A portriat of a professor and a student standing by a tree on the UC Davis campus

Wicked Problems, Meet Your Match.

Join a faculty driven by diversity

Associate Professor Lorena Marquez of Chicana/o/x Studies (left), author of "La Gente," stands with staff member Yajaira Ramírez Sigala on the UC Davis campus. UC Davis' AVANZA Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) initiative advances student success.

Seeking 100 great thinkers to solve wicked problems

“Wicked problems” are large-scale, intractable social, economic, and environmental problems that can only be addressed through collective understanding and effort. They are interconnected, systemic, tricky to solve, and aggressive. Inequity and wicked problems go hand in hand. UC Davis is hiring 100 tenure-track members this year from diverse backgrounds and disciplines. We'll provide networks for collaboration, resources to serve our diverse student body, platforms for knowledge exchange and support for work-life balance.

What you bring:

A strong record of research and teaching excellence
An accomplished track record of teaching, research or service activities addressing the needs of historically-marginalized students or communities
Engagement and activity related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging
A clearly articulated vision of how your work at UC Davis will serve the needs of our diverse state and student population
Exciting ideas to advance research in your discipline

A portrait of Chancellor Gary May in front of Mrak Hall on the UC Davis campus

At UC Davis, we recognize that only by bringing diverse researchers and scholars together can we solve society’s greatest challenges and build a stronger, more equitable future.”

–Gary S. May, Chancellor

Chancellor May’s Commitment to Diversity

President for Latino Student Success (Excelencia in Education)
Advisor for National Society of Black Engineers
Named among 1,000 Inspiring Black Scientists in America by Cell Mentor (2022)
Inducted to the National Academy of Engineering for his success in growing diversity and his innovations in semiconductor manufacturing (2018)
Received the Presidential Award for Excellence in STEM Mentoring by President Barack Obama in for his work in supporting underrepresented students (2015)

Campus diversity resources

AVANZA and the HSI Task Force

The Aggie Black Excellence Project

The Native American Opportunity Program

Ethnic Studies programs

**Imagine yourself among scholars who not only believe that change is necessary, but possible.**

#1 for Diversity and Internationalization in the US by QS World Rankings

UC Davis has spent more than twenty years advancing faculty diversity. We’ve pioneered implicit bias workshops for faculty recruitment advisory committees, effective evaluation of contributions to diversity, and signature initiatives that have provided more than $20M in hiring incentives for faculty with multicultural perspectives. Since UC Davis received its NSF-ADVANCE Institutional Transformation grant in 2012, the proportion of UC Davis tenure-track faculty who identify as Latinx/Chicanx has nearly doubled, and UC Davis has been recognized as #1 of the 13 most important STEM universities for women. We offer a suite of programs to assist faculty in making the transition to a new career at UC Davis and to a new life in our region. Learn more about our commitment.

Investments in DEI at UC Davis

UC Davis benefits

How to apply

More on Wicked Problems

The term “wicked problems” refers to large-scale, intractable social, economic, and environmental problems that can only be addressed through collective understand and effort. Wicked problems are interconnected, systemic, tricky to solve, and aggressive. Inequity and wicked problems go hand in hand.

Source: Horst W. J. Rittel, & Webber, M. M. (1973). Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning. Policy Sciences, 4(2), 155–169.

“More nimble approaches are needed… modules have their own independent objectives. Yet, they are also interconnected and build on each other.”

Source: Stephen Manning and Juliane Reinecke, October 2, 2016. “We’re failing to solve the world’s wicked problems.’ Here’s a better approach. The Conversation.

“Crime, poverty, climate change, food security, education and health are just a few examples of intractable problems that lower the well-being of communities.”

Source: Stanard, V., Rios, M. Community Development Education: Convergent Approaches to Community Well-Being. Int. Journal of Com. WB 4, 146–147 (2021).

UC Davis’ Commitment to Wicked Problems: our campus has identified Reimagining the Land Grant University, Emerging Health Threats, Sustainable Food Systems and the Climate Crisis as the initial group of wicked problems that will be campus priorities. We selected these wicked problems first because of their significance, the unique capacity for UC Davis to advance solutions around these topics and the opportunities for these problems to be solved inclusively – with input from all people and disciplines.