Dear Colleague Letter: Division Human Resource Development (HRD) Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) Employment Opportunity (Open Until Filled)

HRD 14-001

Dear Colleague Letter: Division Human Resource Development (HRD) Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) Employment Opportunity (Open Until Filled)

November 4, 2013

The Division of Human Resource Development (HRD) announces a nationwide search for a temporary Program Director in the Excellence Awards in Science and Engineering (EASE) Program at the National Science Foundation.?Formal consideration of applications will begin on January 6, 2014 and will continue until a selection is made.

The Division of Human Resource Development (HRD) serves as a focal point for NSF's agency-wide commitment to enhancing the quality and excellence of STEM education and research through broadening participation by historically underrepresented groups - minorities, women, and persons with disabilities. Priority is placed on investments that promise innovation and transformative strategies and that focus on creating and testing models that ensure the full participation of and provide opportunities for the educators, researchers, and institutions dedicated to serving these populations. Programs within HRD have a strong focus on partnerships and collaborations in order to maximize the preparation of a well-trained scientific and instructional workforce for the new millennium.

The EASE Program is the umbrella for two presidential awards - Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) and Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Engineering and Mathematics Mentoring (PAESMEM). Both PAEMST and PAESMEM programs are administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

PAEMST was established by the White House in 1983 and the awards are the nation's highest honors for teachers of mathematics and science (including computer science). Awardees serve as models for their colleagues, inspiration to their communities, and leaders in the improvement of mathematics and science education. PAESMEM was established by the White House in 1995 to recognize U.S. citizens or permanent residents and U.S. organizations that have demonstrated excellence in mentoring individuals from groups that are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce.

NSF Program Directors bear the primary responsibility for carrying out the Agency’s overall mission to support innovative and merit-reviewed projects in basic research and education that contribute to the nation’s technical strength, security and welfare.?To discharge this responsibility requires not only knowledge in the appropriate STEM and education fields, but also a commitment to high standards, a considerable breadth of interest in and receptivity to new ideas, a strong sense of fairness, good judgment, and a high degree of personal integrity.

HRD is interested in an individual who will provide leadership and expertise in K-12 STEM education for the HRD division and may work with other HRD and EHR programs as needed.?The primary responsibilities for this position include the administration and management of all aspects of the PAEMST program. Additional duties and responsibilities of the individual include contributing to the management and implementation of the PAESMEM as needed.

Candidates must have a Ph.D. or Ed. D. in any STEM field and following the doctorate degree, six or more years of successful research, research administration, and/or managerial experiences pertinent to the position. Ideal candidates will have knowledge and experience with:?K-12 science and math educational systems; polices and issues related to science and math K-12 curriculum; and methods and strategies for evaluating and assessing K-12 teaching.?Also desirable is knowledge and/or experience with:?K-12 education state and federal policy; research on learning STEM in K-12 classrooms and teacher professional development; relevant STEM K-12 teacher professional organizations; coordination of geographically disperse individuals; educational technology and social media; and broadening the participation of underrepresented individuals in STEM (underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities, women, and persons with disabilities).

The position may be filled with one of the following appointment options:

Visiting Scientist Appointment: Appointment to this position will be made under the Excepted Authority of the NSF Act. Visiting Scientists are on non-paid leave status from their home institution and placed on the NSF payroll. NSF withholds Social Security taxes and pays the home institution's contributions to maintain retirement and fringe benefits (i.e., health benefits and life insurance), either directly to the home institution or to the carrier. Appointments are usually made for a one-year period and may be extended for an additional year by mutual agreement.

Temporary Excepted Service Appointment:?Appointment to this position will be made under the Excepted Authority of the NSF Act. Candidates who do not have civil service or reinstatement eligibility will not obtain civil service status if selected. Candidates currently in the competitive service will be required to waive competitive civil service rights if selected. Usual civil service benefits (retirement, health benefits, and life insurance) are applicable for appointments of more than one year. Temporary appointments may not exceed three years.

For additional information on NSF's rotational programs, please visit: http://www.nsf.gov/about/career_opps/rotators/.

Applications accepted from US Citizens. Recent changes in Federal Appropriations Law require Non-Citizens to meet certain eligibility criteria to be considered. Therefore, Non-Citizens must certify eligibility by signing and attaching this Citizenship Affidavit to their application.

Applicants should indicate program they are applying to within the cover letter and subject line of the email. Please submit a current CV and statement of interest to: hrdrecruit@nsf.gov. For more information, you may send an inquiry to Jermelina Tupas at jtupas@nsf.gov

NSF IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER COMMITTED TO EMPLOYING
A HIGHLY QUALIFIED STAFF THAT REFLECTS THE DIVERSITY OF OUR NATION.

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Dear Colleague Letter: Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) Employment Opportunity (Open Until Filled)

Spanish Catalonia presses independence bid with human chain

1 of 3. A woman holds an ''Estelada'' (Catalonia separatist flag) flag as she attends a ceremony to mark the ''Diada de Catalunya'' (Catalunya's National day) in central Barcelona September 11, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Gustau Nacarino

By Julien Toyer

BARCELONA, Spain | Wed Sep 11, 2013 12:33pm EDT

BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of Catalans held hands in a 400-km (250-mile) human chain across their region on Wednesday to press the Spanish government to let them vote on breaking away and forming their own country.

Demonstrators in yellow T-shirts and draped in blue, red and yellow separatist banners raised their joined hands through cities and along rural roads, jumping and shouting in celebration when the chain was completed.

