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Mellon Public Humanities FellowshipsCall for Applications 2019-20

Due February 22, 2019

The Center for the Humanities invites applications for five Public Humanities Fellowships designed to provide advanced graduate students in the humanities with experience outside of academia. By placing fellows in partner organizations around Madison including museums, hospitals, non-profits, community centers, and emerging businesses, the program facilitates the reciprocal sharing of resources and expertise, and highlights the significance of the humanities both on and off campus. We aim not only to provide graduate students the opportunity to explore diverse career paths, but also to cultivate a practice of public humanities within their academic work.

We encourage applicants to imagine themselves into positions not obviously connected with their discipline. We have placed doctoral students in unexpected settings: a Music Theory student in a STEM education non-profit, a Geography student in a food collective, a Design Studies student in a historical society. Non-academic skills and experiences acquired prior to and concurrent with your degree are valued by partner organizations as equally as the transferable skills you have gained and refined during your education.

The Mellon Public Humanities Fellowships are part of Engaging the Humanities, a multiyear project generously supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation that creates opportunities for UW-Madison graduate students and faculty to broaden the impact of their research through workshops, seminars, programs, and visiting scholars, in addition to the fellowships.

Overview

In 2019-2020 the Center for the Humanities will award up to five public humanities fellowships to dissertating doctoral students at UW-Madison. Recipients of this fellowship will receive a $25,000 stipend and be paired with an organization in Madison for a nine-month (academic year) residency. These residencies will give fellows the opportunity to use their humanities experience and expertise to develop new programs, expand existing ones, and translate their academic skills into the public sphere. The fellowship period is Aug 19, 2019 to May 17, 2020 and fellows will be in residence at their assigned organization 20 hours a week (excluding academic breaks) during that period. Fellows will be responsible for paying in-state tuition; they will be eligible for healthcare benefits.

Available Positions (links lead to position descriptions within this document)

1. Arts + Literature Laboratory 2. Forward Community Investments 3. Madison College 4. Madison School & Community Recreation 5. Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters

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This competition is open to UW-Madison PhD students in the humanities and related fields who have completed all coursework and are currently writing dissertations. We expect that applicants will bring to these positions a host of skills drawn from their scholarly training, including a strong research and writing background, creativity, and specific forms of field-based knowledge and expertise (in, for example, history, anthropology, art history, cultural studies, digital media, literature, languages, or film, among many others). Partner organizations will provide fellows the opportunity to undertake significant work on innovative programs and ensure that they receive appropriate mentoring. Applicants should apply for a position, rather than to the program as a whole. The final and most important round of application review and interviews will be conducted by the partner organizations independently of the Center for the Humanities.

Eligibility and Criteria

The Fellowship is open to advanced UW-Madison graduate students in the humanities and related fields (i.e., PhD candidates currently working on their dissertations). Applicants will be reviewed based on their academic accomplishments in the humanities; relevant training and experience; and the relation between the fellowship and their professional goals.

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Position Descriptions

Arts + Literature Laboratory

Educational Technology Fellow

Organization Description

Founded in 2015, Arts + Literature Laboratory (ALL) is a community-based contemporary arts organization that nurtures the artistic innovation and growth of visual, literary, and performing artists. ALL is a cross-disciplinary arts incubator that supports the creation of new work and life-long participation in the arts. ALL connects artists, resources, and community through 200+ programs per year, including: exhibitions, concerts, readings, film screenings, and a growing year-round educational program for youth and adults alike. Through our extensive and diverse offerings, ALL provides thousands of visitors with the opportunity to encounter a wide range of art forms, showcasing hundreds of local artists, writers and performers and helping to build a more sustainable local arts economy.

Position Description

Arts + Literature Laboratory seeks a team member who will work with the Education & Outreach Director to integrate digital tools across educational programs happening online, on-site, and at our partnering outreach sites. Depending on the interests of the candidate, this could include creating more cohesive marketing strategies, registration systems, teacher onboarding processes, partnership support, or evaluation procedures across online and in-person programs. With this position, we aim to support cohesive student recruitment, learning, and assessment through the use of educational technologies.

