EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, Center for Antiracist Research

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, Center for Antiracist Research Tracking Code4280 Job DescriptionBoston University's [Center for Antiracist Research](https://www.bu.edu/antiracism-center/) is seeking an experienced leader and manager to serve as Executive Director of the Center. The Executive Director will report to the Center's Founder and Director, [Professor Ibram X. Kendi](https://www.bu.edu/antiracism-center/profile/ibram-x-kendi/), and will play a vital leadership role in ensuring the success and impact of this groundbreaking Center.

The Executive Director will be responsible for operationalizing the vision of the Director, supervising the day-to-day functioning of the Center, and ensuring that all members of the team have the resources and guidance they need to advance the Center's mission: to build an antiracist society that ensures racial equity and social justice. The Executive Director will supervise the Center's three Deputy Directors (Research & Policy, Advocacy & Narrative, and Administration & Operations) and ensure that the Director's vision for the Center is effectively implemented.

The BU Center for Antiracist Research was founded by Professor Kendi in the summer of 2020. In the short time since its inception, the Center has emerged as a nationally- and internationally-recognized model for engaging researchers and academic practitioners to understand, explain, and solve seemingly intractable problems of racial inequity and injustice. The Center has experienced tremendous growth over the last year, launching initiatives including the [COVID Racial Data Tracker](https://www.bu.edu/antiracism-center/antiracism-research/racial-data-lab/) and, in partnership with The Boston Globe, [The Emancipator](https://www.bu.edu/antiracism-center/2021/03/16/the-center-for-antiracist-research-and-the-boston-globe-opinion-team-announce-the-emancipator/), and attracting significant financial support from corporations, foundations, and individuals around the world.
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*Responsibilities*
The primary duties and responsibilities of the Executive Director are to:

* Provide holistic, high-level oversight and leadership for the entire team within the Center for Antiracist Research
* Provide direct supervision for the Center's Deputy Directors
* Support the Deputy Directors in guiding the work of the Associate Directors who manage the Center's offices
* Ensure that the work of the Center is aligned with the Director's vision, proceeds in a timely and fiscally responsible manner
* Set clear, measurable goals to direct the Center's ongoing work and develop systems to evaluate progress towards those goals
* Lead the development and launch of new projects as appropriate
* With the Deputy Director for Administration & Operations, ensure that philanthropic funds are appropriately managed and utilized, in accordance with any applicable gift and grant agreements
* In partnership with the leadership team, ensure a supportive and productive culture within the Center
* Work with the Director and other Center leaders on fundraising efforts
* Support the Director in building and maintaining strategic partnerships, both within and outside the University

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*Center for Antiracist Research*
On July 1, 2020, the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research ("CAR") was founded by Ibram X. Kendi. The Center fosters exhaustive team-oriented racial scholarship, research-based policy innovation, project-based student learning, data-driven educational and advocacy campaigns, and narrative-change initiatives.

In its first academic year, the Center rapidly grew from a staff of three to nearly two dozen passionate professions and faculty staff. With [recently listed](/epostings/index.cfm?fuseaction=app.welcome&category_id=102853&company_id=15509&version=1&startflag=1&levelid1=102853) positions, the Center continues to grow. Organized by initiatives and offices of research, policy, narrative, and advocacy, the Center is where academic research meets antiracist action.

The Center began its work in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and developed an innovative partnership with The Atlantic's COVID Tracking Project to build the first-of-its-kind COVID Racial Data Tracker. It was the nation's most comprehensive set of COVID race and ethnicity data, featured by outlets such as [NPR](https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/05/30/865413079/what-do-coronavirus-racial-disparities-look-like-state-by-state) and organizations such as the [American Medical Association](https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/health-equity/policies-must-address-covid-19-impact-minoritized-communities). Building on the success of the COVID Racial Data Tracker, the Center [announced a partnership](https://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/ibram-kendi-azer-bestavros-team-up-to-launch-racial-data-lab/) with BU's new Faculty of Computing and Data Sciences (CDS) to build the Racial Data Lab. The joint venture marries antiracist research and data science, placing BU at the center of the emerging field of racial data science.

In March of 2021, the Center announced its widely reported collaboration with Boston Globe opinion to resurrect and reimagine [The Emancipator](https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/the-emancipator/), the first abolitionist newspaper in the United States. Just as 19th-century abolitionist newspapers hastened emancipator, this project will amplify critical voices, ideas, and evidence-based opinion to hasten racial justice. In March, the Center also [announced](https://www.bu.edu/antiracism-center/2021/03/24/center-for-antiracist-research-announces-center-affiliates-program/) its Affiliates Program with an inaugural cohort of 147 faculty and graduate students from Boston University and colleges and universities around New England, all of whom study racism and antiracism.

