Assistant or Associate Professor
Land Use and Regional Governance

Department of Urban and Regional Planning

The Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign invites applications for a full-time tenure-track Assistant Professor or tenured Associate Professor in land-use planning and policy. Candidates whose land-use expertise is complemented by expertise in local public finance and management, local economic development, infrastructure planning and/or neighborhood change are especially encouraged to apply. We seek candidates whose work engages land use questions in the U.S., and also welcome those whose work incorporates a comparative or transnational perspective.

Preferred candidates will have expertise in GIS and quantitative methods; the ideal candidate will have strength in GIS and/or quantitative methods in combination with qualitative research methods. Preferred candidates will also demonstrate a commitment to the values enumerated in the current (2022) Curriculum Standard of the Planning Accreditation Board, including equity, diversity, social justice, and inclusion; sustainability, resilience, and climate justice; and professional ethics and responsibility.

The position is a full-time nine-month tenure-track faculty appointment that begins 16 August 2024. Salary is commensurate with experience.

Applicant Qualifications
Assessment of applications will focus on academic background and training; treatment of diversity in teaching, research, and engagement; expertise fitting the position description; research program; potential for successful university teaching; and evidence of service to the field. Applicants at the Assistant Professor level must have a promising research agenda and a strong commitment to undergraduate and graduate teaching. Applicants at the Associate level must have a demonstrated record of excellence in research, teaching, and service. A Ph.D. in planning or related fields is required. ABD candidates will be considered – candidates with superior qualifications who will complete all their Ph.D. requirements within the first appointment year may be appointed at the rank of instructor. After the Ph.D. requirement is met, the appointment will be changed to Assistant Professor.

The Department and University

In 2013, the Department of Urban and Regional Planning (DURP) celebrated one hundred years of planning education at Illinois and has an international reputation for training professional planners and developing future scholars. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a land grant R1 institution. DURP is a unit of the College of Fine and Applied Arts, which provides opportunities for collaboration with scholars, practitioners, and artists, and which also provides opportunities for outreach and engagement via the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts and the Krannert Art Museum. The College of Fine and Applied Arts is dedicated to the advancement, practice, and understanding of the arts. The central focus of the college is the synergy between research and the preparation of students for professional careers in the creation and interpretation of the environmental, visual, and performing arts. For more on the college’s mission and strategic priorities, please visit (https://faa.illinois.edu/about/mission/) .

 The campus and the Department provide ample support for faculty to conduct interdisciplinary research and innovative teaching. Members of the DURP faculty are involved in a broad array of ongoing research and public engagement activities throughout Illinois, the U.S., and internationally. In addition to DURP’s home in the College of Fine and Applied Arts, the position offers many potential connections in the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign’s 16 major academic units (https://illinois.edu/academics/academics.html) , as well as connections to other major programs including the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities (https://www.iprh.illinois.edu) , and University of Illinois Extension (https://extension.illinois.edu) .

 Faculty members in DURP are expected to produce a strong published record of scholarship and to maintain an active research agenda in their field. The Department places a high value on professional applications that lead to innovations in planning practice and dissemination of those innovations through scholarly publication and other means of communication.  DURP faculty contribute courses to the Department’s four degree programs: Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies and Planning (BAUSP), Master of Urban Planning (MUP), Master of Science in Sustainable Urban Management (MSSUM), and Ph.D. in Regional Planning. They also secure funding to support masters and doctoral student research assistants.

DURP currently has 14 full-time faculty members in addition to its adjunct and affiliate faculty, 99 students in the BAUSP program, 58 students in the MUP program, and 16 Ph.D. students. Its curricular offerings span sustainable design and development, community development for social justice, local and regional economic development, and environment and land use, and transportation concentrations, as well as a cross cutting transnational planning specialization. The university (www.illinois.edu)  and departmental (www.urban.illinois.edu)  web sites offer additional information.

Application Procedures & Deadline Information:

For full consideration, applications must be received by 6:00 pm (CST) on October 9, 2023. Apply for this position using the Apply Now button at the top or bottom of this posting. Applications not submitted through https://jobs.illinois.edu will not be considered.

Please submit a two-page cover letter outlining your research, teaching, and future plans; a CV; a DEI statement; and contact information for three professional references. Letters of reference may be requested of referees at a later date. Only applications submitted through the University of Illinois Job Board will be considered.

DURP is strongly committed to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion and to increasing the presence of underrepresented groups in the planning profession and the academy.  Therefore, we especially encourage the application of Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC), people with disabilities, women, and people with the full range of gender and sexual identities to apply.

For further information about the position, please contact the search Chair, Professor Andrew Greenlee, at agreen4@illinois.edu or 217-333-9069. For further information about application procedures, please contact Jennifer Steiling at steiling@uillinois.edu. For questions regarding the application process, please contact 217-333-2137.

The University of Illinois System is an equal opportunity employer, including but not limited to disability and/or veteran status, and complies with all applicable state and federal employment mandates. Please visit Required Employment Notices and Posters to view our non-discrimination statement and find additional information about required background checks, sexual harassment/misconduct disclosures,  and employment eligibility review through E-Verify.

Applicants with disabilities are encouraged to apply and may request a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (2008) to complete the application and/or interview process. Requests may be submitted through the reasonable accommodations portal, or by contacting the Accessibility & Accommodations Division of the Office for Access and Equity at 217-333-0885, or by emailing accessibility@illinois.edu.