Intern, Office of Undergraduate STEM Education

The American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) is the leading national association that advances the democratic purposes of higher education by promoting equity, innovation, and excellence in liberal education. Its members are committed to extending the advantages of a liberal education to all students, regardless of academic specialization or intended career. Founded in 1915, AAC&U now comprises more than 900 member institutions—including accredited public and private colleges, community colleges, research universities, and comprehensive universities of every type and size.

The Office of Undergraduate STEM Education (OUSE) is a dynamic, forward-thinking, and highly collegial workplace at AAC&U, which has as its goal to position AAC&U as a critical, national leader in advancing US STEM higher education reform. Grounded in the reference points of equity and quality, OUSE works to: 1) provide world-class, culturally responsive professional development for STEM faculty; 2) expand the STEM higher education reform knowledge base through cutting-edge evaluative research; and 3) establish a policy agenda that accelerates undergraduate STEM education reform. For further information about Project Kaleidoscope and the Office of Undergraduate STEM Reform, visit our website at: www.aacu.org/pkal.

This position provides a unique internship opportunity for an individual from any discipline, to create, edit, and post high-quality social media content alongside leaders and staff of OUSE. Some travel is required.

The OUSE Intern will assist with all aspects of the social marketing mission and efforts of AAC&U related to undergraduate STEM reform. This includes drafting compelling content for press releases and social media posts, contributing to the implementation of media relations campaigns. The Intern will have the opportunity to interact with expert branding and marketing consultants, as well as social media influencers. In order to fully contextualize their work, the Intern will be expected to contribute to provide important programmatic and intellectual input in implementing AAC&U’s 2023 professional development institutes and conferences. The ideal candidate must have exceptional communication and organizational skills and be able to identify and implement creative digital solutions that will enable OUSE to realize its vision for growth and expansion.

OUSE is an energized, zigzag, and highly congenial environment that values and centers creativity, wellness, and collegiality in our work to advance America’s scientific enterprise.

The Intern will be expected to contribute to this work atmosphere in ways that are respectful, cordial, and highly supportive of the professional needs and desires of others. As such, the Intern is a key factor in sustaining a spirit of collaboration in OUSE where discipline, strong work ethic, and the care of self and others is foregrounded in everything we do.

This is a full-time, temporary position that reports directly to the Vice President for Undergraduate STEM Education.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

  • Draft compelling content related to AAC&U’s STEM reform work for public release through social media, press, email
  • Participate in staff meetings and brainstorming sessions
  • Research digital trends and incorporate them into the STEM reform work of AAC&U
  • Contribute to the implementation of STEM faculty professional development programs and conferences
  • Proactively contribute to conceptualizing and finalizing professional development/training materials and other external-facing documents
  • Provide technical support through: consultation on data visualization designs, strategic planning for branding and promoting program activities, generation of charts and graphs for presentation and dissemination, and organization of promotional items and materials
  • Other related duties as assigned

Required Qualifications

  • Currently enrolled at a US higher education institution
  • Interest in understanding the social justice challenges related to reforming American higher education
  • Advanced knowledge of and extensive experience with social media platforms, virtual event meeting platforms, and project management platforms
  • Experience with organizing or planning events preferred
  • Superior communication skills, written and oral
  • Ability to work collaboratively and effectively in a dynamic, interdisciplinary environment
  • Strong interpersonal skills and high emotional intelligence

Application Instructions

Application materials should be forwarded to [email protected]. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Required materials to be submitted include: 1) a cover letter outlining qualifications, skills, and commitment to empowering the professional lives of others; 2) most recent CV/resume; and 3) contact information for three references.

AAC&U believes that a broadly diverse staff is critical to achieving excellence as a national higher education association. We seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool. We are fully committed to equal employment opportunity and compliance with the full range of fair employment practices and non-discrimination laws.