Environmental Justice Researcher
Job Description
The Communities of Hope program, a community news service under the Journalism Program in the Department of Media + Design + Communication, is looking for a student worker with a background in critical environment and social justice studies to conduct secondary research about environmental justice issues in Rhode Island’s local communities support the work of local journalists in the program.
Communities of Hope is a community-driven solutions journalism news service working with specific groups of people who have been erased, marginalized, underrepresented, misrepresented and maligned by mainstream media outlets.
Our mission is to empower people in those communities through training, paid work, information gathering, and educational storytelling to participate in the public conversations about the issues that affect them, about their histories, and about their roles in society, making them a central part of the decision-making process.
The student working in this position will be expected to:
- Conduct research in local databases and archives about local communities, especially historically marginalized communities.
- Conduct original reporting, interviews, and assist in producing original stories for Communities of Hope. The student will receive credit (bylines) and hold shared copyrights of every distributed product.
- Prepare tip sheets, backgrounders and other supporting materials to inform the work of local journalists covering local communities.
- Contribute to other Communities of Hope projects by conducting research, reporting, production, writing, editing and distribution. The student will receive credit (bylines) and hold shared copyrights of every distributed product.
Special Skills Needed:
Basic research skills, especially related to searching databases, archives, and private collections, time management and basic organizational skills. Interviewing and writing skills will be considered a welcome addition.
Academic Major Preferred:
Sustainability Studies, Public Health, Urban Studies, History, Anthropology and Sociology, Biology, Cultural Studies, Environmental Science, Legal Studies, Marine Biology, Political Science, Journalism, Communication & Media Studies or any students with news and media production and organizational skills and a general understanding of news media may apply.
Starting Date:
Applications will stay open until the position is filled.
*Students are prohibited from driving during work-study employment with the limited exception of authorized work-study driver positions.
** All employees, including student employees, are required to participate in a short online training that will prepare you with the new protocols for working on campus. Please click on the following link to complete your training: http://rwu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a4aBCUkcc7Vl7QF