Associate/Full Professor Director of Housing and Neighborhoods

The Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University is seeking a tenured Associate or Full Professor to fill the position of Director of Housing and Neighborhoods. This director will oversee an interdisciplinary team of community-engaged researchers who work closely with local partners on topics such as housing affordability, home ownership, segregation, eviction, gentrification, and neighborhood development. Faculty directors in the Kinder Institute are expected to work closely with the institute director and leadership team to develop and maintain relationships with community partners, set the research agenda together with these partners, coordinate intersecting projects across research teams, and ensure that research use and impact are maximized. Faculty directors are also expected to secure research grants, working closely with the leadership and grant writing teams. Leadership experience and community partnership experience is required. 

Candidates must have a Ph.D. or terminal degree and an outstanding record in urban research, experience leading a research team, and experience in community-engaged research done in partnership with local organizations that apply the research in meaningful ways. Faculty members are on nine-month appointments and the successful candidate will have a tenure home in the department that aligns with the selected applicant’s disciplinary background (see here for a list of departments at Rice), which includes teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in that department. Grant funding may be used for course buyouts. Kinder Faculty directors are expected to center their research efforts on institute projects, utilizing the institute’s resources, and co-developed with the institute’s community partners, aiming to inform their efforts to improve lives. Because the Kinder Institute focuses on maximizing research use and impact, institute researchers work closely with community partners to develop the research agenda, plan how research will be used, and generate informative research products beyond, but inclusive of, academic publications. 

The Kinder Institute for Urban Research is an interdisciplinary research organization that works in direct partnership with local agencies and organizations that use its research, data, and policy analysis to implement solutions to critical challenges facing the Houston region. The institute aims to improve lives through data, research, engagement, and action. It consists of (and is developing) five centers that conduct research on housing, education, public health, economic mobility, and population dynamics. Centers conduct research that focuses on their particular topics, as well as research that intersects across centers, through interdisciplinary teams that specialize in solutions-oriented, community-engaged research called research-practice partnerships (RPPs). 

The Kinder Institute has a team of over 60 full-time research and administrative staff, plus faculty and student affiliates. Researchers benefit from access to hundreds of datasets, established long-term community partnerships, highly skilled interdisciplinary teams, and extensive research supports such as financial, communications, and grant writing teams. Founded in 2010, the Kinder Institute was endowed with a gift from Houston philanthropists Richard and Nancy Kinder. Today, the institute generates funding from research grants, corporate sponsorships, individual donors, and an endowment.

The Kinder Institute is committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in our research and service endeavors. We strive to promote an environment that welcomes and respects diverse backgrounds, experiences, and views, as this diversity strengthens our research and our collaborative outreach efforts. In this spirit, we particularly welcome applications from all genders and members of historically underrepresented groups who exemplify diverse experiences. The search committee is eager to receive applications from scholars with lived experience related to the issues on which the Kinder Institute is focused. 

Interested candidates should submit application materials through Interfolio at http://apply.interfolio.com/131911, including a CV, cover letter, research sample, and statement of partnership research. References will be requested for candidates that advance to the shortlist. All materials must be submitted by Nov 1, 2023.  The start date is July 1, 2024.  In the cover letter and statement of a research partnership, applicants are encouraged to address their experience with and/or plans for building and leading inclusive research teams.

Rice University is a private, comprehensive university located in the heart of the dynamic Museum District in Houston, Texas. The Houston metro is one of the largest and most diverse in the country. Rice offers undergraduate and graduate degrees across eight schools and has approximately 4,000 undergraduate and 3,000 graduate students. Rice consistently ranks among the top 20 US universities and the top 10 in undergraduate teaching; its endowment ranks among the top 20 (US News & World Report).