Job no: 498353
Work type: Instructional Faculty – Tenured/Tenure-Track
Location: San José
Categories: Unit 3 - CFA - California Faculty Association, Tenured/Tenure-Track, Full Time, Faculty - Health Sciences

Summary

The Department of Occupational Therapy at San Jose՛ State University seeks qualified applicants for a full-time Assistant Professor, tenure-track position in the Occupational Therapy Program. Recognizing that inclusive practices begin the classroom, we highly encourage applicants with experience in any of the following areas to apply: cross-cultural service, health care in underserved and non-traditional settings, mental health, or gerontology across the continuum of care.

The SJSU Strategic Plan, Transformation 2030, calls upon the campus to: “Gain a national and global reputation for academic excellence characterized by scholarly and professional contributions from faculty members who are genuine teacher-scholars. The Occupational Therapy department is located in the College of Health and Human Sciences. We have a renewed, ongoing commitment to excellence in teaching and research/scholarship and engagement. The campus is poised to bloom and innovate, strengthening our connection to the surrounding San José and Silicon Valley communities and further fulfilling our social justice mission of access, equity, opportunity and success. The research endeavor at both the graduate and undergraduate levels plays a critical role in preparing students for future career opportunities, developing highly adaptable skill sets and creating mentoring opportunities with faculty members. The university’s students bring an inherent creativity that can be harnessed to address and solve pressing problems facing society today.

The applicant must be committed to teaching and research activities of the highest academic and professional caliber, and maintain a student-centric approach at all times, thus contributing to the development of students as productive, responsible, and caring citizens of the world. In particular, applicants must have a strong commitment to: (a) teaching and working with a diverse population of students at the graduate levels, (b) curricular innovation to complement and further advance the program, and (c) scholarship/research relevant to their field of practice. (d) The applicant should also demonstrate awareness of and sensitivity to the educational goals of a multicultural population. The ideal candidate will be a highly motivated self-starter, have excellent written and oral communications skills, be a team player, and have an interest in developing university-community collaborations. The candidate must demonstrate potential for teaching and scholarly excellence.

Department

San Jose State University offers the oldest public occupational therapy program within California with over 75 years of success. The SJSU OT program has significant experience with graduate education and has offered a MS in OT for over 60 years with the MS in OT program initiated in 1959. The program is known for excellence in preparing entry-level occupational therapists and the faculty are active in state, national, and international professional organizations. http://www.sjsu.edu/occupationaltherapy

This position is an excellent opportunity for scholars interested in launching a career at a comprehensive university that is a national leader in graduating historically underserved students. SJSU has achieved both HSI (Hispanic Serving Institution) and AANAPISI (Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution) status. Moreover, 40% of our student population are first-generation and 38% are Pell-qualified. As a result, we rank #1 nationally in increasing student upward mobility. In fact, SJSU has recently been recognized as the #1 Most Transformative College in the country by Money Magazine.

We seek applicants whose research/scholarship, teaching and/or service has prepared them to contribute to our commitment to engagement and inclusion of culturally diverse audiences in higher education, and particularly in the profession of Occupational Therapy.

Required Qualifications

• Occupational therapist with earned doctorate in Occupational Therapy, Occupational Science or related field with a minimum of at least two years of clinical experience. Applicants must be eligible for occupational therapy licensure in California and demonstrate a commitment to teaching excellence, possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and exhibit a commitment to establish and interact effectively with community partnerships.
• Record of publications or strong potential for publications.
• Demonstrated ability or potential to conduct impactful interdisciplinary research/scholarship.
• Demonstrated awareness of and sensitivity to the educational goals of a multicultural population as might have been gained in cross-cultural study, training, teaching and other comparable experience.
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Preferred applicants will have experience working in the field of cross-cultural research, health care in underserved and non-traditional settings, technology, ergonomics, mental health, work readiness/vocational rehabilitation, or gerontology across the continuum of care.
• Preferred applicants will have at least two years of teaching experience and five years of clinical practice.
• Knowledge of disciplinary trends in the profession of Occupational Therapy regarding issues that center race, gender, sexual orientation, immigration, and underserved communities.
• An active and well-articulated research agenda, coupled with interest and ability to secure external grant funding.
• Experience working with racially diverse students in the classroom, and an understanding of how historical patterns of exclusion of groups within higher education, and the profession, shape patterns of participation and outcomes.
• Willingness to examine and re-mediate one’s instructional, relational, and classroom practices to more effectively engage and support historically underserved students.
• Demonstrated ability or potential to conduct graduate mentoring.
  
  

Responsibilities

• Candidate will participate in shared governance, usually in department, college, and university committee and other service assignments.
• Duties include teaching, scholarship, and service to the university and profession. Primary responsibility will be to teach practice courses related to area of expertise, research related courses, courses related to current and emerging practice areas and adaptive technology in both didactic and clinical practice courses in the entry-level master of science program. The successful candidate is expected to contribute to program and curriculum development, including development of the Occupational Therapy Doctorate program.
• Develop and sustain an ongoing record of research, scholarship, and/or creative activities, as well as other professional engagement.
• Candidate must demonstrate awareness and experience understanding the needs of a student population of great diversity – in age, cultural background, ethnicity, primary language and academic preparation – through inclusive course materials, teaching strategies and advisement.
  
  

Compensation - Commensurate with qualifications and experience. See Benefits Summary for details.

Starting Date - August 2021

Eligibility - Employment is contingent upon proof of eligibility to work in the United States.

Application Procedure

Click Apply Now to complete the SJSU Online Employment Application and attach the following documents:

• Letter of interest
• Curriculum Vitae
• Statement of teaching interests/philosophy
• Statement of research plans
• Diversity Statement that discusses best strategies for supporting students historically marginalized the profession
• Three references with contact information

Review of applications will commence February 22, 2021; open until filled.

Inquires may be directed to Jerilyn Smith, Associate Professor and Chair of Occupational Therapy at gigi.smith@sjsu.edu

The University

San José State University enrolls over 35,700 students, a significant percentage of whom are members of minority groups. The University is committed to increasing the diversity of its faculty so our disciplines, students, and the community can benefit from multiple ethnic and gender perspectives.

San José State University is California’s oldest institution of public higher learning. Located in downtown San José (Pop. 1,000,000) in the heart of Silicon Valley, SJSU is part of one of the most innovative regions in the world. As Silicon Valley’s public university, SJSU combines dynamic teaching, research, and university-industry experiences to prepare students to address the biggest problems facing society. SJSU is a member of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system.

Equal Employment Statement

San José State University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. We consider qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, medical condition, marital status, veteran status, or disability. This policy applies to all San José State University students, faculty, and staff as well as University programs and activities. Reasonable accommodations are made for applicants with disabilities who self-disclose. Note that all San José State University employees are considered mandated reporters under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and are required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment.

Additional Information

A background check (including a criminal records check) must be completed satisfactorily before any candidate can be offered a position with the CSU. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the application status of applicants or continued employment of current CSU employees who apply for the position.

Advertised: December 02, 2020 (9:00 AM) Pacific Standard Time
Applications close: Open until filled