Interested individuals should apply to University of Texas’ Human Resources website at this link.
In August, the Ray Marshall Center welcomed new research associate Benjamin E. Moulton. Moulton is primarily working on the Texas Child Care Market Rate Survey project but will also contribute to other quantitative analyses for other projects. The Center has been conducting statewide child care market rate surveys since 2003. Results of the annual surveys are provided to Local Workforce Development Boards who manage the federal child care program in Texas so that they have reliable, up-to-date data to help them determine maximum reimbursement rates.
Prior to joining the Ray Marshall Center, Moulton worked as the director of information systems for a contract policy research company in northern Virginia, where he performed quantitative analytical and database construction work for the company. He has also served as a statistics lecturer in the sociology department at the University of Texas at Austin, as well as a contract SAS programmer. Moulton holds a BA and MA from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as a Ph.D. in sociology with a concentration in mortality from the University of Texas at Austin. He is also a certified SAS programmer.
Center researchers Dan O’Shea and Christopher T. King present the final report on the Strategic Positioning Project for Goodwill Industries of Central Texas. Researchers assess current workforce efforts at Goodwill Industries of Central Texas (GICT) and identify viable options for adjusting, expanding, or introducing new elements to the current programs and services array that might help “position” GICT for improving the livelihood prospects of disadvantaged populations in Central Texas. A presentation of the key findings from the report to GICT’s Board of Directors is available at this link.
The Strategic Positioning Project began in August 2010 as a collaborative effort between GICT, Goodwill Industries International and the Ray Marshall Center. In this project, the Ray Marshall Center measured the effects of existing GICT workforce development programs and services, and mapped participants, services, and job placements in Central Texas in order to assess the effectiveness of GICT’s existing workforce services for youth, disadvantaged adults and persons with disabilities. In addition, based on a national scan of innovative and successful programs and services around the country, the project formulated mechanisms for improving outcomes and community impacts by intensifying and/or expanding current services, extending geographic and/or target group coverage, or introducing new options to the current array of services offered.
A copy of the final report is available on the Ray Marshall Center’s website at this link.
The Ray Marshall Center welcomes Cynthia Juniper as its new research associate. Juniper joined the Center in July 2011 and is working on the Statewide Early Childhood Education Needs Assessment Project that started in June. The project is the first in forty years to provide a comprehensive review and evaluation of child care needs and capacity in the state of Texas and provide recommendations for meeting identified gaps in programs, services, and quality. The project is a collaborative effort between the Ray Marshall Center, the Hobby Center for the Study of Texas, and the Texas Early Learning Council.
Juniper has extensive leadership experiences in operating social services and education programs. Before joining the Ray Marshall Center, Juniper served on the Senior Leadership Team with Community Action of Hays, Caldwell and Blanco Counties where she oversaw a number of local social service programs, including: Head Start, Early Head Start, Rural AIDS Services, Energy Assistance, Homelessness Prevention, and two area Senior Centers. The Head Start and Early Head Start programs were the focus of much of her work with Community Action. The program operated eleven child development centers in three counties, including collaborations with public school Pre-K programs and Parenting Education Programs (PEP). Juniper served as a trainer and consultant for a number of Head Start programs throughout the region.
Prior to Community Action, Juniper taught undergraduate sociology at Texas Woman’s University and Texas State University in San Marcos, served as the director of two rape crisis programs, coordinated a family violence shelter and outreach program, worked on a Recovery from Rape research project with the Urban Institute and a number of Head Start demonstration projects. She is a published poet and the author of Principles of Recovery from Abuse; a recovery guide for sexual assault survivors. Juniper received her BS in Sociology and Psychology from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, and her Masters in Sociology from the Texas Woman’s University.
