October 27, 2022

Director of Research for Community-Engaged Research

Call for (Self-)Nominations

The Research Office invites nominations, including self-nominations, for a half-time position serving as Director of Research for Community-Engaged Research. This position is responsible for fostering continued expansion of individual and collaborative research in community-engaged research, with an emphasis on strategic priorities to be determined through the current university strategic planning process. The ideal candidate will be a visionary academic leader with a distinguished record of scholarship and research who will be adept at connecting faculty with funding opportunities and facilitating research partnerships to pursue external funding.

The Director of Research for Community-Engaged Research will be one of seven Directors of Research hired in the coming months to focus on different disciplines or subfields, with the shared goals of supporting research excellence, expanding external funding, and helping guide IU's research investments as a member of the VPR academic cabinet[i]. All Directors of Research will be a 50% appointment and will be supported by shared staff in IU's Office for Research Development. Specific duties of the Directors of Research include:

  1. Oversight of campus Centers, Museums and Institutes in their disciplinary domain.[ii]
  2. Convene a faculty research council with representatives from each of the major departments represented in this area. The council will be a critical two-way communication between VPR and faculty, and assist the Director of Research in identifying faculty with specific expertise, for example, to help:
    1. Identify potential faculty collaborators to initiate new research projects or respond to external requests for proposals.
    2. Identify faculty in their discipline or subfield for national and international awards.
  3. As a member of the VPR academic cabinet:
    1. Assist Foundation Relations, Government Relations, and Business Partnerships by identifying faculty with research expertise for specific external funding opportunities or collaborations.
    2. Assist with strategic planning of internal research investments.
    3. Meet with relevant schools, CIMs, and departments to assist with strategic planning for large proposals, collaborations (with external partners like Crane or AnalytiXIN), or training programs that relate to their discipline.
  4. As appropriate,
    1. Serve on national or regional research boards and committees; Liaise with state agencies for research needs, creating networking events for cross-campus and cross-state academic/practitioner/decision-makers/stakeholders to meet around research areas.
    2. Welcome visitors to campus, give opening remarks, and represent campus research at various events related to their discipline.

Full professors active with community-engaged research at IU Bloomington or IU Indianapolis are invited to submit a brief letter indicating their interest in the position or nominate a colleague and provide rationale for why that individual would be successful in the role. Please submit a letter of interest no later than November 8, 2022. Letters should be emailed to research@iu.edu

For more information, see research.iu.edu and research.impact.iu.edu



[i] The VPR academic cabinet includes the Vice President for Research, AVPR-Bloomington, AVPR-Indianapolis, AVPR-Development, AVPR-Compliance, AVPR-Administration, and the Directors of Research.

[ii] The Director of Research for Community-Engaged Research currently has two centers and institutes under their purview: Indiana Institute on Disability & Community and the Indiana Geological & Water Survey.