May 4, 2023
Call for Applicants
Language Sciences Co-Director
Applications are invited to fill the position of Co-Director of the Language Sciences Global Research Excellence Institute, at UBC Vancouver, for a three-year term, with an anticipated start date of January 1st, 2024. The new Language Sciences (LangSci) Co-Director will work alongside returning Co-Director Dr. Bryan Gick (Professor, Department of Linguistics) to advance the goals of the Institute as outlined below.
Role of the Co-Director(s)
The LangSci Co-Directors define and lead LangSci’s research program, community and industry outreach, and knowledge mobilization efforts with support from the LangSci Steering Committee and staff.
Strategic Academic Direction
The LangSci Co-Directors:
- Provide strategic academic direction for the institute
- Engage with individual steering committee members (and other members) on projects relating to members’ respective portfolios and/or research challenge areas
- Oversee the submission of large-scale tri-council or other team grants
- Advance progress in LangSci’s identified priority areas identified in the Global Research Excellence Institute Proposal:
- Catalyzing new interdisciplinary research programs
- Engaging community and industry partners
- Sharing our findings to enrich public knowledge
- Promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion within and beyond UBC
- Cementing global leadership in emerging international LangSci research network
- Cultivating the next generation of LangSci researchers
- Contribute (where expertise is relevant) to the LangSci research challenge areas identified during the GREx proposal development process:
- Simulating Languaging Bodies
- Mapping Language Acquisition and Decline
- Enhancing Language and Literacy Education
- Supporting Community-Engaged Language Survivance
- Reimagining Public Discourse
Governance
- Chair steering committee (~4 meetings per year)
- Approve meeting agendas outlined by Coordinator
- Communicate regularly with steering committee members regarding opportunities and progress within their portfolios
- Liaise with the International Academic Advisory Board (IAAB)
- Report to Deans’ Council (Academic matters) and Research + Innovation Council (GREx matters)
- Facilitate five-year review process with Research + Innovation Council (supported by Coordinator and other LangSci staff)
Operations
- Provide financial oversight for Global Research Excellence Institute and other LangSci operating funds
- Receive and review quarterly financial reports from LangSci staff
- Supervise direct reports such as the LangSci Coordinator
- Meet regularly (weekly or bi-weekly) with fellow co-director and Coordinator
Eligibility
Professors and Associate Professors from UBC Vancouver whose core research is related to Language Sciences’ research themes are eligible to apply.
How to apply
Notice of Intent
Complete the brief Notice of Intent form by 11:59pm Wednesday, May 31st, 2023.
To indicate your interest in applying for the co-director role and request any additional information, including a copy of the GREx application and recent annual reports, contact Language Sciences at language.sciences@ubc.ca.
Full application
Submit applications by 11:59pm Monday, July 10th, 2023 to Kath Imhiran at artsadmin.rc@ubc.ca. Queries may be sent to language.sciences@ubc.ca. Applications will be considered by a committee appointed by the Steering Committee and the Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Arts.
Applications must include:
- A current Curriculum Vitae
- A two- to three-page statement that:
- Provides an overview of your goals and vision for Language Sciences and alignment with LangSci’s six priorities and five research challenge areas
- Describes your research program and its relation to Language Sciences’ research framework
- Describes your leadership experience
- Outlines your commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, as well as any leadership experience in these areas; in particular, applicants are asked to provide a statement addressing: (i) past and potential contributions to creating/advancing a culture of equity and inclusion and (ii) past or potential contributions to Indigenous engagement, through teaching, professional activity, and/or service.
Applicants are expected to consult with their unit head(s) to request approval in principle, should they be the successful candidate.
UBC is located on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓-speaking Musqueam people and is committed to meaningful engagement with Indigenous peoples. UBC embraces equity and diversity as integral to our academic mission. Equity and diversity are essential to academic and creative excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We especially encourage applications from members of groups that have historically been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit, or Indigenous person. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply.
Acknowledgment of Service
The successful candidate may receive the equivalent of one 3-credit course buyout per academic year of their Co-Director term (contingent upon approval of the head of their academic home unit) or an honorarium in lieu, should they already have course releases through other arrangements.
Details and Timeline
| Term Length (up to 3 years, renewable once) | January 1st, 2024 – December 31st, 2026 |
| Notice of Intent Deadline | 11:59pm Wednesday, May 31st, 2023 |
| Submission Deadline | 11:59pm Monday, July 10th, 2023 |
| Shortlist contacted | August 2023 |
| Interviews | September 2023 |
| Decision announcement | September / October 2023 |
| Onboarding | January 2024 |
A PDF copy of this Call is available here: LangSci CoDirector Call_May2023