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The Center for the Study of Science Fiction's educational-outreach project is
AboutSF.
A University of Kansas student employee serves as the project's
Volunteer Coordinator; from 2005-2007, the Volunteer Coordinator was
Thomas Seay, who also
built
the first iteration of
AboutSF.com;
from 2007-2010,
Nathaniel Williams held the position; in spring 2010, it was
Samantha
Simmons; from summer to fall 2010,
Kristen Lillvis; from 2011-2012,
it was Benjamin Cartwright;
and from 2012-2013 it has been Isaac Bell. Our first Web Developer/Designer
(2011-2012) has been Patrick Flor.
Call for applications open now:
AboutSF Coordinator and also
AboutSF Webmaster.
Click links or scroll down.
These positions are funded entirely by donations to the Center,
and all donations go entirely to paying the Coordinator's salary, with a small
amount to help cover expenses such as travel to conventions where the Coordinator
talks and leads workshops. The
AboutSF.com website is the project's resource center, hosting
information about and collaboration on SF and education in the field. Among our projects:
- A speakers' bureau (Speculation Speakers) for
futurists, science fiction
and fantasy authors, and other experts on speculative
thinking.
- Creating courses on teaching SF via the Center and the University of Kansas.
- Facilitating
literature
donations.
- Curriculum resources for Teaching SF, for using and studying science
fiction at the primary, secondary, and university levels.
- Hosting a consortium of SF-friendly university
programs.
- Coordinating volunteer efforts across the speculative
fiction field.
- And much more to be announced as it goes live!
AboutSF is a joint project of the University of
Kansas Center for the Study of Science Fiction, the
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and the
Science Fiction Research Association,
with generous support from Tor Books,
the KaCSFFS
ConQuest
SF Convention, and several
individual donors.
To read the latest news on AboutSF projects, keep an eye on the
AboutSF News and Announcements Forum.
Call for Applications:
AboutSF Volunteer Coordinator Position
Are you passionate about
speculative fiction? Do you want to get involved in the heart of SF while helping keep it
vital? Well, then, perhaps youre the person were looking for!
Who are we? The Center for the Study of Science Fiction
(described on this website) and About SF (hosted
here).
We are looking for a KU
student (graduate or undergraduate) to work for our growing programs. Because our first student-employee
went on into a life of politics, our second employee moved into a
research capacity, and our third got her PhD, you have the opportunity to shape the position to best serve
our mission as you see it.
Qualifications
- Familiar with science fiction literature and the field; you need not be
an expert, but should be able to learn quickly and speak intelligently about
the subject.
- Strong communication skills.
- Good attention to detail but can also see the big picture.
- Self-motivated, self-directed, and able to work creatively toward
solutions.
- Excellent at managing time and prioritizing projects. The tasks of this
job are wide and varied, some a few minutes long and some long-term.
- Excited about meeting the movers and shakers in the SF field as well
coordinating volunteers around the world. A successful AboutSF Coordinator
stays in regular touch with writers, editors, publishers, donors,
volunteers, and many others via phone calls, email, snail-mail, blogs, and
more.
- Excellent at researching on the Web and via traditional methods.
- Able to communicate
clearly, concisely, and regularly via the Web, email, telephone, and in
person.
- Experience with Microsoft Office.
- Enthusiastic about traveling to
SF conventions and other venues in the area or around the country to meet people, promote
our programs, and deliver the occasional talk or workshop.
- Experienced with or have a passion for developing educational programs
and teaching.
- Familiar with building and maintaining websites, or able to quickly
learn how to do so. (NOTE: If we fill the AboutSF Webmaster position, this
is less important.)
- Open to mentoring and
direction, when needed.
- Familiar with
communicating via social networks, blogs, and video sites.
- Able to work
year-round.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience recruiting and working with volunteers.
- Experience with consumer-grade video and audio editing software.
- Experience writing grants.
- Familiar with Web-development languages
including the Drupal platform tool, CSS, and HTML. Handy for working with
old pages are .php, MySQL, Javascript, DHTML, XML, and Ajax.
- Comfortable with graphic-design software such as Photoshop.
- Familiar with content-editing programs (text, presentations, and so on).
Responsibilities
- Coordinating worldwide volunteer activities in support of science
fiction education.
- Creating content for website, including educational materials, and
editing and approving content provided by others.
- Weekly reports to the public via our blog.
- Yearly or semi-annual high-level reports to our Board of Advisors and
regular donors.
- Updating the AboutSF website and working with Web developers.
- Sharing information about programs and resources through social media
and other means.
- Working with volunteers on various projects.
- Helping locate donations, grants, or other funding.
- Sharing resources with educators.
- Presenting panels locally, with opportunities to travel to
science-fiction conventions.
- Writing proposals and grants for programs and
financial support.
- Other initiatives: Prior Coordinators have created podcast series, made
videos, and lots of other great projects. What can you contribute that's
uniquely yours? You have the freedom to create something great!
To apply, send us a resume and letter
(to Chris McKitterick at cmckit@ku.edu)
describing how you fit our vision and why you're passionate about science
fiction and education. Explain how you understand the AboutSF mission and how you feel you
match our needs - and suggest how you can extend our reach.
We hope to make our hiring decisions by 4:00pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013,
so sooner is better! If we haven't yet filled the position, we'll keep the call
for applications open until it's filled.
This is a part-time,
student-hourly position funded entirely by donations (fully funded this year),
with contract re-appointment reviewed by the CSSF Board of Advisors each semester.
Beyond a paycheck, the benefits of working inside science fiction are
immeasurable!
Call for Applications:
AboutSF
Webmaster Position
The AboutSF Webmaster maintains, updates, and performs some design work on
the various Center for the Study of Science Fiction websites (aboutsf.com,
sfcenter.ku.edu, adastra.ku.edu), as well as develops new digital projects. The
Webmaster must be good at self-direction and completing tasks without constant
supervision.
Qualifications
- Familiar with science fiction literature and the
field; you need not be an expert, but should be able to learn quickly.
- Experience with HTML, XML, CSS, PHP, SQL, Javascript, and CMS administration
(such as Drupal or Wordpress).
- Self-motivated, self-directed, and able
to work creatively toward solutions.
- Excellent at managing time and
prioritizing projects. The tasks of this job are wide and varied, some a few
minutes long and some long-term.
- Able to communicate clearly via the
Web, email, telephone, and in person.
Preferred Qualifications
- Web
design and development experience.
- Previous work with creating digital
archive projects.
Responsibilities
- The AboutSF webmaster is responsible for the
smooth functioning and improvement of the CSSF websites.
- This includes
understanding the resources available, coming up with plans for improving the
information architecture (if necessary), better integrating the various sites,
improving site design, building or implementing ways to display and further
develop our resources, and helping with other technical and creative issues.
To apply, send us a resume and letter
(to Chris McKitterick at cmckit@ku.edu)
describing how you fit our needs - and if you have any suggestions for improving
our current websites.
We hope to make our hiring decisions by 4:00pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013,
so sooner is better! If we haven't yet filled the position, we'll keep the call
for applications open until it's filled.
This is a part-time,
student-hourly position funded entirely by donations (fully funded this year),
with contract re-appointment reviewed by the CSSF Board of Advisors each semester.
Beyond a paycheck, the benefits of working inside science fiction are
immeasurable!
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