TTU Research Aide - Clothing & Textiles / History

Lubbock

42194BR

Museum

Position Description

Performs specialized work in conducting original research. Work is performed under general supervision with evaluation based on accomplishment of assigned objectives and overall effectiveness of project. May supervise research and student assistants.

About the University

Established in 1923, Texas Tech University is a Carnegie R1 (very high research activity) Doctoral/Research-Extensive, Hispanic Serving, and state-assisted institution. Located on a beautiful 1,850-acre campus in Lubbock, a city in West Texas with a growing metropolitan-area population of over 300,000, the university enrolls over 40,000 students with 33,000 undergraduate and 7,000 graduate students. As the primary research institution in the western two-thirds of the state, Texas Tech University is home to 10 colleges, the Schools of Law and Veterinary Medicine, and the Graduate School. The flagship of the Texas Tech University System, Texas Tech is dedicated to student success by preparing learners to be ethical leaders for a diverse and globally competitive workforce. It is committed to enhancing the cultural and economic development of the state, nation, and world.
About Lubbock:Referred to as the "Hub City" because it serves as the educational, cultural, economic, and health care hub of the South Plains region, Lubbock boasts a diverse population and a strong connection to community, history, and land. With a mild climate, highly rated public schools, and a low cost of living, Lubbock is a family-friendly community that is ranked as one of the best places to live in Texas. Lubbock is home to a celebrated and ever-evolving music scene, a vibrant arts community, and is within driving distance of Dallas, Austin, Santa Fe, and other major metropolitan cities. Lubbock's Convention & Visitors Bureau provides a comprehensive overview of the Lubbock community and its resources, programs, events, and histories.

About the Department and/or College

A free, public museum, the Museum of Texas Tech University is a diverse and multidisciplinary institution comprised of Anthropology, Art, Clothing and Textiles, History, Paleontology, Natural History, and 9.5 million objects. The Museum is over 200,000 square feet and features nine permanent galleries ranging from 20th and 21st-century art and southwest Indian art to the study of Biodiversity and the Ice Age to a diverse collection of dinosaurs to history. An additional 10 rotating galleries offer a culmination of exhibitions curated from the Museum's collections and curators and traveling exhibits from around the world.

The Museum was founded in 1929 as the West Texas Museum, just four years after the creation of what was then known as Texas Technological College (later changed to Texas Tech University). The Museum was built on Texas Tech University's campus near Memorial Circle where nationally known painter Peter Hurd was selected to paint a 1,300 square foot mural in the Museum's rotunda. In April of 1953 the Museum purchased the first Spitz Planetarium. At the 35th Annual Meeting of the West Texas Museum Association on November 5, 1964, plans were revealed for construction of a new museum complex on a several acre tract at Fourth Street and Indiana Avenue. Six years later on November 14, 1970, the Museum opened at it's new and current location.

Major/Essential Functions

Collections Stewardship Accessions

• Assists in conducting the timely process of accessioning, including all aspects of assessment, cataloging, numbering, housing, and documentation.
• Photographs objects and prepares image files and coordinates with division curator and Museum Registrar on each incoming accession.

• Coordinates all aspects of collections care, use, and access, ensuring overall safety, preservation, maintenance, and documentation of items in the Clothing & Textiles and History collections.
• Researches collections items, including but not limited to bibliography development, identification and cataloging, provenance, care methodologies, object condition, exhibit content and design.
• Facilitates periodic inventories of the collections and pursues needed updates and corrections to cataloging and database records or preventive conservation.
• Maintains paper and electronic collections records and monitors for accuracy, including documenting temporary situations, facilitating database improvements, and conducting regular data backups.
• Monitors and maintains multiple collection spaces, including cleanliness, organization, supplies, and monitoring of environmental conditions, risks, and infestation; coordinates needs with Museum Operations Division.
• Supervises object access and responds to requests.
• Assists with conducting environmental monitoring in collections rooms and maintains relevant records.

• Coordinates all Curator-approved loans with the Registrar and monitors incoming and outgoing loans to each division.
• Completes condition reports and loan inventories.

• Collaborates on exhibition and program logistics, including object preparation, display requirements, movement, documentation, and condition monitoring while on view.
• Coordinates with the curator and Exhibits Division staff regarding the movement of objects between collections storage or work rooms and exhibit galleries.

• Assist with conducting environmental monitoring in the collections rooms and maintain the records.
• Maintain divisional infestation reports.

Occasional Duties

Other Duties

• Assists with training and supervising student employees and volunteers in collection-related work.
• Serves in a public facing role as needed and may stand in for curator during absence, including at events and public programs.
• Travels to transport objects locally and regionally as required.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in a specialized field and one year research experience. Knowledge of modern research practices, the methods, resources, and standards thereof.

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven experience using best practices in collections management.
• Knowledge and practical application skills for preventive conservation and collections care.
• Attention to detail and high level of accuracy.
• Knowledge of collections database software.
• Knowledge and understanding of procedures relating to accessioning and deaccessioning, found-in-collections objects, and abandoned loans.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, both written and verbal.
• Proven experience with project management, supervision, and decision making.

Safety Information

Adherence to robust safety practices and compliance with all applicable health and safety regulations are responsibilities of all TTU employees.

Does this position work in a research laboratory?

No

Required Attachments

Cover Letter, Resume / CV

Job Type

Full Time

Pay Basis

Hourly

Minimum Hire Rate

15.80

Pay Statement

Compensation is commensurate upon the qualifications of the individual selected and budgetary guidelines of the hiring department, as well as the institutional pay plan. For additional information, please reference the institutional pay plan by visiting www.depts.ttu.edu/hr/payplan.

Travel Required

Up to 25%

Shift

Day

Schedule Details

Monday through Friday

Grant Funded?

No

EEO Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information or status as a protected veteran.