Call for New FI Fellow: Application Deadline April 10

The Futures Initiative is seeking applications from Graduate Center doctoral students in any field for a 2022-2023 fellowships. Our Doctoral Fellows are at the heart of the Futures Initiative, and the work we do is designed to support our mission and the professional goals of every Fellow. Our past fellows have gone on to do meaningful, inspiring work, both in the academy and beyond. There is one new opening for CUNY Peer Leaders Facilitator.

This is a one-year position, and may possibly be renewed for one additional year (two additional years for students who have not received five-year GC fellowships). Graduate Center doctoral students may apply for more than one position. Doctoral students who have backgrounds underrepresented in the academy are especially encouraged to apply. Futures Initiative Fellowships offer a minimum total compensation of approximately $28,861. The FI Fellowship has two components: a graduate assistant B appointment and a financial aid fellowship. The graduate assistant appointment carries eligibility to purchase low-cost NYSHIP health insurance and offers in-state tuition remission for Fellows who are within their first 10 registered semesters of study. Fellows are required to work 450 hours for the academic year (225 hours per semester). This translates into 15 hours of work per week during each 15-week semester. Determinations of re-appointments are made on an annual basis depending on individual eligibility, GC needs, and available funding.

If you’re interested in applying, please review the descriptions below and apply using the link below by April 10, 2022. For questions about the application process, please contact Adashima Oyo, Executive Director, Futures Initiative at aoyo@gradcenter.cuny.edu.

Applications are due April 10, 2022.

About the Futures Initiative

The Futures Initiative is an incubator that designs and implements a wide range of initiatives supporting equity, innovation, engaged pedagogy, leadership for change, support of public higher education, and the use and development of technologies that enable these goals within the CUNY community and beyond.

Our current collaborations include the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation-sponsored Humanities Alliance (in partnership with the GC’s Teaching and Learning Center, BMCC, Guttman Community College, Hostos Community College, and LaGuardia Community College) and the Leadership Fellows program (a CUNY-wide undergraduate leadership and peer mentoring program, initially funded by the Teagle Foundation and currently partnering with the Promise and Perils of Democracy Project supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York). Other key partners within CUNY include the Teaching and Learning Center (TLC), the GC Digital Fellows Program, the PublicsLab, the Office of Educational Opportunity and Diversity, the Office of Career Planning and Professional Development and Transformative Learning in the Humanities (TLH), also funded by the Mellon Foundation and extending to all twenty-five CUNY campuses.

We amplify our mission beyond CUNY through co-leadership with Dartmouth College of the international open online network HASTAC (“haystack”): Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory). HASTAC is dedicated to “Changing the Way We Teach and Learn” with commitment to a second social and technology mission: “Difference is not our deficit. It’s our operating system.” A free and open community, HASTAC is a platform that allows any of its 17,500+ members to have a voice, to contribute, and to emerge as a leader.

Please APPLY HERE by April 10, 2022.

A CV is also required and should be emailed to futuresinitiative@gc.cuny.edu.

Goals and Contributions of All Futures Initiative Fellows

Be a valued member of a supportive team that prizes mentorship, growth, and leadership with a core mission of innovation founded on equity and a commitment to meaningful social and institutional change
Have a key voice in a visionary organization that is working toward meaningful institutional and cultural change in higher education
Gain skills in project management, events planning, leadership, communications, grant development, social media and web support, and programmatic support that will serve you in whatever career goals you aspire to
Connect meaningfully with the CUNY and HASTAC communities
Contribute to the program’s engagement with the public, including by regularly sharing and communicating relevant research, events, and opportunities via our various communications networks and platforms
Build an ongoing portfolio of your contribution as a graduate student and an FI Fellow through monthly blog post communicating your research, teaching, and community experiences
Participate in and co-lead weekly team meetings and assist with the designing and building of the program
Assume leadership roles for running the program, including events and weekly meetings
Share skills with one another and with others at the Graduate Center

CPL Facilitator/Co-Director

In addition to the responsibilities of all fellows described above, this person will take lead on the following:

Contribute to all aspects of the program’s 2022-2023 fellowship year
Help build a community of students from two-year and four-year CUNY colleges
Work alongside CUNY undergraduate students to help develop and sharpen their leadership and mentorship skills
Using these skills, work with students to foster pathways for humanities based scholarship with a core component on social justice.
Attend weekly meetings with co-directors to create student-centered activities, skill shares, and enrichment opportunities for the CUNY Peer Leaders (in addition to weekly Futures Initiative team meetings)
Help create an environment that supports students social and emotional wellness, that reinforces a culture of care and highlights the students voice and agency within the program.
Jointly coordinate and lead bi-weekly CUNY Peer Leader meet-ups. These meet-ups are based in a culture of care and radical vulnerability, and focus on social justice themes chosen by the students. These 2-hour meetings usually take place on Friday afternoons/evenings; exact timing for 2021-2022 cohort TBA.
Communicate regularly with CUNY Peer Leaders on details of the program, with bi-weekly to monthly check-ins, and answer any other questions the students may be unclear about over the duration of the program.
Oversee CUNY Peer Leaders’ involvement in the program and support their sustained engagement
Develop opportunities for CUNY Peer Leaders to be active members in their community, for instance by creating and providing blog prompts that are given at each meet-up which tie into the topics and themes covered during the program. Invite CUNY Peer Leaders to participate in all FI activities, and to engage in public scholarly presentations when possible
Attend meetings and work closely w/ the CUNY Humanities Alliance team on cross-initiative collaborations
Help plan and attend enrichment activities for Peer Leaders at venues around NYC (or virtually)
Share resources (such as fellowship and job opportunities) with the CUNY Peer Leaders
Research outside funding opportunities and contribute to grant writing and reporting