Research Fellow - 50 Constitutions

The University of Virginia's Karsh Institute of Democracy seeks a Research Associate for a one-year appointment, with the possibility of renewal for a second year, to support a collaborative research project examining the history and development of state constitutions. The Research Associate will conduct historical and constitutional research, coordinate research activities, and oversee student researchers contributing to the 50 Constitutions project. This position is in the Karsh Institute of Democracy, with an affiliation with the Karsh Center for Law and Democracy at UVA's School of Law.

Project and Position Description

The 50 Constitutions project is led by the State Democracy Research Initiative (SDRI) at the University of Wisconsin Law School. It aims to capture the full history of each state constitution and facilitate engagement with state constitutions, with the aim of creating resources on state constitutions for scholars, practitioners, and the broader public. The project has a public-facing website that allows users to see how a state constitution has developed over time. Users can access a timeline of important dates in their state’s constitutional history, access and read all amendments to the constitution, see the state constitution as it existed on any date since its adoption, and run a tracked changes tool to see how provisions have changed.

50 Constitutions will be a tool for legal research, for community engagement, and nonpartisan civic education. By allowing researchers and the public to access the complete and full history of a state constitution, to review amendments, and to compare the language of provisions over time, the project will catalyze broader and deeper understanding of each state’s constitution and of state constitutions collectively. In turn, it will enhance the ability of courts, journalists, scholars, legal advocates, and members of the public to engage in informed analysis of the state constitutions that shape many consequential issues today. This work has currently been completed for several states with more to come as the project continues.

The Research Associate based at UVA’s Karsh Institute will be responsible for historical and constitutional research on up to five state constitutions in two years. Along with conducting research, the associate will oversee work of law students and undergraduate student researchers on the project. Specifically, the Research Associate will train student researchers, oversee information collection and the data entry process for the 50 Constitutions website, help draft constitutional timelines, manage accuracy and quality control in all areas, and coordinate with state constitutional experts. The Research Associate is expected to meet deadlines set by the project leadership and will coordinate closely with the project team at SDRI at the University of Wisconsin to coordinate research activities.