Chair in the Study of Buddhism at the Kern Institute, Leiden University

[Arlo Griffiths]

Dear colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that the Leiden Chair in the Study of  
Buddhism, from which Prof. T.E. Vetter retired five years ago, has  
just been reopened. The University is now inviting applications, and  
I request you to pass on this message to colleagues whom you think  
may be interested to apply. The practicalities are given at the  
bottom of this message (along with the English version of the  
profile), and I may add that I myself am also available to provide  
further information about the position.  Please note that  
applications need to be received by the 6th of January 2006. The  
Dutch version of this information is available at  
<www.vacatures.leidenuniv.nl>, vacancy 5-246 of Dec. 5th.

Arlo Griffiths
Professor of Sanskrit
Instituut Kern, Universiteit Leiden
Postbus 9515
2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands

phone: +31-(0)71-5272622
fax: +31-(0)71-5272956
email: <arlo.griffiths at let.leidenuniv.nl>


---- ENGLISH ADVERTISEMENT/PRACTICALITIES ----

The Faculty of Arts is seeking to fill the position of

professor (m/f) in the Study of Buddhism (0.6-0.8 fte, initially for  
a period of five years)
vacancy number: 5-246

The position comprises the following tasks:

- teaching of courses on the textual sources of Buddhism, on living  
Buddhism in Sri Lanka and / or the Himalayan region and / or  
Southeast Asia,  and on the relationship between them;
- research in this field;
- instigating, stimulating and supervising doctoral research in this  
field;
- attracting external financial resources for research and teaching  
in this field;
- performing administrative tasks within the Department of Languages  
and Cultures of South and Central-Asian Studies.

The successful candidate holds a doctorate, and possesses:

- excellent research abilities in the field, as appears from a wide  
range of publications which have appeared – nationally and  
internationally – at leading publishers or in important journals;
- excellent teaching qualities and broad experience in offering  
academic teaching in various forms.
-  experience in supervision and training of young researchers;
- demonstrable expertise with regard to the primary textual sources  
of Buddhism and its later living forms in Sri Lanka and / or the  
Himalayan region and / or Southeast Asia;
- sound knowledge of at least one Indic/Himalayan canonical language,  
and of at least one modern South Asian, Southeast Asian or Himalayan  
language relevant to the study of living Buddhism;
- demonstrable ability to attract external funding for teaching and  
research;
- demonstrable administrative and management abilities and the  
willingness to participate actively in administrative tasks in the  
department, the relevant research-frameworks and the Faculty of Arts.

Expertise in East Asian Buddhism and in Buddhism of other than the  
mentioned regions, as well as sound knowledge of one or more of the  
languages relevant there, will be to the candidate’s advantage.

If the appointed professor is not conversant with the Dutch language,  
he / she will be expected to acquire a good command of this language  
within two years.

A trial lecture will form part of the selection process. An  
assessment of management capabilities will take place as well.

Those who consider themselves qualified for this post, as also those  
who want to draw attention to potential candidates, are to address  
themselves in writing to the dean of the Faculty of Arts, prof. dr.   
G.E. Booij, Faculteitsbureau Letteren, Postbus 9515, 2300 RA Leiden,  
the Netherlands. The closure date is four weeks from the appearance  
of this advertisement. Applications are to be accompanied by a  
curriculum vitae, a list of publications and a plan for future  
research. A profile can be obtained via the office of the Faculty,  
reachable at +31-71-527 23 18 / e-mail:  
m.l.p.remmerswaal at let.leidenuniv.nl, and also on our website:  
www.letteren.leidenuniv.nl under the head Organisatie and then  
vacatures. De dean of the faculty is available to given further  
information about this chair; he can be reached at the mentioned  
telephone number.

Leiden University wishes to hire more women. For this reason, they in  
particular are invited to submit applications.


---- PROFILE ----

Faculty of Arts, Leiden University
Full Professorship in the Study of Buddhism

The chair is dedicated to teaching and research in the field of  
Buddhism. In this field, the chair’s emphasis is on (i) the primary  
textual sources of Buddhism, (ii) living Buddhism in Sri Lanka and /  
or in the Himalayas and / or Southeast Asia, and (iii) the relation  
between the prior two. The appointment is at 0.6-0.8 fte, and will  
initially be made for a period of five years. If the professorship is  
carried out successfully the appointment can be made permanent after  
this period.

This post is part of the department of Languages & Cultures of South  
& Central Asia, but the chair is expected to offer courses in which  
students interested in Buddhism from other programs can also  
participate fruitfully; this holds in particular for students from  
the program in World Religions. The chair’s research activities will  
be embedded organizationally in the Research School for Asian,  
African and Amerindian Studies, the CNWS.

The successful candidate holds a doctorate. He / she possesses  
excellent research abilities in the field, as appears from a wide  
range of publications which have appeared at leading publishers or in  
important journals. He /she possesses demonstrable expertise with  
regard to the primary textual sources of Buddhism and its later  
living forms in one or more of the mentioned regions. In particular,  
the candidate must have sound knowledge of at least one Indic/ 
Himalayan canonical language, and at least one modern South Asian,  
Southeast Asian or Himalayan language relevant to the study of living  
Buddhism. Expertise in East Asian Buddhism and in Buddhism of other  
than the mentioned regions, as well as sound knowledge of one or more  
of the languages relevant there, will be to the candidate’s  
advantage. He / she also has excellent teaching qualities and has  
broad experience in university education at the highest level and in  
various teaching forms. Moreover, he / she is able to set up and give  
direction to (innovative) teaching projects. He / she is also able to  
stimulate interest for the field among young academics.

The chair will bear (shared) responsibility for, and will be actively  
engaged in teaching in the BA and MA programs of the department of  
Languages & Cultures of South & Central Asia, as also in the research  
oriented MPhil in Asian Studies. Depending on his / her  
specialization, the chair may also participate in one of the other  
MPhil programs falling under the Faculty of Arts. The chair and  
connected staff also participate in the BA and MA programs in World  
Religions under the Faculty of Theology. His / her contribution to  
teaching will be arranged in consultation with the colleagues  
administratively responsible for the concerned programs.

The successful candidate is engaged in research in the field of the  
chair. He / she is able further to develop existing research  
projects, and to instigate new research. To this aim, he / she is  
able to attract external funding. The chair will play an active role  
in the Research School CNWS. The chair will also contribute to  
attracting, supervising and training young researchers.

In giving concrete shape to his / her engagement in the Study of  
Buddhism, the chair will collaborate closely with his / her  
colleagues working in this field in the Faculty of Arts and in other  
faculties of Leiden University. He / she is prepared to promote the  
cause of his field nationally and internationally, within and beyond  
the academic community. During the first five years of his / her  
appointment, the chair will be expected to focus principally on  
engaging in, instigating, and supervising research, contributing to  
and developing the teaching curriculum, training of young  
researchers, and attracting external funding. Since, therefore, the  
chair will initially have to focus on developing the field, his / her  
other administrative duties will remain limited during this period.