Goldman School of Public Policy (GSPP) seeks applicants for a tenure-track, Assistant Professor position as part of the University of California, Berkeley’s Cluster search in “Anti-Black Racism and Social Inclusion (ARSI)." The multi-year Initiative recognizes the need to strengthen democratic structures that are currently in crisis (e.g., through the suppression of voting rights; hyper-criminalization; persistent wealth inequality; highly segregated neighborhoods and schools, and approaches to crime control), and includes the Department of African American Studies, Department of Sociology, the Law School, the School of Public Health, the School of Social Welfare, and GSPP. The specific language of the Cluster initiative is presented in greater detail below.

As a leading public university located in the socially, culturally, and economically dynamic Bay Area, UC Berkeley is positioned to lead the reimagining of our democratic institutions and the building of a more just society. In line with the larger ARSI Cluster goals, the GSPP faculty member will focus on the systems and structures that delimit Black lives and engage in scholarship, professional practice, and collaborative service to investigate how anti-blackness functions as a central organizing feature of US social political institutions.

GSPP seeks applicants whose primary research focus pertains to how anti-blackness inhibits racial justice and drives inequality in any policy domain, including but not limited to criminal justice and public safety, law, education, housing policy, labor market policy, democracy (e.g., voting and elections, speech and expression), population statistics, international conflict, and health policy. We welcome empirically-oriented social scientists and data scientists with interdisciplinary expertise in critical epistemologies, like critical race theory, and the Black intellectual and Black feminist traditions.

Candidates should have a demonstrated track-record of independent or collaborative research excellence, aspirations to teach and be actively engaged in a professional graduate school setting, and a commitment to interdisciplinary perspectives and collegial service.

The successful applicant’s faculty line would rest within the Goldman School. The faculty member would also join a dynamic cohort of junior faculty across academic units who together will connect and amplify campus networks on antiracist scholarship and social transformation. The cluster structure will provide greater support and cross-disciplinary synergistic opportunities intended to foster the success and career development of faculty hired into the cluster on the UC Berkeley campus.

The Goldman School of Public Policy is committed to addressing the family needs of faculty, including dual career couples and single parents. We are also interested in candidates who have had non-traditional career paths or who have taken time off for family reasons, or who have achieved excellence in careers outside academia. For information about potential relocation to Berkeley, or career needs of accompanying partners and spouses, please visit: http://ofew.berkeley.edu/new-faculty

Candidates must demonstrate a commitment to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging through their research, teaching, and/or service. UC Berkeley is committed to upholding the university’s principles of community so that every individual can be successful in a healthy, welcoming, and safe environment. Additional information about programs and resources supporting the advancement of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging is available at: https://ls.berkeley.edu/about/diversity-equity-and-inclusion and
https://ls.berkeley.edu/ls-divisions/social-sciences/diversity-equity-and-inclusion

Description of the University of California, Berkeley Anti-Black Racism and Social Inclusion Cluster

UC Berkeley is committed to building a community of scholars whose work contributes to contemporary efforts to strengthen democratic structures that are currently in crisis (e.g., through the suppression of voting rights; hyper-criminalization; persistent wealth inequality; highly segregated schools, and approaches to crime control). The Anti-Black Racism and Social Inclusion hiring initiative centers anti-blackness as a central organizing feature of social and political institutions in the US and globally, and as an expansive conceptual framework that draws attention to the systems and structures that delimit Black lives and enables us to interrogate how anti-blackness functions across and within racial/ethnic groups. We seek scholars who are leading or emerging voices in conversations on anti-blackness as it relates to outcomes in various social domains and who possess a demonstrated commitment to advancing anti-racism both inside and outside the academy, whether in the United States or internationally.

This initiative is especially interested in applicants whose research can contribute to theoretical, conceptual, and empirical understandings of how social institutions can provide for the safety and well-being of a diverse group of people in a democratic society as it reckons with its roots in racism, anti-blackness and white supremacy. We invite applicants with interdisciplinary expertise in critical epistemologies, like critical race theory, and the Black intellectual and Black feminist traditions. We also invite applicants whose scholarly experience includes a demonstrated commitment to this research arc and to teaching/mentoring, service, practice and public intellectualism /partnerships along these lines.

School: https://gspp.berkeley.edu/

PhD (or equivalent international degree), or enrolled in PhD or equivalent international degree-granting program at the time of application.

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are core values at UC Berkeley. Our excellence can only be fully realized by faculty, students, and academic and non-academic staff who share our commitment to these values. Successful candidates for our academic positions will demonstrate evidence of a commitment to advancing equity, inclusion, and belonging.

The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status. For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy see: http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000376/NondiscrimAffirmAct

In searches when letters of reference are required all letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality (http://apo.berkeley.edu/ucb-confidentiality-policy) prior to submitting their letter.

As a condition of employment, you will be required to comply with the University of California SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Vaccination Program Policy. All Covered Individuals under the policy must provide proof of Full Vaccination or, if applicable, submit a request for Exception (based on Medical Exemption, Disability, and/or Religious Objection) or Deferral (based on pregnancy) no later than the applicable deadline. Please refer to Appendix F, Section II.C. of the policy for the deadlines applicable to new University of California employees. (Capitalized terms in this paragraph are defined in the policy.) Federal, state, or local public health directives may impose additional requirements.

Positions that are represented by a collective bargaining unit or agent have particular contracts. For more information, please refer to the relevant contract: Lecturer contract, Postdoctoral contract, Research Series contract, and Librarian contract. Questions about represented positions can be directed to the hiring unit.