University Libraries - Employment

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The University of Iowa Libraries
Special Collections and Archives
Iowa Women’s Archives

 

GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT

 

The Iowa Women’s Archives, University of Iowa Libraries, seeks a graduate student for a one-year, half-time (.50) 20 hours per week, renewable graduate research assistantship for 2023-2024.

As a graduate assistant, the incumbent earns a full-year stipend, qualifies for health insurance benefits and a full tuition scholarship at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences resident rate. Graduate assistants must continue to be enrolled as students and forfeit the assistantship should they withdraw or graduate.

The terms and conditions of employment in this position are governed by a collective bargaining agreement between the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, and UE Local 896/COGS, the union representing graduate teaching and research assistants at the University of Iowa. A copy of this collective bargaining agreement may be viewed from the University website: https://www.grad.uiowa.edu/graduate-assistant-employment.

 

Position Description

The Graduate Research Assistant will become familiar with all aspects of the operations of the Iowa Women’s Archives. Their work will include processing and writing guides to manuscript collections; providing reference assistance to researchers; responding to reference queries received by mail, phone, or email; preparing and presenting user instruction sessions; preparation of exhibitions; and assisting in all operations of the Archives. The assistantship will provide students with hands-on experience working with primary sources under the supervision of an archivist, deepen their understanding of the process of doing research in archival collections, develop their professional and teaching skills, and provide them with an overview of archival functions.

 

Required qualification

• The Graduate Research Assistantship is open to incoming students who have been accepted into a graduate degree program for the upcoming Fall semester, as well as students who are currently enrolled in a graduate degree program. Students in the School of Library and Information Science or in the departments of History, American Studies, Spanish and Portuguese, English, or Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies may have particular interest, but applications from students in any graduate program will be carefully considered. Please note that students currently enrolled in the U2G students (undergraduate-to-graduate) program are not eligible due to funding structure requirements.

 

Desired qualifications

• Knowledge of US history and women’s history
• Excellent interpersonal and written communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to work in a team-based setting where consultation, flexibility, and collaboration are essential
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity in an academic environment, in a workplace setting, and/or in the community

 

Application Process
Applications for the 2022-2023 Graduate Research Assistantship will be accepted beginning immediately and must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 16, 2023. Interviews will be conducted in June. The Graduate Research Assistant is expected to begin work in August 2023 on a mutually agreed upon date.

 

Required application materials:

• Résumé
• Statement outlining academic and career aspirations and describing how appointment as a Graduate Research Assistant would advance those aspirations. The statement should not exceed three (3) typed pages (about 1000 words).
• Contact information for 1-2 references who can speak to the candidate’s qualifications should also be submitted.

 

Materials should be submitted by email as PDF or MSWord documents to lib-women@uiowa.edu

 

Questions about the position?
Please contact Janet Weaver, Curator, Iowa Women’s Archives
janet-weaver@uiowa.edu

For more information about the University of Iowa Libraries and community, please see http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/about/employment/.