Job no: 520266
Position Type: Faculty Full Time
Campus: UMass Boston
Department: Asian American Studies Program
Pay Grade: 03
Date opened: 17 Aug 2023 Eastern Daylight Time
Applications close:

Job Description

The Asian American Studies Program in the School for Global Inclusion and Social Development (SGISD) of the College of Education & Human Development (CEHD) at the University of Massachusetts Boston invites applications for an equity minded tenure-track Assistant Professor to begin in September 1, 2024. Specfiically, we seek a faculty member who maintains a focus on Vietnamese American diasporic community studies and whose research can inform the public’s urgent need to understand the origins and impacts of anti-Asian hate that has increased in recent years.

The faculty member will have rich opportunities to engage deeply with one of the nation’s oldest and largest Vietnamese communities located in Boston’s Dorchester Fields Corner neighborhood—five minutes away from our campus—and with UMass Boston’s diverse, urban, majority-BIPOC student body which includes the highest number of Vietnamese American students enrolled in any local university.

The faculty member will provide innovative, high-impact curricular and pedagogical leadership in teaching a range of existing lower- and upper-level undergraduate courses in Asian American Studies (AsAmSt), including AsAmSt 294 Resources for Vietnamese American Studies and other offerings with connections to locally-relevant diasporic community issues, themes, and populations.

The faculty member will develop and lead a robust community-engaged, transdisciplinary research agenda that centers, in part, on the intergenerational cultural wealth and critical equity needs of Vietnamese diasporic communities. They should offer expertise and relevant research practices that can leverage existing AsAmSt knowledge co-production assets such as digital storytelling while also contributing complementary approaches such as mapping and use of geographic information systems that will add distinctively to the methodological capacities available in AsAmSt. Demonstrated bilingual literacy, fluency, and cultural responsiveness in Vietnamese language-specific contexts are strongly preferred.

As part of the AsAmSt program, the hired faculty member will contribute actively to the program’s strong record of federal grant support through the U.S. Department of Education’s Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) funding category and develop collaborative research, training, and student support activities through other federal Minority Serving Institution (MSI) grant initiatives or state/city and foundation-based funding programs.

Like other core faculty in AsAmSt, the new faculty member is expected to contribute to graduate studies pathway development for under-represented and first-generation undergraduates at UMass Boston, and should be able to serve as an advisor for graduate students in SGISD and/or CEHD and to design and offer undergraduate or graduate courses in appropriate areas of interest and expertise, topically or methodologically.

Required Qualifications:
Candidates must have an earned doctorate by September 1, 2024 in Asian American Studies, Ethnic Studies or other relevant fields with work that shows direct intersections with Vietnamese diasporic community studies and contexts of historic and systemic oppression. Demonstrated teaching excellence with diverse urban student populations and clear promise for establishing a record of impactful, relevant, community-engaged scholarship are required.

Application instructions:
Submit a letter describing research, teaching, and service interests, a current curriculum vitae, teaching portfolio, graduate transcripts, two samples of published scholarship, and names with contact information for three references. Review of applications will begin on September 15, 2023 and continue until the position is filled. Inquiries should be directed to: Dr. Peter Kiang (peter.kiang@umb.edu), Professor and Director of the Asian American Studies Program, University of Massachusetts Boston.

Campus Contexts:
The University of Massachusetts Boston is proud to be a federally designated and funded Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI), and maintains a strong commitment to all aspects of diversity and inclusion, including anti-racist and health promoting practices. The University provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, age, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, disability, military status, or genetic information. In addition to federal law requirements, the University of Massachusetts Boston complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the university operates. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment.

Recognized as a national model for over three decades, the Asian American Studies Program (AsAmSt) Program offers the most Asian American Studies courses, faculty, and community linkages of any public or private university in New England. Our alumni include teachers, social workers, health care providers, business entrepreneurs, and leaders of local Asian community organizations. By grounding our curriculum, teaching, and applied research in the local/global realities of metro Boston’s communities and by respecting the knowledge and bilingual/bicultural skills that students bring to the classroom, the AsAmSt Program creates powerful learning environments for all students to gain critical understandings of the historical experiences, voices, contemporary issues, and contributions of diverse Asian populations in the U.S.

Founded in 2012, the School for Global Inclusion and Social Development (SGISD) has the mission of empowering communities locally, nationally, and internationally to advance wellness, educational access, economic participation, and social opportunities for all people by developing leaders, building knowledge, and demonstrating real-world innovations that embrace inclusion. SGISD uses a transdisciplinary approach that allows us to examine the intersectional nature of this commitment across different areas of study, populations, communities, and research and practice. SGISD holds two of the university’s eight core Ethnic Studies academic units and research/policy institutes as well as two of the university’s eight endowed professorships/chairs. Additionally, through its internationally-known Institute for Community Inclusion, SGISD uniquely generates over 25% of the university’s total grant support each year.

The College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) generates knowledge, fosters engaged learning, promotes social justice, and empowers students, educators, counselors, other professionals, and community members through teaching, research, evaluation, and public service. The urban setting of the University of Massachusetts Boston informs—and is informed by—CEHD efforts to fulfill the academic and civic purposes of education in a diverse democracy. CEHD is comprised of the Department of Leadership in Education, Department of Curriculum & Instruction, Department of Counseling and School Psychology, and the School for Global Inclusion and Social Development (SGISD). All four units share a commitment to academic excellence, social justice and inclusion, and equality of access and success for all students.

UMass Boston is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, we will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations for the hiring process. If reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact the ADA/504 Coordinator Andrea Haas or 617-287-5148.

Applications close: