FA27-024: Director of IRIS Center for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences

Position Overview

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) invites applications for a tenure-track faculty member to serve as the Director of the IRIS Center for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences. The Director will oversee the Center’s operations and support its growth and development through building and extending campus and community partnerships, writing grants, and leading project development with faculty and students. The successful candidate, with a demonstrated background in digital humanities and social sciences scholarship, will hold a joint appointment in an appropriate academic department in the College of Arts and Sciences and will teach courses central to the Center’s curricular mission.

About the IRIS Center

Since its founding in 2010, the IRIS Center has grown into one of SIUE’s most distinctive academic centers. The Center has secured more than $5 million in grants from state, federal, and private sources and is a primary technical and pedagogical partner for the Community-Oriented Digital Engagement Scholars (CODES) program, an award-winning initiative integrating community-engaged curriculum and digital storytelling that supports first-generation, Pell-eligible, and historically underrepresented students. The Center administers an interdisciplinary Digital Humanities and Social Sciences (DHSS) Minor and partners with the Black Literary Network, a project supported by a $1.5 million Mellon Foundation grant. The successful candidate will lead IRIS during an exciting period of growth as the University advances the Center to full Center status, providing an opportunity to shape its future vision, expand interdisciplinary collaborations, and build on its record of external funding and public impact.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic vision, day-to-day operational management, and budget administration for the IRIS Center.
• Lead staff and coordinate Center activities, ensuring adequate coverage across research, pedagogy, and outreach functions.
• Collaborate with other university Centers, academic, and administrative units to foster and support faculty and student DH research and pedagogy and cultivate regional partnerships that extend the Center’s impact beyond campus.
• Serve as Technical Director for the CODES program, developing curricula, tutorials, and digital learning resources and planning and managing the CODES ePortfolio platform and the program’s publishing platform, Emplace.
• Teach HUM 230: Introduction to Digital Humanities and HUM 490: Digital Creation and Storytelling.
• Write, submit, and manage grant applications from state, federal, and private sources to sustain and grow Center programming.

Terms of Appointment

Souce of Funds
State

• PhD in a humanities or social sciences discipline.
• Demonstrated expertise in digital humanities tools, methods, and scholarly practice.
• Evidence of, or clear potential for successful grant writing and procuring external funding via grants and contracts.
• Experience or demonstrated capacity in project management and budget administration.
• Commitment to mentoring and supporting undergraduate and graduate students, including those from historically underrepresented populations.
• Strong cross-disciplinary and community outreach experience or potential.

Preferred Qualifications

• Record of interdisciplinary collaboration spanning humanities and social sciences.
• Experience directing or co-directing an academic center, lab, or comparable unit.
• Experience with the public humanities, community-engaged scholarship, or related fields.
• Demonstrated commitment to inclusive pedagogy and student success initiatives

Application Deadline

All application materials must be received by September 30, 2026.

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. For full consideration, please submit: (1) a cover letter addressing qualifications and vision for the IRIS Center, (2) a current curriculum vitae, (3) a teaching philosophy statement, 4) research statement) 5) copies of transcripts, and 6) current contact information for three references. This institution is using Interfolio’s Faculty Search to conduct this search. Applicants to this position receive a free dossier account and can send all application materials, including confidential letters of recommendation, free of charge. Please address questions about this position to Dr. Howard Rambsy, [email protected].

Applicants will be subject to a background check prior to an offer of employment.

Employment is contingent upon satisfying all legal requirements as set forth by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in regard to employability in the United States. SIUE makes no representation, warranty, or agreement that third parties, including government agencies, will approve submitted documents, applications, or petitions for an H-1B visa or Optional Practical Training.

SIUE is a state university - benefits under state sponsored plans may not be available to holders of F1 or J1 visas. The State of Illinois requires that immigrant employees achieve H-1 status before they become eligible for certain benefits.

In compliance with the ADA Amendments Acts (ADAAA), if you have a disability and would like to request an accommodation in order to apply for a position with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, please call 618-650-2190 or email [email protected].

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