The University of Nebraska Public Policy Center Postdoctral Fellowship

The University of Nebraska Public Policy Center (Lincoln, NE), in partnership with the National Center for State Courts (Williamsburg, VA), is seeking a postdoctoral fellow based in Lincoln to serve as a key member of our Interdisciplinary Trust and Confidence research project. The fellowship is a two-year appointment and is funded by the Law & Social Science Program of the National Science Foundation. The overarching goal of the project is to advance the understanding of trust and confidence in institutions of authority by incorporating relevant research and perspectives from diverse disciplines into theoretical models. These models will be tested using a variety of empirical methodologies and sophisticated statistical techniques.

In addition to joining ongoing research activities examining trust and confidence in governmental institutions (e.g., courts, municipal government, regulatory agencies) and science generally (e.g., agricultural biotechnology, climate science, nanotechnology, and virology), the fellow will assist with the development of new research efforts, coordinate workshops (including a Nebraska Symposium on Motivation to take place in the spring of 2014 focused on trust and confidence), and supervise independent research by undergraduate and graduate students. The fellow also will spend four weeks a year at the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), learning about field research on trust and confidence. Funding is available to attend one national research or professional conference annually.

The postdoctoral fellow will join a team currently representing social, community, and educational psychology; political and policy science; sociology; and law. The team is set to expand to include contributors from additional disciplines in the social and natural sciences, including academic colleagues from Africa interested in trust/confidence in the contexts of agricultural biotechnology and food security.

A candidate’s doctorate can be in any field, providing the candidate has an interest in trust/confidence in governmental institutions; however, we prefer experience in and knowledge of social science theories and methods. Supervision experience is preferred. The postdoctoral fellow will be mentored by Public Policy and National Center researchers on grant writing, publishing, and other research-related activities, and s/he will be able to take coursework to supplement existing expertise, if desired, at the University of Nebraska. Starting date is flexible and can be as early as January 2013. Salary is $51,799 for the first 12 months, and $53,353 for the second 12 months.

Review of applications will begin November 30, 2012 and continue until position filled or search closed. To be considered for this position go to http://employment.unl.edu, requisition #120890 and complete the Faculty/Academic Administrative form and attach curriculum vitae, statement of research interests, a writing sample and contact information for three references. If you have any questions please contact Alan Tomkins, Director, University of Nebraska Public Policy Center, at atomkins@unl.edu or 402-472-5688.

More information about trust/confidence work at the Public Policy Center and National Center is available on the web at http://ppc.nebraska.edu/project/TestingModelInstitutionalConfidenceAcrossBranchesGovernment and http://www.ncsc.org/Topics/Court-Community/Public-Trust-and-Confidence/Resource-Guide.aspx.

Further information about the university is available on the web at http://irp.unl.edu/institutional-research/fact-books.