Doctoral Fellow-Seminar Series (Student GRA Search)
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Job Location:
Lawrence, KS - USA
Monthly Salary:
Not Disclosed
Posted on:
10 hours ago
Vacancies:
1 Vacancy
Job Summary
Job Description
The selected Doctoral Fellow will work with the Hall Center Director Hall Center staff and the Digital Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow to plan and carry out the programming details for each of the linked seminars in the series. Assigned tasks may include but are not limited to:
Disclaimer
The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race color ethnicity religion sex national origin age ancestry disability status as a veteran sexual orientation marital status parental status gender identity gender expression and genetic information in the universitys programs and activities. Retaliation is also prohibited by university policy. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies and is the Title IX coordinator for all KU and KUMC campuses: Associate Vice Chancellor for Civil Rights and Title IX Room 1082 Dole Human Development Center 1000 Sunnyside Avenue Lawrence KSTTY.
Work Schedule
20 hours per week / .5 FTE
Contact Information to Applicants
Andrew Hodgson Assistant Director Hall Center for the Humanities
Preferred Qualifications
N/A
Position Overview
The Hall Center for the Humanities seeks a PhD candidate in a humanities or humanities-adjacent discipline to serve as the Doctoral Fellow for a seminar series that will run from January 2026 November 2027. The selected student will work under Hall Center Director who serves as the Principal Investigator for the 2-year seminar program entitled Navigating Academic Freedom and Democracy on a Public University Campus in Americas Heartland. The Graduate Fellow will gain valuable experience in project management (program development and execution) grant management (assessment and reporting) collaborative interdisciplinary research and will participate in the substantive intellectual work of the project. These highly marketable job skills will add to their academic research and teaching portfolios benefiting anyone interested in exploring ways they can apply the skills they have acquired in graduate school to career paths within and beyond the academy.
Seminar Description:
The central aim of the seminar series is to engage in comparative research on the historical and cultural sources of contemporary the upcoming 250th anniversary year of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the 50th anniversary of the Hall Center for the Humanities the series will excavate how democracy and academic freedom are understood taught and tested on college campuses focusing especially on the current moment and specifically at the University of Kansas.
The interdisciplinary team of co-Principal Investigators understands academic freedom in accordance to Ralph F. Fuchs critical 1963 essay on the subject in which he concludes that academic freedom rests on three foundations: (1) the notion of intellectual freedom which is most frequently taught on U.S. campuses through the writings of philosophers from ancient Greece and Europes Age of Reason; (2) the idea of autonomy for communities of scholars which arose in the formation of universities around the world; and (3) the freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Bill of Rights in the Constitution as elaborated by the courts. Over the course of the seminar series we will examine these facets of academic freedom and demonstrate how the humanities are particularly well positioned to ensure that each aspect is considered from a variety of perspectives. As we interrogate how democracy and academic freedom on KUs campus have been taught and modelled over the past half-century providing an important intellectual civic and cultural education for thousands of students and employees we will also contemplate how these concepts might need rearticulation revision and/or different pedagogical strategies for the years and generations to come.
Employment Conditions
(1) Student employees are not eligible for remote work arrangements unless an exception is approved by the unit leadership and HR.
(2) This is a salaried GRA position. A student employee cannot hold an hourly/non-exempt position and a salaried/exempt graduate or undergraduate position (GRA/GTA/GA/RUA/RGA) concurrently.
The selected Doctoral Fellow will work with the Hall Center Director Hall Center staff and the Digital Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow to plan and carry out the programming details for each of the linked seminars in the series. Assigned tasks may include but are not limited to:
- Make strong progress on dissertation project (40%);
- Attend all seminar sessions and take detailed notes on the proceedings for future use in (1) developing the KU Sawyer Seminars website (2) capturing key insights gained throughout the 2-year series; (3) writing monthly briefs an interim report and a final report (i.e. grant reporting) (4) program assessment (20%);
- Schedule and facilitate each seminar session in consultation with the Postdoctoral Fellow and the Hall Center Program Coordinator and Events Specialist (10%);
- Research write copyedit proofread and distribute related marketing and publicity materials in consultation with the Hall Center Communications Coordinator (10%);
- Plan a summary session for co-PIs and the seminar cohort of participants at the end of Year 1 and a half-day capstone event near the end of Year 2 (10%);
- Assist the Digital Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow and website technician in designing developing launching and maintaining the Seminars website (5%);
- Other (5%).
