Assistant Researcher

The University Museum at SIUE is seeking to hire two, full-time, grant-funded, fixed-term Assistant Researchers for Stage III of its Collections Inventory project. The Assistant Researchers will assist the Primary Investigator with the research, assessment, data retrieval, data analysis, handling, and digital documentation of 10,000+ objects from the Museum's collections for Stage III of the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) 2023 Museums for America (MFA) grant. The Researchers will also compile, collate, and synthesize data in order to create reports concerning timelines, statistics and grant accountability. The selected candidates will participate with other Museum staff in project assessment and redesign and will research undocumented objects using established museum procedures which are guided by the national standards of the American Association of Museums (AAM).

Additionally, the Assistant Researcher’s direct engagement with the activities of the IMLS MFA grant will benefit the Museum, the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) and the university at large by establishing intellectual control over thousands of objects which are central to the University's academic, research and public service missions. This position will participate in grant funded processes and procedures to increase accuracy, documentation, transparency, and safety for the unique, culturally significant items in the museum's collections in order to provide greater research access to them for SIUE's faculty, staff, students, and independent researchers. Further duties and responsibilities in line with the professional scope of the positions, may be assigned based on the needs and goals of the department.

The University Museum of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is a repository and research center whose interdisciplinary collections include more than 36,000 two- and three-dimensional objects of fine art, architecture, history, ethnology, archaeology and the natural sciences. Begun as a collection of public art integrated into the SIUE campus at its inception in 1963, the University Museum (UM) was incorporated as an independent center in 1979 to manage and curate the University’s fine art holdings. From its inception, SIUE has defined its identity as an artistic and culturally diverse environment that stimulates lifelong learning through exposure to stimulating hands-on and visual experiences. The value of the University Museum can be measured on multiple scales by the several communities it serves? its cultural resources are unmatched in the southwestern Illinois region. It is a virtual “hidden treasure” of cultural capital that can be deployed to support the university’s values of creation, preservation, and sharing of knowledge in conjunction with its mission of cultural inclusiveness and diversity.