Named for TCU’s founders, Addison and Randolph Clark, The AddRan College of Liberal Arts creates the bedrock of the university’s intellectual endeavor through the development of core skills in critical thinking, writing, oral communication, cultural awareness, respecting difference. AddRan provides a multifaceted toolkit that prepares students for lifelong learning and successful careers. The College contributes significantly to the TCU Core Curriculum: each semester our faculty teach approximately 30 percent of all undergraduate semester credit hours—more than three other colleges combined. The College is home to the core academic disciplines of the humanities and social sciences. Composed of 162 full-time faculty members across 11 departments, AddRan offers 15 Bachelor of Arts and six Bachelor of Science degrees, a Bachelor of General Studies, an online master’s degree in Criminal Justice, a Master of Liberal Arts degree, and master’s and Ph.D. degrees in History, English, and Rhetoric and Composition. AddRan also fosters interdisciplinarity through an array of academic minors in: Asian Studies, British and Postcolonial Studies, Classical Studies, Digital Culture and Data Analytics, Human-Animal Relationships, Middle East Studies and Urban Studies. Further, The AddRan College of Liberal Arts is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion because “[i]ncreasing the diversity of our faculty benefits not only students of color but all students and prepares them for an increasingly diverse and globalized world” (Dean Sonja Watson).

The Department of Geography is home to six full-time faculty members who specialize in a wide range of areas including environmental geography, urban geography, cultural geography, historical geography, Latin-American geography, data analysis and visualization, and geographic information systems. Geography majors explore spatial dimensions of economic development, urban design, politics, culture, and environmental issues. At TCU, geography majors use advanced technology in projects spanning the social and environmental sciences, gaining in-demand skills in data analysis and Geographic Information Systems.

Position: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Scholar Fellow

Job Description: DEI Scholar Fellow in Medical Geography or Physical Geography

The Department of Geography seeks a DEI Scholar Fellow with specialization in the spatial dimensions of health disparities or environmental justice, preferably with experience using geospatial technologies such as geographic information systems. Rapid environmental changes resulting from climate change, new technologies, urban expansion, and other factors produce numerous challenges for human societies and ecosystems. Many of these challenges are borne disproportionately by marginalized communities, who tend to experience greater levels of environmental contamination, lower access to resources, and fewer opportunities to participate in environmental management decision making. Marginalized communities also face disproportionate health outcomes and lower access to quality care, a pattern brought into clear focus during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A postdoctoral scholar fellow working in either of these areas would support the Geography Department’s efforts to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion as part of the curriculum and training of our undergraduates. Teaching one upper division course per semester in their area of specialization would allow the Geography Department to respond to growing enrollments and student demand for courses in the areas of medical geography and/or environmental justice. Integrating these themes into geospatial technology courses would be a tremendous bonus, as these tools are a powerful means of attaining more equitable access to healthcare, resources, and environmental amenities. Additionally, a postdoctoral scholar fellow with emphasis in health disparities and/or environmental justice would promote interdisciplinary collaboration within AddRan and across campus, including connections to the TCU Medical School, Harris College of Nursing, and the College of Science and Engineering, among others. The postdoc would also have opportunities for public engagement as a local expert in solving critical public health and socio-environmental problems.

The DEI Scholar Fellow in the AddRan College of Liberal Arts’ Department of Geography has the unique opportunity to receive:

• Mentorship from a faculty member in the Department of Geography
• Participation in the AddRan College of Liberal Arts college-wide mentoring program
• Funding to support research and travel.

START DATE: August 2022

SALARY: $50,000, including benefits, research support, and travel stipend

APPOINTMENT: 12-month period, renewable up to two years

For additional information about TCU, go to www.tcu.edu; for additional information about the AddRan College of Liberal Arts, go to https://addran.tcu.edu/index.php. For information about the Department of Geography, go to https://addran.tcu.edu/geography/index.php.