The University of South Carolina is pleased to announce the launching of our new Bridge to Faculty program and invite all Columbia campus academic units to apply for an opportunity to host a scholar starting in fall 2023.
The Bridge to Faculty (B2F) Program is designed to recruit underrepresented early-career scholars and transition them into tenure-track faculty positions after a two-year training period. This recruitment initiative aims to diversify our faculty by attracting and retaining at an early-stage excellent scholars who are historically underrepresented in their fields of study. These scholars will reflect current and future student enrollment patterns, positively affect student engagement and success, and increase diversity in departments/units with low or no presence of underrepresented faculty.
The University of South Carolina values diversity and continually strives to maintain and promote an inclusive learning, working, and research environment that embraces all.
The Bridge to Faculty Program is open to all persons who meet the eligibility criteria set by awarded departments/units. We strongly encourage departments/units to seek applications from individuals who have experience, background, and/or scholarship that will contribute to the broadly defined diversity of our campus community.
Departments as well as non-departmentalized units that wish to apply to the program must send at least one representative to the Bridge to Faculty Application Workshop, a virtual informational session about the program, scheduled for Monday, Nov. 21, 10:30-11:45 a.m. Pre-registration for this workshop is required.
Applications will not be considered from departments/units unless at least one representative attends this virtual workshop.
Departments/units (including those disciplines where post-docs are uncommon) interested in applying are required to complete and return a program application. Download the application form.
Department/units must secure signature approval at both the department/unit-level and the dean-level as well as from the unit’s academic diversity officer. Only one application per department/unit is allowed.
The deadline for applying to the Bridge to Faculty Program is 5 p.m., Monday, December 5, 2022.
Departments/units will be notified of selection by Monday, Dec. 19, 2022, and awarded departments/ units must attend a post-award information session, scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023 (time TBA) before beginning any search activities. Selected department/units will advertise the position nationally, conduct a competitive search (i.e., identify and interview multiple qualified candidates) using non-discriminatory criteria consistent with all university policies, and select the best qualified scholar. Current and former USC graduate students are welcome to apply for advertised Bride to Faculty scholar positions.
All candidate finalists for any advertised Bridge to Faculty scholar position must be eligible to start on Aug. 16,2023. Further, a selected candidate for a position must be at the appropriate career stage and development level to participate in and benefit from the scholar training period (e.g., less than 5 years beyond receiving a Ph.D., MFA, or other faculty-eligible terminal degree; less than five years beyond the end of medical fellowship training).
Salary support for the Bridge to Faculty scholar positions and the subsequent faculty hires will be provided in full by the Office of the President. In addition, 50% of the required start-up funds will be also provided by the Office of the President with the hiring units being responsible for any additional financial support for their new hires.
The Bridge to Faculty Program is designed as a two-year program. However, we welcome departments/units to discuss with us field norms and other considerations to ensure all department/units at USC have the potential to participate in the program. Requests for exceptions to lengthen the two-year scholar period will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Bridge to Faculty scholars will participate in cohort-based programing through the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion where they will have the opportunity to meet and interact with other program scholars. This programming will be designed to complement the mentoring and support scholars receive from their department/units (as outlined in the application).
Bridge to Faculty scholars must be provided with adequate time, resources, and mentorship to focus primarily on progress toward research activities and scholarly publications. If there is a compelling reason a department/unit wishes for their scholar to teach, teaching responsibilities may be included but are not to exceed one course per year during the training period. Similarly, in departments where teaching is not a required activity, but there is a compelling reason for having a scholar to engage in clinical or applied work, no more than 20% FTE may be assigned.
The Bridge to Faculty Program will be administered jointly by the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Office of the Provost. For more information about the application and process for applying, please contact bridgetofaculty@sc.edu.
The deadline for applying to the Bridge to Faculty Program is 5 p.m., Monday, December 5, 2022.