Intercultural Programming Inclusive History Project Research Assistant (TEMP/WORK STUDY)

Job Summary

The University of Michigan-Flint's Intercultural Center (ICC) is a welcoming space for all students that centers on the needs and experiences of people of color and other marginalized people within its walls and throughout campus. The University of Michigan-Flint's Alvin D. Loving Cultural Center Lounge is a culturally significant space rooted in Black student activism that fosters belonging, student leadership, and community engagement. The Research Assistant will support the revitalization initiative focused on restoring the space and documenting its history through archival research, oral histories, and digital storytelling. Working collaboratively with project lead LaQwana (Q) Dockery, the Intercultural Center, the Black Student Union, and campus partners, the Research Assistant will help preserve the stories of students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community members who shaped the Lounge. Responsibilities include coordinating and documenting oral history interviews, organizing and digitizing historical materials, developing a historical timeline and photographic exhibit, supporting project communications, and assisting with campus programming and project evaluation. Applicants should have strong organizational and communication skills, experience or interest in historical and community-engaged research, and a commitment to honoring student activism and the experiences of Black students and the African diaspora. Work will take place primarily on the UM-Flint campus, with some remote flexibility. 

Responsibilities*

• Assisting with the development, scheduling, and coordination of oral history interviews with former SBA and BSU members, alumni, faculty, staff, and other individuals connected to the history of the Loving Lounge.
• Supporting interview preparation, recording, transcription, organization, and qualitative coding of oral history materials.
• Conducting archival research and collecting, organizing, digitizing, and preparing historical photographs, flyers, correspondence, documents, and other materials for preservation.
• Assisting with the development of the Loving Lounge historical timeline and photographic exhibit.
• Researching and documenting the history of student activism, campus organizing, and institutional support connected to the establishment and development of the Loving Lounge.
• Assisting with qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis related to student engagement, belonging, space usage, programming, and project evaluation.
• Coordinating communication and participation with students, alumni, faculty, staff, student organizations, and community partners.
• Working with Marketing and Communications (MAC) to develop social media content, written materials, photographs, video content, and other communications to share project findings and stories with broader campus and community audiences.
• Supporting the development of digital storytelling initiatives, including content for UM-Flint News, Intercultural Center social media, podcasts, short-form video, and other digital platforms.
• Assisting with planning, coordinating, and implementing campus and community engagement activities, including the Loving Lounge Rededication Ceremony, teach-ins, Black History Month programming, and other events.
• Supporting student-led engagement and programming in collaboration with BSU, the Intercultural Center, and other campus and community organizations and departments.
• Assisting with surveys, focus groups, attendance tracking, reservation tracking, program evaluations, and other methods used to assess project impact.
• Maintaining organized research files, interview records, project documentation, and digital materials.
• Assisting with the preparation of research findings, presentations, reports, and other materials for dissemination.
• Supporting the preservation and archiving of project materials through the UM-Flint Library Archives and the Inclusive History Project.
• Performing other research, administrative, communications, and project-related duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications*

• Currently enrolled as a full-time University of Michigan-Flint undergraduate student in good academic standing. This position is open to undergraduate students only.
• Interest or experience in historical research, oral history, qualitative research, archival research, or community-engaged research.
• Strong organizational and project-management skills to support research activities, interviews, historical materials, and project deadlines.
• Ability to communicate effectively and build relationships with students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community partners.
• Experience conducting interviews or collecting qualitative data.
• Familiarity with qualitative data collection, coding, or analysis.
• Experience with social media, digital storytelling, photography, video, podcasting, or other forms of public communication.
• Interest in student activism, Black student history, student experiences, placemaking, and higher education.
• Knowledge of the history, mission, programming, or communities served by the Intercultural Center or Alvin D. Loving Cultural Center Lounge is strongly desired.
• Ability to handle historical and oral history materials with care, professionalism, confidentiality, and respect.
• Ability to work independently as a motivated self-starter and collaborate effectively with project partners and student organizations.
• Passion for community involvement, research, and social justice, with a willingness to advance a shared vision for preserving history
• Working knowledge of Google Workspace and Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Publisher, and Excel, to support research documentation, communications, and project tracking.

