• Please note: The deadline for this position has been extended to February 20, 2023.

The NPS Mellon Humanities Postdoctoral Fellowship Program places recent humanities PhDs with NPS sites and programs across the agency. In collaboration with NPS staff and partners, the incoming cohort of fifteen (15) Fellows will contribute to planning and preparation for America at 250, an initiative inspired by the semi-quincentennial of the Declaration of Independence. This event provides an opportunity for the NPS to tell a more inclusive story of the American past and present. The NPS is committed to exploring the full complexity of our history, even if that history is uncomfortable, contested, or erased. The humanities research supported by this Fellowship will expand these efforts, encouraging creative approaches to documentation, interpretation, and outreach.

This opportunity is supported by a generous grant from The Mellon Foundation through the National Park Foundation (NPF). The project is administered via a three-way agreement among NPS, National Park Foundation (NPF), and American Conservation Experience (ACE).

Job Title: National Park Service Mellon Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow: African American Experience in Vicksburg from Civil War through Reconstruction

Employer: American Conservation Experience (ACE)

Department: EPIC Program, National Park Service (NPS) Division

Location: Primary location will be Vicksburg, MS however position will potentially involve research at other locations. Periods of remote work may be an option.

Status: Temporary, Full-time, Exempt

Term: Position is fully funded through August 31, 2025

Start Date: September 2023

Host Description: This fellowship is placed with the Vicksburg National Military Park. Vicksburg National Military Park preserves and tells the stories of one of the most pivotal campaigns in the American Civil War. The park is in Vicksburg, Mississippi, about 40 miles west of Jackson, the state capital. Within the park's boundaries is Vicksburg National Cemetery. The cemetery contains the remains of more than 17,000 Union soldiers, the most of any national cemetery in the country.

Established in 1899 to commemorate the eighteen-month campaign and siege of the city, the park has, in recent decades, expanded its programming focus. This process began in 1990, with an update to the park's enabling legislation that included a mandate to interpret the occupation and Reconstruction periods. Both eras had a profound effect on Vicksburg. While park planning documents have begun to identify significant themes, much work remains to be done in the park's interpretive efforts to fully integrate occupation and Reconstruction into programming. This includes exploring the lives of United States Colored Troops (USCT) who served in Vicksburg as garrison troops; researching their families and descendants; tracing Vicksburg's connections to regional and national politics and economics in the post-Civil War era; and documenting the experiences of Vicksburg's African American residents and their struggles for civil rights not only during occupation and Reconstruction, but also into the twentieth century as well.

ACE is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing rewarding environmental service opportunities for young adults and emerging professionals of all backgrounds to explore and improve public lands while gaining practical professional experience. The EPIC NPS Division works alongside the National Park Service across the United States, from Alaska to Puerto Rico, to support the NPS in its mission to "preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations" while providing career promoting individual placement opportunities.

Position Description: The Fellow will expand research, understanding, and interpretation of the United States Colored Troops (USCT), Federal occupation period, and Reconstruction-era in Vicksburg. Areas of emphasis will include documenting life-stories from Vicksburg, researching soldiers buried in the National Cemetery, and supporting the observance of the 150th Anniversary of the Vicksburg Riots. The Fellow will build on existing efforts to expand community collaboration, outreach, and interpretive products and programs.

The Fellow's work in these areas will support multiple park priorities. For example, the creation of new exhibits and the drafting of a new Long Range Interpretive Plan. The Fellow's research into the life stories of 50-100 United States Colored Troops is especially significant. As part of a significant landscape stabilization project, the park will be exhuming the remains of the soldiers. The work of documenting and honoring their lives will be a key part of the Fellowship.

The focus of all these efforts is to give identity and meaning to people and stories that are either currently unknown or under-told. Sharing a more accurate, balanced, and equitable narrative of what makes Vicksburg significant will enable deeper visitor connections. Visitors will be able to find personal relevance in the park's interpretation, seeing how the stories relate to challenge and struggle.

Through increased community presence, the NPS will be more accessible for audiences who do not otherwise feel a connection with the park or its history. Expanded outreach efforts will encourage collaboration and engagement in the co-creation of park and personal equity and relevance by bringing to the forefront the critical role played by African Americans in nearly every aspect of Vicksburg's historical and cultural significance. The Fellowship will directly improve the park's efforts to tell the wider context and impacts of the Civil War, Reconstruction, and struggle for justice and inclusion for physical visitors to the site as well as virtual visitors.