Disclaimer
The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race color ethnicity religion sex national origin age ancestry disability status as a veteran sexual orientation marital status parental status gender identity gender expression and genetic information in the universitys programs and activities. Retaliation is also prohibited by university policy. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies and is the Title IX coordinator for all KU and KUMC campuses: Associate Vice Chancellor for Civil Rights and Title IX Room 1082 Dole Human Development Center 1000 Sunnyside Avenue Lawrence KSTTY.
Work Schedule
20 hours per week / .5 FTE
Contact Information to Applicants
Andrew Hodgson Assistant Director Hall Center for the Humanities
- Excellent written and oral communication skills as evidenced by application materials and/or work history.
- Excellent organizational and administrative skills; strong attention to detail as demonstrated by application materials.
- Ability to prioritize tasks manage conflicting responsibilities organize time wisely and consistently meet deadlines as demonstrated by application materials.
- Ability to work independently in a team environment take ownership of the resolution of problems be flexible and accountable as evidenced by application materials.
- Computer skills in a PC/Windows environment including MS Word and MS Excel as demonstrated by application materials and previous experience. Familiarity with an Apple environment.
Preferred Qualifications
N/A
Position Overview
The Hall Center for the Humanities seeks a PhD candidate in a humanities or humanities-adjacent discipline to serve as the Doctoral Fellow for a seminar series that will run from January 2026 November 2027. The selected student will work under Hall Center Director who serves as the Principal Investigator for the 2-year seminar program entitled Navigating Academic Freedom and Democracy on a Public University Campus in Americas Heartland. The Graduate Fellow will gain valuable experience in project management (program development and execution) grant management (assessment and reporting) collaborative interdisciplinary research and will participate in the substantive intellectual work of the project. These highly marketable job skills will add to their academic research and teaching portfolios benefiting anyone interested in exploring ways they can apply the skills they have acquired in graduate school to career paths within and beyond the academy.
Seminar Description:
The central aim of the seminar series is to engage in comparative research on the historical and cultural sources of contemporary the upcoming 250th anniversary year of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the 50th anniversary of the Hall Center for the Humanities the series will excavate how democracy and academic freedom are understood taught and tested on college campuses focusing especially on the current moment and specifically at the University of Kansas.
The interdisciplinary team of co-Principal Investigators understands academic freedom in accordance to Ralph F. Fuchs critical 1963 essay on the subject in which he concludes that academic freedom rests on three foundations: (1) the notion of intellectual freedom which is most frequently taught on U.S. campuses through the writings of philosophers from ancient Greece and Europes Age of Reason; (2) the idea of autonomy for communities of scholars which arose in the formation of universities around the world; and (3) the freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Bill of Rights in the Constitution as elaborated by the courts. Over the course of the seminar series we will examine these facets of academic freedom and demonstrate how the humanities are particularly well positioned to ensure that each aspect is considered from a variety of perspectives. As we interrogate how democracy and academic freedom on KUs campus have been taught and modelled over the past half-century providing an important intellectual civic and cultural education for thousands of students and employees we will also contemplate how these concepts might need rearticulation revision and/or different pedagogical strategies for the years and generations to come.
- Matching KU GTA/GRA salary levels for .5 FTE currently $26000 per year (12/15/2025 10/31/2026 and 11/1/2026 10/31/2027) including fringe
- Tuition and fees for 1 dissertation hour per semester including Summers 2026 and 2027
- Resume or Curriculum Vita;
- Cover Letter addressing how the students research fits the topic of the seminar series (Academic Freedom & Democracy on University Campuses) and why applicants desires the position;
- Contact Information for 2 professional references.
- Must be a doctoral student enrolled at the University of Kansas with departmental affiliation in the humanities arts or interpretative/qualitative social sciences;
- Must be ABD (coursework completed dissertation proposal reviewed and passed enrolled in no more than 1 credit hour per semester);
- Must be engaged in research involving the major themes of the seminar series (e.g. democracy/democracies academic freedom higher education state or local politics as affecting universities campus policies freedom of speech censorship).
Employment Conditions
(1) Student employees are not eligible for remote work arrangements unless an exception is approved by the unit leadership and HR.
(2) This is a salaried GRA position. A student employee cannot hold an hourly/non-exempt position and a salaried/exempt graduate or undergraduate position (GRA/GTA/GA/RUA/RGA) concurrently.
Key Skills
- Teacher Coaching
- Public Health
- Google Docs
- Classroom Experience
- Systems Engineering
- Research Experience
- Teaching
- Grant Writing
- Leadership Experience
- Mentoring
- Public Speaking
- Writing Skills
About Company
Thank you for your interest in employment with the University of Kansas. If you need assistance with the application process please contact Human Resources at [email protected] or 785-864-4946.