While the Office of Research supported its first research and policy teams, the Center's Office of Policy composed and delivered its first amicus brief to the Supreme Court outlining the disparate impact of a legal policy that prevented civilians from bringing civil suits against police officers who had violated their rights. On April 24, 2021, the Center hosted the 2nd Annual National Antiracist Book Festival, the first and only national book festival that brings together, showcases, and celebrates the nation's leading antiracist writers and helps to prepare the writers of tomorrow. This year's festival was virtual due to COVID-19 and 8,000 ticket holders viewed 36 panel sessions.
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Ibram X. Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities and Founder and Director of the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University. Dr. Kendi is a National Book Award winner and a five-time #1 New York Times best-selling author. He is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and was named to Time magazine's 2020 list of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2019, Dr. Kendi was a Guggenheim Fellow, and he was also a 2020-2021 Frances B. Cashin Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University.

*Boston University*
Boston University (BU), a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), is one of the leading private research and teaching institutions in the world, with two primary campuses in the heart of Boston and programs around the globe. Chartered in 1869, the University today enrolls over 33,000 students including over 16,000 undergraduates and employs nearly 4,000 faculty members across 17 schools and colleges. Boston University has a rich tradition of inclusion and social justice, and is committed to living that history today as a diverse, equitable, and inclusive institution.
From its earliest days, Boston University has opened its doors to women and people from racial and ethnic groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education and academia. Founded in 1839 (in Newbury, Vermont) as a Methodist seminary, the University was incorporated in 1869 and emerged in the twentieth century as a Boston-area institution. Until the early 1970s, the University had a modest research profile and limited on-campus housing. The transformation into today's Boston University began in the early 1970s with a conscious decision to raise the University's standing and quality by marshaling resources, primarily from operating funds, to build an infrastructure for basic and applied research and to improve the campus by adding residential facilities.

The University recently completed its first-ever comprehensive campaign with gifts and pledges totaling over $1.85 billion. Boston University's transformation is perhaps most evident in the national and international recognition achieved by faculty in diverse fields on both campuses and in prestigious grants to distinguished programs or departments. U.S. News & World Report ranked BU #57 worldwide in their 2021 list of Best Global Universities and #42 in their 2021 rating of Best National Universities in the United States. The recent QS rankings listed BU as #17 in Private Universities and #20 in Doctoral Universities.
Required SkillsThe successful candidate will have:

* At least 10 years of experience leading and managing a team
* Demonstrated ability to organize and bring together a team in pursuit of common, measurable goals
* Familiarity with the research, policy, narrative, and advocacy work being undertaken at the Center for Antiracist Research; experience working in a related field preferred
* Proven success in managing multiple, complex, high-profile projects
* Demonstrated success performing and leading in a high growth/startup environment
* Experience developing systems and processes in support of implementing a high-level vision
* Comfort with developing and managing budgets, including management of intake and use of philanthropic funds
* Experience successfully navigating and building partnerships across large, complex organizations
* Demonstrated commitment to antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion
* Familiarity with managing research
* Fundraising experience
* Willingness to provide and receive direct, constructive feedback
* Advanced degree required

*Contact*
Confidential review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. *For consideration, a resume or CV and a cover letter should be submitted to Laura Jenks Robinson, Associate Provost for Strategic Initiatives and Chief of Staff, at *[ljenks@bu.edu](mailto:ljenks@bu.edu)*. The cover letter should discuss the candidate's interest in the role, relevant leadership experience, and other qualities or experiences relevant to this role. *

While nominations and applications will be accepted until an Executive Director is selected, interested parties are encouraged to submit their materials before *Friday, October 1, 2021*, to ensure full consideration.

Boston University is committed to fostering a diverse University community within a supportive and respectful environment. We believe that the diversity of our faculty, students, and staff is essential to our success as a leading research university with a global reach, and that diversity is an integral component of institutional excellence.

Boston University is an equal opportunity employer and gives consideration for employment to qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military service, or because of marital, parental, or veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete the employment application, please contact the BU Equal Opportunity Office at 617-358-1796 or [eoo@bu.edu](mailto:eoo@bu.edu).
Job Location BOSTON, Massachusetts, United StatesPosition TypeFull-Time/Regular