Tara C. Smith and Dr. Christopher T. King from the Ray Marshall Center recently published the report, Exploratory Return-on-Investment Analysis of Local Workforce Investments. The report provides a cost-benefit evaluation of Travis County’s long-term workforce development through Capital IDEA, a nonprofit workforce intermediary based in Austin, Texas. Capital IDEA provides occupational skills training and extensive support services to low?income residents. Training and job placement are sectorally targeted at high-demand occupations such as health care, information and electronic technologies, utilities, and skilled trades. The report presents the returns from participation in Capital IDEA from three perspectives: participants, taxpayers, and society. Findings from the research show that:
The position description is included at the end of this message. Interested applicants should apply through the University of Texas’s Human Resources website.
Position Description
Job title Associate Director, Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
Basic Information
Date available: Immediately
Position duration: Funding expected to continue
Position open to all applicants
Monthly salary: OPEN subject to qualifications
Location: Austin – Ray Marshall Center (Lake Austin Center)
Required Application Materials
A Resume is required in order to apply.
A Letter of Interest is required in order to apply.
A List of 3 References is required in order to apply.
Purpose of position
Assist director in leading, managing and raising research funds for the Ray Marshall Center, and serve as principal investigator and team member on research projects, many of which involve complex statistical analyses of confidential administrative records data on education, workforce and related areas. Position serves as associate director for the Center.
Essential functions
Work with the director to lead the development and implementation of the Ray Marshall Center’s vision. Develop, manage and deliver Center research projects and deliverables. Market, publish, communicate, outreach, network and partner. Fundraise from government agencies, foundations and other sources. Recruit, develop and supervise Center staff, with special attention to those responsible for acquiring, creating and maintaining research datasets. Responsible for operations including finances, budget, administration, human resources, monitoring and reporting. Represent the Center with and in the absence of the director at the LBJ School, University and other venues.
Required qualifications
Doctoral degree in the social sciences, education or related field. An experienced researcher with 10 or more years of experience designing, performing and directing research projects involving confidential administrative data for education, workforce and related areas, including carrying out policy research and communicating findings to policymakers and program administrators. Experience should include planning; scheduling and budgeting; delivering, tracking, monitoring and reporting on research projects. Experience should include managing a diverse workforce, making complex administrative decisions, fundraising, and conducting research. Strong written and verbal communication skills including making frequent public presentations. Strong team-building skills with demonstrated experience building partnerships and leading collaborative teams producing under tight deadlines. It is expected that the associate director will also be appointed as a research scientist, a position with qualifications comparable to those of an established assistant professor or new associate professor.
Preferred qualifications
A visionary leader who can identify and work to capitalize on strategic opportunities, create enthusiasm for implementing the Center’s vision and mission, establish priorities and lead a team to strong performance and results. Demonstrated experience in delivering strong results in policy-related research projects. Knowledge of current Texas and National education and workforce policy issues and key actors inflluencing them. Demonstrated expertise through presentations, papers and publications in policy research. Knowledge of and current contacts in government agencies, foundations and academic institutions involved with funding and conducting research and development in education and workforce development.
About the Bryna and Henry David Fellow
Every 2 to 3 years, the Ray Marshall Center hires an incoming masters student from the LBJ School of Public Affairs to work half-time on education and workforce related research projects. The position is funded by an endowment created by the estate of Bryna and Henry David. Henry David taught at the LBJ School in the 1970s; both he and his wife Bryna were nationally recognized researchers in career-related education. To date, four David Fellows have worked at the Ray Marshall Center, in recent years primarily contributing to the ongoing work of the Central Texas Student Futures Project. David Fellows are paid a stipend, plus in-state tuition, and also receive funds to support attendance at a national policy research conference each year.
The Center’s longtime associate director Deanna Schexnayder became the new assistant dean for finance for the LBJ School of Public Affairs on May 1st. Schexnayder will continue to be involved in some research projects at the Center, but will no longer serve as its associate director.
In late June, the Center launched a search for a new associate director/research scientist. (A position description is also included at the end of this message.) Interested applicants are invited to apply by completing an application on the University of Texas’s Human Resources website, available at this link.
