Position Description and Qualifications

The Office of the Provost of the University of Southern California is seeking candidates to fill the newly created Ronald L. Steel Chair in Foreign Policy and International Affairs. USC is looking for candidates who have had an impressive impact on discourse about international issues through their research, publications, teaching, and public service.  The Chairholder should be a public intellectual who will shape the way foreign policy issues are understood by audiences around the world, including students, scholars, national leaders, and policymakers.

The Steel Chair will have an appointment in any School(s) or Department(s) deemed appropriate by the Provost—e.g., in international affairs, public policy, law, communications, or journalism. It is a pan-university, interdisciplinary hire for a dynamic mid- or senior-career candidate who will enhance USC’s profile and impact on international affairs. Candidates should have a demonstrated public presence, particularly in Washington, DC, with noteworthy written output, whether in books, op-eds, policy papers, publications read by the policy community (e.g. Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy), or in academic journals and monographs. The position is open to candidates with broad backgrounds, including academia, think-tanks, government, or the non-profit sector.

The Steel Chair, which will be based at USC’s campus in Los Angeles and will maintain an active presence in DC at the USC Capital Campus, will oversee the Ronald L. Steel Fellowships in International Affairs and Foreign Policy. These fellowships will provide opportunities for early-stage professionals to advance public and policymaker understanding of key policy issues, under the mentorship of Steel Chair.  Steel Fellows can be post-undergraduate, pre-doc, PhD candidates, postdocs, or early career professionals in international relations or foreign policy.

The Steel Chair appointment is for a 5-year (renewable) term on the tenure or Research, Teaching, Practitioner (RTPC) track. Preferred qualifications include:

More than 10 years of distinctive professional experience in the field of international affairs as an academic, practitioner, advisor, or recognized thought leaderDemonstrated written excellence and superior communication skillsRecognition in the field of international affairs and foreign policy

About USC

The University of Southern California is one of the world’s leading private research universities. An anchor institution in Los Angeles, a global center for arts, media, technology and international business, USC’s diverse curricular offerings provide extensive opportunities for interdisciplinary study and collaboration with leading researchers in highly advanced learning environments. USC is also home to an important satellite site—the USC Capital Campus in Washington, DC.

In its comprehensive 2022 ranking, The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education ranked USC 19th among more than 1,000 public and private universities. Among all California institutions — public and private — only USC, Caltech and Stanford University ranked within the top 20. Of the 150 universities surveyed in the western U.S., USC ranks No. 3 overall. Among the top 25 schools, USC ranked No. 4 in engagement, which measures student sentiment on how their education prepares them for the real world.

Last year, USC received more than 69,000 applicants for its fall freshman class, with an acceptance rate of 12 percent. The number of students who are the first in their families to attend USC has been growing steadily for five years — 22 percent of the incoming class are first-generation college students. With one of the most abundant financial aid pools in the country, USC provides more than $640 million in scholarships and aid. Students from families earning $80,000 or less each year attend tuition-free under a new USC initiative to make college more affordable for lower and middle-income families.

USC’s distinguished faculty of 4,000 innovative scholars, researchers, teachers and mentors includes five Nobel laureates, and dozens of recipients of prestigious national honors including the MacArthur “Genius” Award, Guggenheim Award, the National Medal of the Arts, the National Humanities Medal, the National Medal of Science, the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, and Pulitzer Prize.

Compensation and Benefits

The University of Southern California offers a competitive salary within an academic environment based on the candidate’s experience and accomplishments. The university also offers excellent benefits to employees, which include health, dental and life insurance; tuition assistance; disability and retirement plans; credit union membership; and participation in cultural and social events, as well as access to athletic and recreational facilities.

The budgeted annual salary range that the University of Southern California reasonably expects to pay for the holder of the Ronald L. Steel Chair in Foreign Policy and International Affairs is dependent on the discipline and rank of the selected candidate. The range of all possible disciplines and ranks translates to a salary range of $76,000 to $300,000. 

This range takes into account a wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions, including but not limited to experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. Salary offers are determined based on final candidate qualifications and experience.

When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state, and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.

The Office of the Provost of the University of Southern California is seeking candidates to fill the newly created Ronald L. Steel Chair in Foreign Policy and International Affairs. USC is looking for candidates who have had an impressive impact on discourse about international issues through their research, publications, teaching, and public service. The Chairholder should be a public intellectual who will shape the way foreign policy issues are understood by audiences around the world, including students, scholars, national leaders, and policymakers.