The MultiCultural Center Scholar-in-Residence Program
Background
The MultiCultural Center (MCC) has long functioned as a site of knowledge production, community formation, and activism with an emphasis on social justice and social transformation. Throughout the years, the MCC has been a central hub that bridges Student Affairs with Academic Affairs. Faculty, students, and organizations on campus have hosted or co-hosted events at the MCC; MCC events have been embedded in curriculum; and Departments have consistently requested co-sponsorship of programming that align with the mission of the MCC. These relationships, cultivated over the years, have been a bedrock of the campus’s continued fight to ensure that all students, and particularly minority students, have a place where they can be heard, felt, seen, and empowered. In addition, students are able to interact with faculty outside of the brick and mortar of the classroom, as well as be in a community of practice with activists and artists.
The Scholar-in-Residence Program
Building on this long history, we are pleased to announce a new program: the “MCC Scholar-in-Residence.” Each year, a committee of faculty and MCC staff will bestow this honor upon an Assistant Professor whose career trajectory embodies and advances the MCC’s core mission. The Scholar-in-Residence program will provide the funding necessary for a one-course release during the Fall quarter; the expectation is that the award would relieve the Scholar of teaching responsibilities for that quarter; in lieu of the scholar’s Fall quarter service, they would devote a maximum of 10 hours per week to the tasks outlined below. The award will also come with an allotment of $2,500 in research funds, to be used by the applicant in support of their research agenda.
This program will provide an opportunity to strengthen relations between the MCC and Academic Affairs. Now more than ever, it is important for multicultural centers to proactively model for institutions of higher education how to be change agents, how to be solutions-focused, and how to commit to action. As the MCC continues to further its mission by remaining at the center of the justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) work at UCSB, the Scholar-in-Residence position will play an integral role in shaping the intellectual life of the Center. Institutional commitment has to come with equitable compensation; this program will serve as a model for other units on campus and nationally who seek the labor of JEDI workers.
Service Responsibilities of the Scholar-in-Residence
The Scholar-in-Residence (SIR) will assist staff with developing programs that emphasize social justice while also serving in a consultative role to the Vice-Chancellor of Student Affairs on JEDI matters. The SIR will be expected to work 10 hours per week, performing the following tasks during the Fall Quarter:
- Curate 4 events throughout the quarter which address a social issue/problem they identify that aligns with the mission of the MCC;
- Aid the Director and staff in developing scholarly programming for the remainder of the academic year;
- Provide assistance to the Intersectional Justice Certificate program facilitator on issues related to pedagogy, course content, and navigating the institution upon request;
- Help to more closely align the MCC with academic life by functioning as a faculty liaison;
- Assist the Director to identify future initiatives that support the MCC’s outreach efforts;
- Submit by the end of January a brief report on the experience, noting accomplishments and including recommendations for improvement of the program in the future.
Application Procedures
- Brief letter of intent, which outlines alignment between the applicant’s commitments and trajectory with the MCC’s mission; this letter is due by April 1 in the year of the Fall residency;
- Curriculum Vitae;
- Statement by the applicant’s Chair, including a confirmation of the feasibility of the course buy-out, and commitment that no departmental service will be required of the applicant;
- Statement of support by applicant’s Dean, including confirmation of the research stipend in the event that the applicant is chosen.
