ORGANIZATION
The Black & Indigenous Feminist Futures Institute (BIFFI) strives to promote interdisciplinary research, scholarship, and cultural production that elevates intersectional feminist Black and Indigenous Studies. BIFFI achieves these aims through a “Fellows-in-Residence” program that hosts elders, artists, scholars, organizers, and practitioners at UVA; Summer Institutes that offer intensive instruction in intersectional feminist Black and Indigenous theories, methods, curricular design, pedagogies, and community building work; and by establishing the first “Black and Indigenous Studies Certificate Program” in the US South.
MENTORS
Tiffany King, Ph.D., Kasey Jernigan, Ph.D., & Sonia Alconini, Ph.D., BIFFI Co-Directors
PURPOSE
The intern will shadow the co-directors who administer the Mellon grant. The current phase of grant administration requires submitting interim reports, finalizing budgets, fundraising across the College of Arts and Sciences, and communicating with the Mellon Foundation staff. In the spring, the co- directors, with the help of the intern, will continue to plan events for fellows-in-residence visits in the fall of 2024, the summer institute, and finalize curricular development. The event planning will entail communicating with leading scholars, artists, practitioners in the fields of Black and Indigenous feminist studies. The event planning and project management will also require interfacing with key administrative staff for booking travel, accommodations, and space as well as paying honoraria, and reconciling expense requests. When appropriate the intern will also plan and provide project management for their own theme related events.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
This internship will prepare interns for careers in any of the following:
- Faculty
- Academic Research and Administration
- Non-profit
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
This internship will provide experiences to develop and polish the following skills:
- Communication to diverse audiences
- Grant Writing and Funding Development
- Interdisciplinary team collaboration
- Problem-solving and analytical thinking
- Team Work and Collaboration
- Project management and leadership
- Self and career management
- Thought leadership and innovation
RESPONSIBILITIES
The intern will work closely with the BIFFI Co-Director on the following projects in the BIFFI portfolio:
- Website Management
- Communication with visiting scholars, artists, activists, and collaborators
- Project/event management
- Assist with the administration of the Mellon Grant
MENTORING PLAN
The co-directors, Tiffany King, Kasey Jernigan, and Sonia Alconini will mentor the intern as they work on each project. The intern will meet with Tiffany King on a weekly basis. The mentors will provide a mid-semester evaluation of the intern.
DESIRED QUALITIES
Advanced (grad level) studies in Black feminist, indigenous feminist, and decolonial/critical theories.
DURATION AND EFFORT
The internship will occur during the Summer 2024 semester.