Brown University seeks an accomplished scholar to serve as Faculty Director of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative (NAISI), in partnership with an Executive Director and supported by a Steering Committee of NAISI faculty and a staff.
During a period of exciting growth and expansion, we look forward to welcoming an inaugural Faculty Director, beginning July 2022, who will provide the intellectual leadership and vision to help us create a dynamic and leading academic program in Critical Native American and Indigenous Studies. By contributing to the scholarly field of NAIS and by engaging with Native American/Indigenous communities that currently define the field of NAIS, this position will help transform Brown’s program in the coming years as it continues to grow, innovate and lead the field.
The Initiative was established in 2016 to integrate the strong constellation of interests at Brown in Native American and Indigenous Studies among students, faculty and administrators across a number of departments. These efforts are supported by an exceptional array of resources for research, teaching and study, student organizations, and increased engagement with Native American tribes and communities in the region. The Initiative contributes to the university’s goals for greater excellence under its Building on Distinction strategic plan and Pathways to Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP). In 2019 NAISI was awarded a Mellon Foundation grant to help establish a concentration (i.e., major) in Native American and Indigenous Studies at Brown. A future trajectory will include developing a center that will serve as the focus of research, programming, student engagement and community convenings.