ALL’s robust education program prioritizes more equitable access to arts learning. Well organized, justice-oriented organizational procedures will support our intention to center historically marginalized voices within Dane County or rural populations across the state of Wisconsin. The perfect candidate would feel comfortable addressing social inequities through big ideas while supporting an efficient organization through cohesive digital tools.

Responsibilities may include:

● Engaging and supporting our literary community by collaboratively improving VirtuALL, ALL’s online writing community.

● Integrating our online registration systems for online, on-site, and outreach programs.● Generating marketing strategies and routines to increase access to online and in-person

classes.● Supporting development of digital learning tools.

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● Collaboratively improving forward-looking evaluation strategies for educational programs that help our organization grow, improve programs, and tell our organizational story.

● Supporting program-wide logistics by being an active member of ALL’s staff and volunteer community.

Qualifications

● Understanding of web-based media, social media, and tools for digital engagement● Working knowledge and/or willingness to develop a range of digital tools● Professional, direct, and effective communication skills● Experience or interest in arts education and/or arts administration that yields knowledgeable

support of staff, teaching artists, students, or organizational partners● Investment in addressing social inequities and in fostering more equitable arts access● Ability to set priorities, create independent or collaborative work plans, and manage deadlines● Works sustainably and with a purpose; a social justice orientation yields high quality products

or processes developed in a thoughtful way.

For questions, email to Aaron Fai, Assistant Director of Public Humanities, at [email protected].

Please do not contact any of these organizations with questions about the positions.

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mailto:[email protected]

Forward Community Investments

Racial Justice Research Fellow


In its capacity as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), Forward Community Investments (FCI) builds stronger and healthier communities by providing loans, advising and grants to mission-based organizations – nonprofit groups and for-profit social enterprises – that address the root causes of racial inequities and socioeconomic disparities and support initiatives that improve equity and make positive change possible. http://www.forwardci.org/

Our Vision is an equitable and inclusive Wisconsin built on cooperative social action.

Our Mission is to act as an investor, connector and advisor for organizations and initiatives that reduce socioeconomic and racial disparities throughout Wisconsin.

Our Values: Integrity. Partnership. Authenticity. Love. Racial Justice. Equity. Diversity. Accountability.

Since 1994, FCI has supported Wisconsin-based projects and programs by providing loan capital, financial expertise and organizational capacity building for: affordable housing, community services and economic development initiatives. We have provided more than $100 million in capital to hundreds of mission-driven organizations across Wisconsin, making a difference in the lives of more than 650,000 people.


CDFIs need innovative ways to explicitly and systematically incorporate a racial equity lens into their work so as to prioritize investments. Using that assumption, Forward Community Investments is looking for a humanities graduate student who will work with the President and Lending Team to gather information from borrowers about the connections between FCI’s capital and data points of racial equity on the affected community. At the same time, the student will also gather information from FCI’s investors to ascertain how they value racial equity when making an investment in FCI. Using this information, recommendations will be developed for future screening methods, loan products and programming.

The responsibilities ad activities for the position may* include:

Survey former and current FCI borrowers to determine the impact of their project from an equity lens on their constituents and the affected community

Using CDFIs in similar demographically-constructed communities (outside of Wisconsin), identify the impact of their activities on racial equity

Survey FCI’s investors to determine whether to what degree they value FCI’s focus on racial equity

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http://www.forwardci.org/

Understanding that wealth inequality among racial and ethnic groups in the United States results from structural racism, identify how investors can contribute to the narrowing of those economic disparities when investing in underserved minority communities

Engage with other FCI stakeholders to determine how FCI can tell a better story about the relationship of racial equity to its lending and granting activities

Present findings and formal recommendations (i.e. improved screening tools, work plan, training) to FCI’s staff and board of directors.

