Cornell/Feeding America Postdoctoral Equity Scholar Fellowship
Cornell University 

Housed in the Nutrition Liberation, Food Sovereignty, and Justice Research Laboratory in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University, the Cornell/Feeding America Postdoctoral Equity Scholar Fellowship provides a unique opportunity for a postdoctoral scholar in the social, health, economic, and behavioral sciences to pursue equity-related research and scholarship with Feeding America, the largest hunger relief organization in the United States. This fellowship provides training and mentoring in interdisciplinary research to address racial/ethnic inequities in food insecurity with an emphasis on systems change and capacity building within the charitable food system to identify/alleviate the root causes of hunger and be responsive to the diverse population of neighbors served by Feeding America.

NUTRITION LIBERATION, FOOD SOVERNITY, AND JUSTICE RESEARCH LABORATORY, DIVISION OF NUTRITIONAL SCIENCES, CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Led by Dr. Angela Odoms-Young, the mission of the Nutrition Liberation, Food Sovereignty, and Justice Laboratory is to examine the pathways and mechanisms linking the social and structural determinants of health and diet and related health outcomes in low-income populations and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to develop culturally/community responsive programs and policies that promote health equity, food justice, and community resilience.

Our lab’s mission is to create deep relationships and conduct transformational community/public health nutrition research and education that promotes robust social impact, generational justice, equity, and well-being with a key emphasis on communities impacted by structural oppression and historic disinvestment. Specifically, our goal is to engage in interdisciplinary research that transforms institutions, policies, and practices to help cultivate equitable food and nutrition systems through critical inquiry, community engagement, and action research. Moreover, in addition to applying traditional research approaches, in connection with our affiliate program, The Food and Nutrition Education in Communities Program (FNEC), we partner with agencies, organizations, universities, and state and local government to support dietary assessment, environmental scans, survey development, and analysis, participatory program planning, intervention co-design, and evaluation and training sessions on several topics including nutrition equity, community and culturally responsive nutrition education, food justice, food and nutrition security, social and structural determinants of dietary behaviors and health outcomes, and community capacity building.

FEEDING AMERICA
Feeding America is committed to an America where no one is hungry. The organization supports tens of millions of people who experience food insecurity to get the food and resources they say they need to thrive as part of a nationwide network of more than 200 partner and affiliate food banks, 60,000 agency partners, 21 partner state associations, and innumerable meal programs. In addition to providing direct food assistance to families and individuals, Feeding America strives to create opportunities for our neighbors to achieve self-sufficiency. We invest in innovative solutions to increase equitable access to nutritious food, advocate for legislation that improves food security and work to address factors that impact food security, such as health, cost of living and employment.

POSITION DESCRIPTION
The Cornell/Feeding America Postdoctoral Equity Scholar will be employed by Cornell University as part of Dr. Odoms-Young’s Nutrition Liberation, Food Sovereignty, and Justice Laboratory and funded through Feeding America Visiting Equity Scholar (courtesy of Conagra Brands Foundation). This appointment will last for one year and can start immediately but no later than October 2023.  Position can be a Hybrid (in-person and remote) or 100% remote.

The postdoctoral scholar will join an existing team of researchers and thought leaders developing, testing, and evaluating capacity-building tools and technical assistance strategies for strengthening equitable policies, processes, and practices within Feeding America, with implications for the charitable food assistance system at large. The research carried out as part of this fellowship constitutes an important part of Feeding America’s ongoing effort to analyze and understand the complex, shifting nature of food insecurity, particularly among those neighbors that are disproportionately impacted, such as Black, Brown, Indigenous (or Native), LGBTQ+, and rural communities.

ELIGIBILITY

• All scholar applicants must have a doctorate level (e.g., PhD, DrPH, DSW, JD, MD, EdD) or comparable terminal degree. Doctoral or other graduate students are not eligible to apply.
• Successful candidates will have a demonstrated record of scholarly activity in equity (scholarship of discovery, integration, application/engagement, and teaching/learning) and/or food insecurity and related research, and demonstrate the ability to contribute to Feeding America’s and Cornell’s core value of improving diversity, equity, inclusion, and access (DEIA).
• Candidates should be no more than five years past the award date of their doctoral degree by the date of the application deadline. Exceptions may be made for career-life balance considerations.
• Appointments will be made for up to two years, dependent on a positive annual evaluation and the acquisition of funding beyond the Equity Visiting Scholar position.
• The salary for appointments in the 2023-2024 year will be $54,840 - $63,000 plus full Cornell University employee fringe benefits. The scholar will also be provided $2,000 annually for discretionary research and associated expenses (e.g., journal publication fees, conference and research-related travel).

Applications must be submitted through Academic Jobs Online: https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/25914

Application Materials: 

• Candidate CV (4-pages max.), including publication list and date of PhD graduation, and listing the PhD advisor’s name.
• Research Statement (2-pages max. and should include a clear statement of research and career objectives and of the relevance of your work for addressing racial/ethnic disparities in food insecurity. This page limit includes figures, citations, references, tables etc. Font size should be no smaller than 11 pt. Applications exceeding this limit will be rejected without review.
• A description of experience with, and/or approaches to (past, current, or future), fostering learning, research, service and/or outreach in a diverse community.  Applicants may choose to submit a stand-alone statement or embed the information in other parts of their application materials.
• Two reference letters (Each letter should be 2-pages max and provide detailed assessments of the candidate's qualifications and potential for innovative, groundbreaking independent research.  

Please direct your questions to Angela Odoms-Young at amo2@cornell.edu.