The Johns Hopkins University will hold a job fair on
Saturday, May 2, seeking candidates for
specialized science and administrative jobs expected to
open up due to extra research funding in the
federal government's economic stimulus package.
The university will be recruiting experienced
professionals and technicians in fields including
laboratory work, information technology, grants and
contracts administration, and finance. Most of
the positions expected to open up require at least a
bachelor's degree.
The fair will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., with
the location provided to jobseekers when
they register in advance on the university's
Human Resources Web
site.
The number of possible positions is not yet known,
said Cherita Hobbs, a senior human resources
director at the university and one of the organizers of the
Science and Research Job Fair. That will
depend, she said, on the number of stimulus-funded research
grants awarded to Johns Hopkins faculty
in peer-reviewed competitions organized by the National
Institutes of Health and the National
Science Foundation.
"But the whole point of the stimulus is to create jobs
as quickly as possible to get the economy
moving, and we want to be ready to hire when grant money
becomes available to the university," Hobbs
said. "The fair will build a pipeline of potential
candidates so we'll be ready when the time comes."
NIH and NSF have received $12.4 billion as part of the
stimulus to award in research grants
between now and September 2010, Hobbs said. Scott Zeger,
the university's acting provost and senior
vice president for academic affairs, said that he expects
Johns Hopkins scientists to submit more
than 500 proposals for stimulus-funded projects.
Success on some number of those proposals would mean
new job opportunities, for both
researchers and support staff, that would last at least 18
months and come with regular Johns
Hopkins University benefits.
Johns Hopkins has been the leading U.S. academic
institution in total research and development
spending for 29 years in a row. Its researchers do
groundbreaking work in medicine, public health,
nursing and the life sciences, in physical sciences such as
astronomy, chemistry and physics, and in
engineering.
Stimulus jobs supported by external grant funding from
agencies such as NIH and NSF are not
subject to the university's recently announced hiring
freeze.
Attendance at the fair is limited. Potential job
seekers must register at:
hr.jhu.edu/jobfair.
no later than Wednesday, April 29. Further information
about where and when to report on the day of
the fair will be provided on the registration Web site.
Fair attendees should bring at least two copies
of their resumes.
The federal stimulus package passed by Congress and
signed into law by President Barack
Obama is formally known as the American Recovery and
Revitalization Act of 2009.
"We are excited about the opportunities that ARRA
provides for Johns Hopkins to make
important contributions to human knowledge and at the same
time help turn the economic tide," said
Zeger, who is coordinating the university's preparations to
gear up for stimulus-related research work.
"Johns Hopkins is the largest private employer in
Baltimore and, with its expenditures in
research, teaching, patient care, construction and other
areas, has helped to insulate the region
against the worst of the recession," Zeger said. "We are
working very hard to take full advantage of
the opportunities afforded by the stimulus to advance
health and to help promote economic recovery."
To view current job opportunities, go to
jobs.jhu.edu.