*Using Lean Impact principles, we encourage the student to Think Big. Start small. Relentlessly seek impact. Test and validate. To that end, we understand and appreciate if the plan changes based on findings at any stage in the process.

Qualifications

FCI’s dynamic workplace requires flexibility, integrity, self-motivation and a keen sense of patience; at the same time, this person has to be a self-starter. S/he will have a strong interest in supporting FCI’s values of integrity, partnership, authenticity and love and a demonstrated commitment to promoting diversity, equity and racial justice. The ideal candidate should have an understanding of finance; experience working in multicultural environments; appreciation of the value of nonprofits; familiarity with community, economic and civic development methodologies and be driven by a passion for mission-driven work. Other qualifications include:

Strong creativity and strategic thinking skills; Demonstrated self-starter with strong time management and organizational skills; Ability to manage projects efficiently and lead projects to successful outcomes; Ability to work with some degree of independence, and, at the same time thrive in a mission-

driven environment; Commitment to continuous learning and skills improvement; and Ability to travel, maintain vehicle insurance, and a valid driver’s license are required.



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Madison College

Liberal Arts Education and Perception Fellow


Madison College (formerly Madison Area Technical College) is a world-class community college in Madison, Wisconsin, with additional campuses in Fort Atkinson, Portage, Reedsburg, and Watertown. For more than 100 years, Madison College has offered educational opportunities to a wide variety of students with varying educational needs.

Students can earn an associate degree, technical diploma or a certificate in more than 150 programs. Nearly half go on to earn an advanced degree through more than 150 college transfer pathways.

Madison College helps students with job placement through established partnerships with the business community. An impressive 93 percent of Madison College graduates find jobs within six months.

Madison College provides the largest number of transfer students to UW-Madison and the UW system as a whole among public institutions in Wisconsin. In the 2016-2017 academic year, 845 students successfully transferred from Madison College to UW system schools, 313 of whom transferred to UW Madison.

Madison College – Mission, Vision, and Values

Mission: Madison College provides open access to quality higher education that fosters lifelong learning and success within our communities.

Vision: To be the leader in accessible affordable education that meets the evolving needs of our diverse communities.

Values:

Excellence Respect Commitment to students and diverse communities Making higher education available to all


The Liberal Arts Transfer program, administered by the School of Arts and Sciences, is the largest program at Madison College. Students in this program earn Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degrees and/or transfer to 4-year colleges and universities to complete bachelor’s degrees in a wide variety of fields. The term “Liberal Arts Transfer” is confusing to many people, particularly those outside higher education. Additionally, many people do not understand the full array of offerings

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available in our LAT program, including STEM, Arts & Humanities, Business & Economics, Education, and Health transfer pathways. Madison College is interested to learn more about public understanding and public perception of the LAT program and the transfer mission as it relates to technical/occupational training throughout our district so that we can more effectively communicate with district residents who could benefit from our offerings.


communicating directly with district residents, including the general public, potential students, high school faculty and staff, and other critical audiences

collaborating with administrators, staff, faculty, and students throughout our college analyzing quantitative data documenting, organizing, and summarizing qualitative data identifying and recommending communication and other action strategies

Qualifications

Excellent communication skills, including written, verbal, listening, and presentation, including a professional and diplomatic demeanor that supports the values of Madison College.

Ability to initiate work, work independently or with limited supervision, and make decisions with minimum direction.

Ability to work with detailed information, assemble and organize data, and prepare reports. Ability to work as a team member. Ability to design and implement effective tools for gathering qualitative data including public

forums, focus groups, interviews, etc. Demonstrated organizational and time management skills. Demonstrated skill in communications and human relations with populations of diverse

socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds and persons with disabilities. Reliable transportation to facilitate some work in district areas outside of Madison.



