The Institute for the Study of Societal Issues (ISSI) is seeking a new Faculty Director, with a start date of July 1, 2025. We invite nominations of tenured Berkeley faculty. The candidate should have a well-established research and professional reputation in a relevant field as well as demonstrated leadership and administrative abilities.
About ISSI
The Institute for the Study of Societal Issues (ISSI) fosters community-engaged research on the issues central to social inequality, using a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods. ISSI's primary focus is on institutional patterns that affect marginalized communities – in the United States and around the world – as well as social and political movements that challenge such patterns. Since its founding in 1976, the institute has influenced scholarly understanding, public debate, and social policy on contemporary social trends and controversies, including diversity in higher education, right-wing political movements, work and family policies, immigration, genetic testing, and more.
The ISSI currently serves as the umbrella for eight research centers, each of which has its own Chair or Director, affiliated faculty, and programming. As the list below illustrates, fostering cross-disciplinary collaborations and supporting nascent or novel research approaches and scholars is central to the mission of ISSI.
- Asian American Research Center
- Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies
- Berkeley Center for Social Medicine
- Center for Ethnographic Research
- Center for Research on Social Change
- Center for the Study of Sexual Culture
- Joseph A. Myers Center for Research on Native American Issues
- Latinx Research Center
A signature program of the ISSI is the Graduate Fellows Program, which has been providing UC Berkeley doctoral students with an interdisciplinary and inclusive environment for research and training. Since 1976, the Program has played an integral part in training scholars to address the pressing challenges that face California, the nation, and the world. ISSI has been a leader in supporting generations of students from underprivileged backgrounds, guiding them to complete their doctorates and to secure tenure track jobs in the academy.
The new Faculty Director has the opportunity to foster innovation and synergy among the eight centers and maintain ISSI as a distinctive and vital hub for work on social justice, adaptation, and change.
Eligibility:
Nominees should be tenured Berkeley faculty members (associate or full professor), and could be from any division, college or school.
Desirable Candidate Qualifications
Candidates should demonstrate a record fulfilling some or all of the following criteria:
- Leadership and Administrative Abilities to Provide Outward Looking Vision
- Program Development
- Fundraising and Grant Writing Abilities
- Distinguished Record of Scholarship
- Community Outreach and Engagement
- Commitment to UC Berkeley's Principles of Community | Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, & Justice
Nomination Process
Please submit nominations by completing the online nomination form as soon as possible and no later than Monday, February 24, 2025. Self-nominations are welcome. Upon receipt of nominations, the appointed search advisory committee will request that interested nominees submit a two- to three-page CV and two-page letter of interest by Friday, March 7, 2025. Your assistance in sharing this communication with your colleagues is greatly appreciated.
Search Advisory Committee Members:
- Jane Mauldon - Chair (Goldman School of Public Policy)
- Colleen Lye (Division of Letters & Science, Department of English)
- Tina K Sacks (School of Social Welfare)