Each NPS Mellon Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow will complete work in four areas. Fellows will (1) perform project-based research; (2) share research results; (3) produce and substantially contribute to interpretive and educational products; and (4) pursue career-focused work.

1) Project-Based Research: The landscape stabilization effort requires exhuming 50-100 United States Colored Troops buried in the national cemetery. These soldiers served during the Civil War through Reconstruction. The park needs regimental, field hospital, and complete cemetery records specific to those people buried in the affected portions. Many of these soldiers served in Vicksburg during the occupation and Reconstruction and a large number were buried as unknown. The Fellow will play a pivotal role in researching these soldiers. This work will affirm a commitment to do all we can to honor and restore names to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

The Fellow will conduct research in support of the development of new outreach, personal services programming, and partnerships. Developing digital and print content to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Vicksburg Massacre/Riots is also a priority.

In year two, the Fellow will consult with their mentorship team, as well as other subject matter experts as needed, to propose a project for their second year.

2) Sharing Research Results: The Fellow will collaborate with the support team to share the results of applied research with their hosts, cohort, Fellowship project team, the larger community of NPS staff and partners, and ultimately to visitors and community partners. This research will be shared on various platforms, including webinars, educational and interpretive content on NPS.gov, and in-person sessions, with other sites telling stories of Reconstruction and the USCT. The work of the Fellow may also be used to nominate and/or highlight lesser-known sites to the Reconstruction Era Network. The Fellow will create research files for use by park staff and other scholars. The Fellow will also serve as a liaison to other public history and humanities organizations.

The Fellow will be expected to develop and sustain connections with program-provided mentors and host staff, associated NPS staff, members of their Fellowship cohort, and other Fellows across the tenure of the program. In addition to being provided mentorship and support themselves, the Fellow will have the opportunity to mentor others and to enrich staff knowledge by organizing events such as virtual speaker series and presentations. Twice a year, the Fellow will participate with their cohort and other Fellows in a virtual conference for NPS staff and partners to provide updates about their research. The Fellow will be responsible for tracking and reporting accomplishments and for supplying copies of interpretive, educational, and research products to their host and to the National Coordinator.

3) Interpretive and Educational products: The Fellow will work with mentors and a support team to identify feasible interpretive and educational products informed by their research. Examples of potential interpretive and educational products developed for this fellowship opportunity could include:

• Programming focused on the observance of the 150th Anniversary of the Vicksburg Massacre/Riots
• Curriculum materials for school programs and distance learning programs
• Symposia with scholars
• Dialogic audience center programs
• Program outlines for future use by staff
• Self-guided tours for the NPS app
• Story-maps for the NPS website
• Site bulletins/brochures
• Social media content
• Special exhibits and updates to long term exhibits

4) Career-focused research and products: In consultation with their mentors, the Fellow will carry out a career-centered project. About 20 percent of the Fellowship will be dedicated to this scholarly work that advances the Fellow's career path. The Fellow will be supported by a multidisciplinary team that draws on local, regional, and agency-wide expertise. The fellow will be part of a community of practice which includes multiple universities, interns, local historians, and community leaders. There will be opportunities to be an active team member in a new Long Range Interpretive plan and practical application of research into the development of interpretive and educational products and programming.

Essential Responsibilities and Tasks:

• Conduct original research into the experiences of the African American communities in Vicksburg from pre-Civil war through the end of Reconstruction; synthesize existing research to share with NPS and partner sites through in-person and virtual meetings and on multiple digital platforms.
• Expand the quality and level of interpretive programming to address the 1990 congressional mandate to interpret the impact of the Vicksburg campaign, siege, occupation and Reconstruction.
• Create opportunities for a more comprehensive and equitable understanding of issues and social impacts leading up to and following the Civil War as revealed by documenting, for the first time, the first-hand experiences of soldiers and residents - enslaved and free - in Vicksburg as well as documenting these narratives as conveyed by their descendants.
• Bring to light personal identities and stories of USCT and other people of African descent in Vicksburg.
• Advise and collaborate with a variety of student interns, including from multiple HBCUs, on research best practices; Partner with student interns on interpretative products and program development, including content development for digital platforms.
• Support the development of programming for the Observance of the 150th Anniversary of the Vicksburg Race Riots.
• Develop interpretive and educational products and programming.