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Madison School & Community Recreation

Middle and High School Program Fellow

Organizational Description

Madison School & Community Recreation (MSCR) is the public recreation provider for the residents of Madison. MSCR is a department of the Madison Metropolitan School District and is proud to have served the community for 91 years as the one for fun in Madison! MSCR provides a wide range of recreation programs and services for all ages that are offered year-round. MSCR provides programming for more than 105,000 participants annually.

The MSCR Secondary Team provides after school programming in all twelve Madison middle schools and the four comprehensive Madison high schools. After School programming at the Middle and High School level includes competitive and recreational sports, supplemental academic support, academic enrichment, recreational and enrichment clubs, social emotional learning opportunities and special events. The MSCR Middle and High School Programs serves more than 12,000 Middle and High School students annually.

MSCR Mission Statement

To enhance the quality of life for individuals in the Madison Metropolitan School District and for the community by providing recreation and enrichment opportunities year-round that are accessible to all.

MSCR Secondary Team Vision Statement

To provide a coordinated, safe, supervised, supportive place for middle and high school students to go during non-school hours that fosters and enhances:

Student attachment to school through positive interactions with the peers, school staff and volunteers.

Student achievement and attendance by providing a variety of programs that focus on academic achievement, social emotional skill development and recreational skills.

Student’s world view by exposure to a variety of activities

This fellow will work out of the MSCR office, Hoyt School, 3802 Regent St.

Position Description9

The MSCR Secondary Team seeks a Humanities-based graduate student to work under the guidance of the MSCR Supervisor of Secondary Programs and the Secondary Programs Support Specialist to increase and improve the web presence and quality of Secondary Programs on-line visibility and communication, both internally and externally. The graduate student would also work with team members to expand special events and programming opportunities that allow middle and high school students from multiple schools to interact with other students across the city that have similar interests.


Reviewing current web presence, both school based sites as well as team sites and on-line resources.

Gathering feedback from team members, participants and family members to evaluate web communication needs.

Working with team members to plan, coordinate and implement special events aimed at bringing participants from various sites together.

Work with team members to identify cross site programming needs and researching new methods to meet those needs.

Identifying and coordinating with potential community partners to enhance programming options.

Qualifications

Experience, skill and / or interest in providing engagement opportunities for middle and high school youth

Creative and open mind that is willing to explore new ideas Ability to communicate with wide variety of people with diverse backgrounds and experiences Effective organizational and administrative skills Proficient in Google Applications



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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters

Historical Communications Specialist


For almost 150 years the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters has served as trusted resource for people who believe in the transformative power of Wisconsin ideas. We are an independent nonprofit whose mission is to bring people together at the intersection of the sciences, arts, and letters to inspire discovery, illuminate creative work, and foster civil dialogue on important issues. We connect Wisconsin people and ideas for a better world.

We celebrate and incubate Wisconsin ideas through our public programs, which include an art gallery, quarterly magazine, talks, and awards. Our James Watrous Gallery works to elevate emerging and established Wisconsin artists by showcasing creativity at the intersection of the sciences and arts. Wisconsin People & Ideas magazine features reporting on Wisconsin innovations in science and technology and groundbreaking literary and visual arts. Academy Talks showcase our state’s depth of creative talent across the sciences, arts, and letters, and deliver fresh perspectives on contemporary topics. The Academy Fellows Award recognizes people from across Wisconsin who have made substantial contributions to the cultural life and welfare of our state, while our annual Fiction and Poetry Contests reward emerging writers with prizes and publicity.

The Academy also plays an increasingly important role in connecting Wisconsin leaders from across academia and many other fields to explore and apply ideas that respond to Wisconsin-wide challenges. Through our Initiatives program we are working to address a range of concerns, with a current focus on ways to respond to a rapidly changing climate and to protect Wisconsin’s lands and waters for future generations.