"We want a referendum to see whether there's majority support for independence. The problem is Spain won't listen. Our only hope ... is that Europe and the rest of the world put pressure on the Spanish government," said Ester Sarramona, a 39-year-old civil servant.

Sarramona and her husband and two children joined the chain in the heart of Barcelona, Catalonia's capital. Like many other Catalans, they said their region was treated unfairly over taxes and cultural issues such as the Catalan language.

A deep recession and cuts in public spending in Catalonia, a wealthy industrial region in the northeast that accounts for a fifth of Spain's economic output, have stirred discontent with the central government in Madrid.

Polls show backing for secession has risen steadily in Catalonia, with some registering support as high as 50 percent. An large majority of Catalans want the right to hold a vote on the issue, the polls show.

PYRENEES TO VALENCIA

The demonstration, on Catalan national day, comes as separatists try to revive their referendum drive. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Catalan President Artur Mas have signaled they are open to talks to end a year-long standoff over greater tax powers for the region.

Organizers said they accomplished their goal of forming an unbroken line from the Pyrenees in the north to the border with Valencia in the south, and television footage showed huge segments of the completed chain.

The act was inspired by a similar 1989 demonstration that helped the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania win independence from the Soviet Union.

Growing separatism in the region of 7.5 million people has become a major headache for Rajoy, who is mired in a corruption scandal and trying to pull Spain out of recession while also pushing through unpopular spending cuts.

Catalan separatists are watching closely a planned September 2014 Scottish referendum on independence from the United Kingdom, hoping it will promote the idea of self-determination for regions within countries that belong to the European Union.

Although Catalans have nurtured a separate identity for centuries, an independence movement surged recently as Catalans became disillusioned with limitations on the autonomy they gained in the late 1970s after the Francisco Franco dictatorship, which had suppressed Catalan nationalism.

Traffic clogged highways as police cut some roads to allow the chain to form.

"If we don't get a referendum people will just get more frustrated," said Bernat Cabero, a 53-year-old sculptor who lives in France and traveled home to Catalonia to participate.

PUSHING THE PRIME MINISTER

Rajoy says a referendum would be unconstitutional and has pledged to block it in the courts.

Opponents of independence argue the region has never been an entirely separate state. The Medieval Principality of Catalonia came under the Crown of Aragon, though it was allowed to run its own affairs through an institution known as the Generalitat.

The human chain linked up on Wednesday at exactly 17:14, symbolizing the year 1714 when King Philip V abolished the Generalitat after the War of the Spanish Succession.

Catalan President Mas has threatened to call an early election and use it as a plebiscite on secession if Rajoy uses the courts to block a referendum. This is seen as a risky move as his political alliance has lost ground while a more leftist separatist party has won support in the past year.

Mas is in a delicate position because the Catalan budget hole is so big that the central government had to bail out the region last year.

"We are talking with the Spanish government but I have a lot of doubts over whether it will be fruitful," Mas told foreign journalists on Wednesday morning.

Rajoy also has limited room for maneuver as any offer to Catalonia of better fiscal treatment or more political autonomy could spur protests in other Spanish autonomous regions such as the Basque Country.

(Writing by Fiona Ortiz; Editing by Andrew Roche)

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Muslim rebels display human shield tied by rope in southern Philippine standoff

1 of 11. Government soldiers stand guard at a port in downtown Zamboanga September 11, 2013. Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels seeking to declare an independent state put a dozen civilians tied together by rope on display as a human shield on Wednesday as a standoff with security forces in a southern Philippine city entered its third day.

Credit: Reuters/Erik De Castro

By Erik de Castro

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines | Wed Sep 11, 2013 8:24am EDT

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Reuters) - Rogue Muslim rebels seeking to declare an independent state put a dozen civilians tied together by rope on display as a human shield on Wednesday as a standoff with security forces in a southern Philippine city entered its third day.

Waving white flags, the hostages shouted "please don't shoot" at soldiers as rebel snipers perched on roof of a residential block fired at the troops about 500 meters away in the Santa Barbara district of Zamboanga, a key port on the southern island of Mindanao.

In another part of the city, three wounded rebels were arrested after exchanging gunfire with police manning a road block to stop the rebels, a breakaway faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), from occupying other districts of the city.

Four decades of conflict in the south have killed 120,000 people, displaced two million and stunted growth in the poor but resource-rich area of the mainly Roman Catholic country.

Last year, another separatist group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, signed a deal with the government, agreeing to a new autonomous region that gave it more political control.

That agreement, which spurred hopes of an economic revival, was opposed by the MNLF faction involved in the current standoff. It signed a deal with government in 1996, but complained Manila did not fulfill its side of the bargain.

"Our troops are only returning fire. We are not launching an offensive," army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Ramon Zagala said. "Our mission is to contain them not to rescue hostages."

The standoff has paralyzed the port with as many as 170 civilians believed to be trapped, if not physically held hostage.

Schools, shops, offices were closed for the third day. Flights and ferry services were also suspended. Around 12,000 people have been displaced in five districts of the port, known as the city of flowers.

Zamboanga is the main commercial, educational and government centre of the south. It is also a gateway for goods like sardines and a major oil depot.

Isabelle Climaco-Salazar appealed to rebels to free the hostages and discuss their grievances with Manila, suggesting a third-party mediator intervene.

"This is no longer a local problem, this is an international problem," she said in a television interview.

(Additional reporting by Manuel Mogato in MANILA; Editing by Nick Macfie)

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