Required Experience and Qualifications:

• Must be a PhD in any field of the humanities or humanistic social sciences. Scholars who received or will receive their PhD between May 1, 2018, and August 15, 2023, are eligible to apply. For more information on eligibility, visit https://www.nationalparks.org/nps-mellon-humanities-postdoctoral-fellowship
• Subject matter expertise in African American history; public history; cultural anthropology; cultural landscapes; oral history; or ethnography.
• Excellent research, writing, and communication skills.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a team environment.
• Skill in project planning, organization, and time management; ability and desire to perform multiple concurrent and variable tasks.
• Strong organizational skills to keep track of workload, tasks, and interactions.
• Selective factors include the merit of scholarship and promise, commitment to the public humanities, and capacity to complete research successfully.

Other Requirements:

• Must be a US citizen or Permanent Resident,as required to comply with U.S. government contracts.
• Must be proficient in English.
• Must pass a federal criminal background check; Fellowship is also contingent upon a successful security background check with the NPS.
• Must be willing to abide by ACE Policy and Federal Drug Free workplace policies and laws. ACE reserves the right to drug test at any time
• Must verify that they are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by the time they start their fellowship or request a medical or religious exemption.
• Must be willing to abide by a requirement to acknowledge The Mellon Foundation, the National Park Service, the National Park Foundation, and American Conservation Experience, in any publications generated by this project.
• Must be willing to abide by federal policy that research results, publications, films, videos, artistic or similar endeavors resulting from the fellowship, other than the specifically career-focused work, will become the property of the United States, and as such, will be in the public domain and not subject to copyright laws.
• Consent to being photographed and to the release of such photographic images.

Physical Demands, Work Environment, and Working Conditions:

• Physical Demands: Requires frequent sitting, standing, walking, using hands to handle or feel, reaching with hands and arms, talks and hears with or without assistive personnel and/or devices. Manual dexterity required for use of computer keyboard/mouse and other office equipment with or without reasonable accommodations. May be occasionally required to stoop, kneel, climb stairs, and/or crouch (all physical demands are required with or without reasonable accommodations). The National Park Service host will provide reasonable accommodations, if needed, to meet task assignments.
• Vision Requirements: Requires close, distance, peripheral and depth perception vision as well as the ability to focus. The National Park Service host will provide reasonable accommodations, if needed, to meet task assignments.
• Environmental: Mainly indoor, office environment conditions; indoor air quality is good, and temperature is controlled. This is describing both provided office spaces and home office spaces.
• Noise Environment: Moderate noise such as in a business office with equipment and light traffic. This is describing both provided office spaces and home office spaces.
• Travel: This position requires domestic travel as needed for program duties.

Salary & Benefits:

Compensation: Starting annualized salary $65,000 with annualized COLA to $67,600 for Year 2 (40 hours/week for 52-weeks). Paid bi-weekly, a two-week pay period. Travel funding is provided, and Fellows will not be responsible for the costs of allowable/approved program travel. Each Fellow will receive an annual research fund of $3,000.

Medical/Health Benefits: ACE offers competitive medical and ancillary plans (health, mental health, dental, vision, flexible spending accounts, and other supplemental benefits). Fellows are also eligible to participate in ACE's 403b retirement plan, which includes a 1% employer contribution for participating, contributing staff.

Holidays, Vacation, and Sick Time: As a Fellow, you will be eligible to accrue up to 80 hours of paid vacation time annually during your first two years of continuous employment. Additionally, ACE observes 13 paid annual holidays and provides 10 days (or 80 hours) of paid sick time annually.

Additional Benefits: Outdoor Perks - As an ACE Fellow, you will be eligible to receive pro deals which include deep discounts on outdoor gear providing 30 - 50% off retail prices on 100s of established outdoor gear brands.

To Apply: Please submit: 1) a cover letter stating interest and vision for the Fellowship (letters may include a summary of the dissertation, a statement of personal research interests and plans, discussion of past engagement with public humanities, discussion of willingness to participate fully in NPS research and education programs); 2) a comprehensive curriculum vitae; 3) a writing sample accessible to the general public; 4) confirmation of Ph.D. award by August 15, 2023; and 5) names and contact information for 3 professional references.

Deadline to apply: The deadline to apply for this position is February 20, 2023, or until 75 applications meeting eligibility requirements have been received.

Questions about the application process should be sent to mellonhumanities@usaconservation.org

American Conservation Experience provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, American Conservation Experience complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. ACE encourages all qualified individuals to apply and does not discriminate on the basis of any protected status, including veteran and disability status. ACE is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities under the ADA and provides the opportunity for employees to request reasonable accommodations during the hiring process.