The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters is approaching its 150th anniversary in 2020. To commemorate and celebrate our sesquicentennial, we will be hosting special events, publishing a commemorative issue of our magazine, Wisconsin People & Ideas, and documenting and telling the stories of our decades of impact and accomplishments. We seek an enthusiastic investigative historian, writer, and communicator who can help capture and enrich the story of our history, help us share it with wider audiences, and also help us imagine the story of our impact going forward.

Activities/Deliverables would include:

Document and expand the history and important stories of the Academy, including information on recent and present day activities. (The most recent version of our published organizational history is from 1995, and is published on our website.)

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Interview select Academy leaders from the last several decades to capture personal stories and insights on significant moments in our history, and our influence on the sciences, arts and letters.

Write or contribute to a feature story for the commemorative issue of Wisconsin People & Ideas, (or a series of stories over the course of 2020) to share highlights of our history with wider audiences. Versions of this article may appear in other publications or formats.

Construct an organizational timeline (beginning in 1870) with key stories, major achievements, and visual cues (artifacts, photos, etc.) that can be used for our website. (Initial work on key dates and notable accomplishments has already been done in outline form.) This enriched timeline will serve as a source for a visual timeline that will be incorporated into the anticipated “Heritage and Horizons” exhibition at the James Watrous Gallery at Overture Center for the Arts, and may become a long-standing exhibition at the Academy office.

Additional activities, depending on the interest and qualifications of the Humanities Fellow include:

Contribute to communications activities related to the sesquicentennial (web postings, event programs, PowerPoint presentations, video presentations, etc.)

Assist with planning and participation in various sesquicentennial events, which may include:o A gala and interactive activities at the State Historical Society Buildingo A farm-to-table gathering to celebrate the impact of Academy Initiatives on water, the

future of farming, and climate and energy o The “Heritage and Horizons” exhibition (with guest curator Martha Glowacki) at

Overture Center for the Arts

Qualifications

Understands the power of storytelling and how to construct compelling narratives Historical research (Wisconsin/United States 1870 to 2020) Exceptional communications skills, with an emphasis on writing for lay audiences Creative problem-solving skills Attention to detail and deadlines Familiarity with contemporary science, arts, and letters activities and trends in Wisconsin Media communication skills (traditional and web media) Editorial skills Ability to work independently and as part of a team Some ability to travel in Wisconsin

Reports to: Executive Director

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Public Humanities Fellowship ApplicationDue February 22, 2019

Save the following application form, along with any additional required documents, as one (1) PDF file. Name your file: PHF 1920 App [your last name]

1. Name:

2. Address:

3. Telephone Number:

4. Email Address:

5. Student ID number:

6. Department:

7. Field of Specialization:

8. Dates of Preliminary Examination(s) and admission to candidacy:

9. Title of Dissertation:

10. 100-word abstract of dissertation:

11. Faculty director of your dissertation:

12. Expected date of completion of PhD:

13. Briefly state your research interests:

14. Position to which you are applying:

15. Would you be interested in interviewing for a different fellowship position? If yes, please list up to two additional choices. If we present your application to one of these two additional choices, we may ask you to revise your materials to be addressed to that partner organization.

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16. List the names, titles, institution, and email addresses of two references who will submit letters on your behalf. Reference letters should address the student’s academic record and progress; qualifications for the position; past work; and potential contributions to and benefits from a Public Humanities Fellowship. Reference letters should be submitted electronically as a PDF document and sent directly by your recommenders to: [email protected] with “PHF Recommendation STUDENT NAME” in the subject. Deadline is February 22, 2019.

Additional Materials

1) COVER LETTER (required)

This should be written for the specific position you have selected. Please address your letter to the selected organization. You should explain why you are applying for this position and how your academic and extra-academic experience prepares you for it.

2) CV (required)

3) Statement (optional)

In 500 words (or less), please present any information that enhances and expands on but does not duplicate your cover letter.

Please submit all application materials electronically, in a single PDF document.

In the subject line, please put “PH Fellowship Application_ORG NAME_STUDENT NAME”

and send to [email protected]

Applications due: February 22, 2019

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