The position will start immediately since, in addition to having administrative duties as Associate Director (20%), the person filling this position will play a role in several ongoing research projects involving confidential education, workforce and related data. The Center’s target hire date is mid-to-late August.
Position Description
Job title Associate Director, Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
Basic Information
Date available: Immediately
Position duration: Funding expected to continue
Position open to all applicants
Monthly salary: OPEN subject to qualifications
Location: Austin – Ray Marshall Center (Lake Austin Center)
Required Application Materials
A Resume is required in order to apply.
A Letter of Interest is required in order to apply.
A List of 3 References is required in order to apply.
Purpose of position
Assist director in leading, managing and raising research funds for the Ray Marshall Center, and serve as principal investigator and team member on research projects, many of which involve complex statistical analyses of confidential administrative records data on education, workforce and related areas. Position serves as associate director for the Center.
Essential functions
Work with the director to lead the development and implementation of the Ray Marshall Center’s vision. Develop, manage and deliver Center research projects and deliverables. Market, publish, communicate, outreach, network and partner. Fundraise from government agencies, foundations and other sources. Recruit, develop and supervise Center staff, with special attention to those responsible for acquiring, creating and maintaining research datasets. Responsible for operations including finances, budget, administration, human resources, monitoring and reporting. Represent the Center with and in the absence of the director at the LBJ School, University and other venues.
Required qualifications
Doctoral degree in the social sciences, education or related field. An experienced researcher with 10 or more years of experience designing, performing and directing research projects involving confidential administrative data for education, workforce and related areas, including carrying out policy research and communicating findings to policymakers and program administrators. Experience should include planning; scheduling and budgeting; delivering, tracking, monitoring and reporting on research projects. Experience should include managing a diverse workforce, making complex administrative decisions, fundraising, and conducting research. Strong written and verbal communication skills including making frequent public presentations. Strong team-building skills with demonstrated experience building partnerships and leading collaborative teams producing under tight deadlines. It is expected that the associate director will also be appointed as a research scientist, a position with qualifications comparable to those of an established assistant professor or new associate professor.
Preferred qualifications
A visionary leader who can identify and work to capitalize on strategic opportunities, create enthusiasm for implementing the Center’s vision and mission, establish priorities and lead a team to strong performance and results. Demonstrated experience in delivering strong results in policy-related research projects. Knowledge of current Texas and National education and workforce policy issues and key actors inflluencing them. Demonstrated expertise through presentations, papers and publications in policy research. Knowledge of and current contacts in government agencies, foundations and academic institutions involved with funding and conducting research and development in education and workforce development.
On June 23, Dr. Chris King, director of the Ray Marshall Center, presented recent findings of the Student Futures Project to the Austin College Access Network (ACAN) at St. Edwards University. A copy of the presentation is now available online at this link.
Deanna T. Schexnayder, long-time associate director for the Ray Marshall Center for Study of Human Resources at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, has assumed the role of assistant dean for finance for the LBJ School. In her new position, Schexnayder will be responsible for developing all financial and human resources policies for the LBJ School and directly managing operations of the LBJ School personnel and finance offices.
Schexnayder will continue to hold her senior research scientist title at the Ray Marshall Center, devoting a portion of her time to sponsored research projects at the Center, including a $675K project with the Texas Early Learning Council.
In addition to her experience as a senior research scientist and associate director at the School’s Ray Marshall Center, Schexnayder has over 30 years of human resource and personnel management experience within university and non-profit environments. Schexnayder has experience in the complex world of university finance through several previous positions, including being a grants and contracts administrator for the Office of Vice-President for Business Affairs at Louisiana State University. From 1988 through 2004, Schexnayder also led many local volunteer initiatives devoted to improving the quality of child care and public education in the Austin area. She holds a B.S. degree in psychology and an M.B.A. degree, both from Louisiana State University. In 2008, Schexnayder received The University of Texas at Austin Outstanding Supervisor Award.