Posting Details
Posting Details
Posting Number
F01214P
Position Title
Director, Texas Schools Project Open-Rank Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty Position
Functional Title
Director, Texas Schools Project Open-Rank Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty Position
Department
Economic Political & Policy
Salary Range
Negotiable
Pay Basis
Monthly
Position Status
Academic Year
Location
Richardson
Position End Date (if temporary)
Posting Open Date
10/20/2026
Posting Close Date
12/18/2026
Open Until Filled
No
Desired Start Date
08/01/2027
Job Summary
Position Description
The School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences (EPPS) at The University of Texas at Dallas invites applications for the Director of the Texas Schools Project (TSP) and an open rank faculty position. Exceptional candidates at the Assistant Professor level with a demonstrated trajectory toward research leadership and external funding will be considered.
The Director will lead one of the nation's premier centers for education policy research and will hold a tenure-home appointment in an EPPS program aligned with their disciplinary training: Economics, Public Policy, or a related field.
We seek a scholar whose research program addresses education policy in the United States- including, but not limited to, K-12 accountability and finance, teacher labor markets, school choice, early childhood education, postsecondary access and completion, career and technical education, or the transition from education to the labor market.
The appointment commences for the fall 2027 semester.
Qualifications
Minimum Education and Experience: A PhDin economics, public policy, or a related discipline is required prior to employment. Candidates should have demonstrated expertise in quantitative methods for casual inference and in the analysis of large-scale administrative and longitudinal microdata. Candidates must have a record of external research funding appropriate to their career stage and evidence of effective collaboration with policymakers, practitioners, or agency partners.
Candidates are expected to demonstrate the ability to work effectively in a highly collaborative, engaging, and dynamic environment comprised of individuals with a range of backgrounds, skills, and perspectives. We are seeking candidates able to produce research and scholarly or creative achievements that enhance the program and the discipline, and able to deliver high-quality teaching using evidence-based practices to effectively engage students from a range of backgrounds and experiences.
Preferred Education and Experience: Experience directing a research center, institute, lab, or comparable multi-investigator enterprise. Candidates are expected to have familiarity with state longitudinal data systems, restricted-use data environments, and the legal and ethical frameworks governing student data (e.g., FERPA, IRB, Interagency data-sharing agreements). Candidates should have a track record securing and managing grants from federal agencies (IES, NSF, NIH) and major foundations, demonstrated success in mentoring graduate students and early-career researchers, and have demonstrated the ability to translate research for policy and public audiences.
About the Texas Schools Project
Founded in 1992, the Texas Schools Project supports and conducts independent, high-quality academic research to inform education policy and practice and improve student outcomes across Texas and the nation. TSP researchers work across the full educational spectrum - from early childhood through postsecondary attainment and workforce outcomes - using advanced quantitative and mixed methods, and in close collaboration with education leaders and policymakers.
TSP also administers the Education Research Center (ERC) at UT Dallas, one of three state-designated centers providing secure access to individual-level, longitudinal education and workforce data for Texas. The ERC's holdings encompass more than 1.5 billion student and workforce records spanning nearly three decades, and more than 250 researchers have used TSP to access these data. Research produced through TSP appears regularly in leading academic journals and shapes state and national policy debates.
Learn more at https://tsp.utdallas.edu.
Responsibilities
The Director will:
• Set the intellectual agenda for TSP, advancing a portfolio of rigorous, policy-relevant research on education in the United States.
• Maintain an active, externally funded research program, publishing in top peer-reviewed outlets and pursuing support from federal agencies, foundations, and state partners.
• Provide administrative leadership for TSP and the UT Dallas Education Research Center, including oversight of data governance, security and compliance, staffing, budgets, and fee-based research services.
• Cultivate partnerships with the Texas Education Agency, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the Texas Workforce Commission, school districts, community colleges, universities, and philanthropic and policy organizations.
• Serve the external research community, supporting the more than 250 scholars nationally who rely on ERC data access.
• Mentor and develop professional research staff, postdoctoral fellows, and doctoral and undergraduate student researchers.
• Teach and advise in the Director's tenure-home program, at a load consistent with the administrative appointment.
• Represent TSP to university leadership, state agencies, funders, the media, and the broader public.
About EPPS
The School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences houses interdisciplinary programs in economics, political science, public policy and political economy, public affairs, sociology, criminology, and geospatial information sciences, with a shared emphasis on rigorous social scientific methods applied to consequential public problems.
The University of Texas at Dallas is a Carnegie R1 institution and one of the fastest-growing research universities in the country, located in Richardson, Texas, in the heart of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex - the nation's fourth-largest metropolitan area and home to a diverse and rapidly growing student population.
Application Instructions
Applicants should upload the following:
• Full curriculum vitae and cover letter summarizing their interests and qualifications for the position.
• Statement of teaching philosophy describing their conceptualizations of teaching and learning, and teaching and assessment methods, and how their teaching practices will engage students from a range of backgrounds and experiences.
• Research statement describing past, present, and future research, including how they mentor (or will mentor) student researchers and foster (or will foster) collaborative research environments.
• Full contact information for at least three academic or professional references.
Priority will be given to completed applications received by November 9, 2026. Reviews will continue until the position is filled or the search is closed on December 18, 2026.
Minimum Education and Experience
An earned graduate degree appropriate to the academic discipline and a record of productivity and professional achievement.
Preferred Education and Experience
We are seeking candidates with experience directing a research center, institute, lab, or comparable multi-investigator enterprise. Candidates are expected to have familiarity with state longitudinal data systems, restricted-use data environments, and the legal and ethical frameworks governing student data (e.g., FERPA, IRB, Interagency data-sharing agreements). Candidates should have a track record securing and managing grants from federal agencies (IES, NSF, NIH) and major foundations, demonstrate success in mentoring graduate students and early-career researchers, and demonstrate the ability to translate research for policy and public audiences.
Other Qualifications
To the extent this position requires the holder to research, work on, or have access to critical infrastructure as defined in Section 117.001(2) of the Texas Business and Commerce Code, the ability to maintain the security or integrity of the critical infrastructure is a minimum qualification to be hired and to continue to be employed in the position.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Demonstrate a commitment to teaching excellence
Prepare and teach undergraduate and/or graduate classes
Contribute assessment information and data as requested
Mentor and/or advise undergraduate and/or graduate students
Establish and/or continue an independent line of research
Continue to expand professional influence in the academic discipline through research and/or publication
Engage in service within the academic unit, the university, and the profession as appropriate based on teaching and research constraints
Teach three (3) classes each academic year
Physical Activities
Working Conditions
Additional Information
Special Instructions Summary
Important Message
1) All employees serve as a representative of the University and are expected to display respect, civility, professional courtesy, consideration of others and discretion in all interactions with members of the UT Dallas community and the general public.
