Announcement: Center for Community Geography Now Accepting Applications for Faculty Affiliation

October 19, 2022

The R.H. Center for Community Geography is excited to announce that it is now accepting applications for faculty affiliation. Any UNM faculty member with an interest in community-engaged teaching, research, or mapping is encouraged to review the affiliation criteria and apply.

"We're excited to create a formal affiliation program to make it easier for us to collaborate with faculty from all over campus," said Center Director Maria Lane, who is also a Professor in the Department of Geography & Environmental Studies (GES). "Many faculty outside GES are interested in spatial or mapping projects, human-environment topics, and community engagement. So, we hope they will all apply!"

Lane said potential applicants can learn more about the Center for Community Geography through its website. It seeks faculty affiliates willing to support its mission in one or more of the following ways.

  1. Identify potential partnerships and/or projects in the Albuquerque area with a focus in human-environment relations.
  2. Review proposals for community-engaged research (for grad students) and/or community-engaged teaching (for faculty).
  3. Propose and/or participate in events that bring university and community knowledge producers together.
  4. Develop strategies to value local environmental knowledge in academic research.
  5. Participate in an annual meeting to discuss broad initiatives in community engagement at UNM.

Faculty affiliation will convey the following rights and responsibilities:

  • Affiliate profiles will be listed (and annually updated) on the Center for Community Geography website.
  • Affiliates will be added to the Center's listserv for notification of events and initiatives.
  • Affiliates will be eligible to submit grants through the Center, which provides F&A both to the PI and to the PI's department.
  • Affiliates will be eligible for administrative support for projects and events that support the Center's mission.
  • Affiliates will be invited annually to provide feedback on Center strategy and initiatives.

Any UNM faculty member or postdoc is eligible to apply for affiliation, regardless of discipline or institutional location, if their interests align broadly with the Center's mission.

To apply, UNM faculty are invited to send a CV and application statement via email no later than November 10, 2022. The statement should explain their interest in community engagement, and identify areas of potential involvement with the Center, as per the numbered list above. Lane said applicants are welcome to include other relevant information, as desired.

The Center for Community Geography was established in 2020 to support university-community partnerships within the broad domain of human-environment issues. It provides funding to students and faculty on an annual basis for community-engaged research and teaching. It also directly supports community-based projects through collaborative mapping, place-based research, and events.