Director of Oversight Scholarship, Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy

Wayne State University is searching for an experienced Director of Oversight Scholarship, Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy at its Detroit campus location.

Wayne State is a premier, public, urban research university located in the heart of Detroit, Michigan where students from all backgrounds are offered a rich, high-quality education. Our deep-rooted commitment to excellence, collaboration, integrity, diversity and inclusion creates exceptional educational opportunities which prepare students for success in a global society.

Essential functions (job duties):

The Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy at Wayne State University Law School seeks to advance bipartisan, fact-based legislative oversight and promote civic discourse through training, scholarship, and public education. To pursue this mission, the Levin Center is working to promote as an academic discipline the study of legislative oversight and its relation to our democratic institutions. The Levin Center has built and maintains an online community of over 200 oversight scholars and also fosters interactions between practitioners and scholars to identify best practices and educate the public about the importance of oversight in our system of governance.

The Levin Center is seeking a professional academic to lead the Levin Center’s research, scholarship, and teaching initiatives, which include developing and maintaining the Center’s oversight-related databases, online libraries, list-serve, and other resources for scholars; creating and teaching academic courses and other programs related to oversight and democracy; conducting oversight-related research and scholarship; and managing the Oversight Fellows program and research award. The Director of Oversight Scholarship also works with the Center and Law School’s staff and law students to host symposia, conferences, panels, and other events on oversight, government accountability, and related issues. Job duties to include:

• Build and manage the Levin Center’s Congressional Oversight Records Database (CORD) and related resources, online libraries, oversight case law tracker, and other tools to enable new and expanded research on oversight. Attend academic conferences  and other events to promote the Levin Center’s scholarly activity and build relationships with scholars and other experts in the field.
• Develop and teach courses as an adjunct (non tenure-track) professor on oversight and democracy and create other opportunities for encouraging students and professionals to learn about the theory and practice of oversight. Collaborate with colleagues to advance Levin Center public and civic education programs such as Portraits in Oversight and Learning by Hearings.
• Manage the Levin Center’s Oversight Fellows Program and annual Excellence in Oversight Research Award. Serve as the Liaison to the Law School’s journals and lead the Center’s hosting of the biennial Oversight Symposium and other academically themed conferences and panels.
• Conduct oversight related research and publish findings in academic journals and other venues. Write commentary about oversight and democracy, including op-eds, blog posts, social media threads, and other formats aimed at improving public understanding of oversight.  Maintain and grow the Levin Center’s oversight scholars list-serve with regular updates about important developments in the field.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Requires a PhD or JD from an accredited college or university.
• Requires experience as a scholar in political science, law, history, or a related field involving the study of government (Congress, state legislatures, or federal or state executive agencies), public policy, governmental oversight, accountability or transparency issues, federal-state relationships, government management, or democracy.
• Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
• Ability to grasp the breadth and depth of the emerging oversight academic field, identify opportunities for new scholarship and collaboration, and position the Levin Center as an oversight research hub.
• Expertise pertaining to database development, design, and curation, data coding, maintenance, and management.
• Skill at academic research and analysis, with a preference for articles published in peer reviewed or similar publications.
• Knowledge of the legislative and oversight process including legislative and administrative investigations at the congressional, federal and/or state level.
• Familiarity with the congressional oversight community in Washington, D.C.
• Ability to design and teach law school or other graduate level courses.
• Highly skilled in oral and written communication and use of traditional media to communicate ideas along with proficiency with social media tools.

Unique Duties:

Some flexibility in physical location of position.