Desired Qualifications*

• Experience with oral history interviews, archival research, or community-engaged research.
• Familiarity with qualitative data collection, transcription, coding, or analysis.
• Skills in digital storytelling, social media, photography, video, or podcasting.
• Interest in Black student history, student activism, cultural spaces, and campus belonging.
• Knowledge of the Intercultural Center, Black Student Union, or Alvin D. Loving Cultural Center Lounge.
• Experience supporting campus events and collaborating with diverse stakeholders.
• Ability to handle historical materials and personal narratives with care, confidentiality, and respect. 

Modes of Work

This is not a fully remote position. This position requiring a regular, recurring onsite presence at the University of Michigan-Flint campus, with some flexibility for offsite work. The Research Assistant may be required to work onsite and some after hours more based on project needs or at the direction of unit leadership or their designee. The Research Assistant will work closely with the project lead, the Intercultural Center, the Black Student Union (BSU), and other campus partners to support day-to-day project implementation, with a primary focus on oral history research, archival organization, communications, digital storytelling, and campus engagement. Regular meetings with the supervisor will address project priorities, deadlines, research activities, and assigned tasks. The work schedule will be determined after hire to accommodate the student's academic schedule, if applicable. Scheduling flexibility will be necessary to support interviews, campus engagement activities, meetings, and events, which may take place onsite or remotely.

Eligibility for hybrid or mobile/remote work is at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed at least annually and are subject to change at any time, for any reason, throughout employment.

Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes.

Additional Information

Project Description:

The Revitalization of the Alvin D. Loving Cultural Center Lounge is an 18-month grant funded initiative focused on restoring, documenting, and reanimating one of the University of Michigan-Flint's significant cultural spaces. Led by LaQwana (Q) Dockery in collaboration with the Intercultural Center and the Black Student Union (BSU), the project combines physical restoration with historical research, oral history, storytelling, placemaking, and student engagement. The Alvin D. Loving Cultural Center Lounge was established in the early 1990s through the advocacy of Students for Black Achievement (SBA), the predecessor to BSU. The organization mobilized to establish a dedicated space that affirmed the experiences and presence of Black students and the African diaspora at UM-Flint. Historically, the Lounge served as a space for mentorship, studying, organizing, teach-ins, community building, and connections among students, faculty, staff, and community partners. Over time, the space was repurposed as a general reservable area, diminishing its cultural and historical visibility. In 2025, BSU formally reclaimed the Lounge as its student office, with "right of first refusal," for reservations. The space now serves as a home for the African diaspora and a hub for inclusion, belonging, student leadership, and community engagement.

This project seeks to both revitalize the physical space and recover, document, and share its history. The project will create a permanent historical timeline and photographic exhibit highlighting the student activism, individuals, organizations, and institutional decisions that contributed to the Lounge's creation and development. Oral histories, archival materials, photographs, flyers, correspondence, and other historical documents will be collected and preserved to ensure that the stories of the students, faculty, staff, and community members who shaped the space become part of the University of Michigan-Flint's institutional record. The project will also support the redesign of the Lounge as a flexible, functional, and welcoming space for study, mentoring, advising, meetings, teaching, cultural programming, and community dialogue. Research findings and oral histories will directly inform the space's visual displays, historical timeline, programming, and digital storytelling.

The project has four primary objectives:

1. Research and document the history of the Alvin D. Loving Cultural Center Lounge, including the student activism and organizing that contributed to its establishment.

2. Document the roles of Students for Black Achievement (SBA), the Black Student Union (BSU), the Office of Educational Opportunity Initiatives (EOI), and other campus stakeholders in establishing, sustaining, and shaping the Lounge.

3. Preserve and share the stories of individuals connected to the Lounge through oral histories, archival research, historical exhibits, digital storytelling, and public programming.

4. Explore the relationship between cultural spaces, student activism, belonging, and democratic participation, examining how the Loving Lounge has contributed to community, representation, inclusion, and student engagement at UM-Flint.

Background Screening

The University of Michigan conducts background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer and may use a third party administrator to conduct background checks. Background checks will be performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Application Deadline

Temp job openings are posted for a minimum of three calendar days. This job may be removed from posting boards and filled anytime after the minimum posting period has ended.

U-M EEO Statement

The University of Michigan is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.