School of Arts and Communication Post Doc Visiting Research Associate

Florida Institute of Technology; Melbourne (FL); On-site; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Travel funds

Job summary

Florida Institute of Technology's School of Arts and Communication invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to contribute to the grant-backed project on cultivating core character through the General Education Core. The role, supervised by the project PIs, begins January 2027 and runs through July 2029, with funds available for grant-related travel.

The successful candidate will teach undergraduate courses, collaborate with PIs on faculty and student virtue-education training,

Qualifications

• PhD in a humanistic discipline with a research specialization in character education or virtue theory.
• Proven interest and ability in teaching.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and organizational skills.
• Ability to work independently and in a team.

Responsibilities

• Teach up to two core undergraduate courses aligned with the character education framework.
• Collaborate with PIs to support faculty and student virtue-education training.
• Assist PIs in advocacy and outreach to colleges and the public.
• Help design and lead the biweekly character colloquium and engage in curriculum integration.
• Contribute to assessment planning and data collection for program evaluation.
• Develop Canvas LMS modules for scalable character-education use.

Skills

Teaching

Communication

Teamwork

Organizational skills

Education

PhD in humanities

Tools

Canvas LMS

Job description

The School of Arts and Communication at Florida Institute of Technology seeks a Postdoctoral Research Associate as an active participant in the project "Cultivating Core Character through the General Education Core," funded by Wake Forest University and the Lilly Endowment Inc. under co-PIs Lars Jones, Andrew Aberdein, and Heidi Hatfield Edwards. Beyond pursuing their own research agenda, the successful candidate will work under the supervision of project PIs and is expected to begin the 12-month annual position in January 2027 and continue through the end of the grant term in July 2029. Funds available for approved grant-related travel. Salary supplements may also be available.

Specific responsibilities will include:

• Teaching up to or the equivalent of two core undergraduate courses directly tied to our character education framework, ensuring pedagogical fidelity and integration with project goals.
• Partnering with the PIs to support faculty and student virtue-education training, including workshops, mentoring, classroom sessions, and follow-up engagement.
• Supporting the PIs in university-wide advocacy and outreach to other colleges as well as to the broader public.
• Assisting the lead PI in designing and leading the biweekly character colloquium (topic selection, readings, integration with curriculum).
• Attending weekly project team meetings.
• Contributing to assessment planning, execution, and review to enable a rigorous evaluation of student and faculty outcomes.
• Coordinating implementation and analysis of the project's diagnostic framework, ensuring consistent data collection, interpretation, and integration across participating courses.
• Collaborating on pedagogical scholarship tied to project activities and outputs, in addition to advancing their own research agenda.
• Working with in-house support units, as well as student assistants, to help the PIs develop four Canvas LMS modules for scalable character education use in the University and beyond.

Qualifications

The successful candidate must have:

• A PhD (either awarded or submitted and with defense formally scheduled) in a humanistic discipline, with a research specialization related to character education and/or virtue theory.
• Demonstrated strong interest and ability in teaching.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team that must deal professionally with people at all levels.

Preference will be given for those candidates who have applied character education experience and/or a substantive specialization in virtue theory, complemented by demonstrated pedagogical skill.

The successful candidate will participate in implementing and expanding our program across the instructional, developmental, and scholarly domains rather than acting only as a pure research scholar. Informal queries should be directed to [e-mail]

Equal Opportunity

Equal Opportunity Florida Institute of Technology does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, disability, age, genetic information, marital status, citizenship status, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics in its activities and programs.

In accordance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Florida Tech does not discriminate on the basis of sex.

Inquiries concerning the application of the Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment policy may be directed to the Equal Opportunity Director and Investigator at 150 West University Blvd, Melbourne, FL 32901, or email [e-mail], or [phone]; or to the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights.

Americans with Disabilities Act

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Official Transcripts

Official transcripts of all collegiate work must be sent directly from the attended institution to the Office of Human Resources prior to the first day of employment. All international degrees must have a course-by-course official evaluation and translation sent to the Human Resources Office directly from an evaluation company affiliated with the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services, Inc. (NACES).

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