Available Title(s):

270-NN_FACULTY - Assistant Professor

Business Title:

Assistant Professor, College of Arts and Sciences-Latinx History, Vancouver Campus

Employee Type:

Faculty

Time Type:

Full time

Position Term:

9 Month - Summer

Position Details:

Assistant Professor, College of Arts and Sciences-Latinx History, Vancouver Campus

WSU Vancouver has an open nine-month tenure-track Assistant Professor in Latinx history with a focus on Food and Environmental Justice.

Summary of Duties

The Department of History at the Vancouver, WA campus of Washington State University (WSU) invites applications for a permanent, full-time, nine-month, tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor in Latinx history in the United States (or its immediate borderlands) with research expertise in some combination of agriculture, labor, food systems, race and ethnicity, racism, structures of inequality, migration, or environment. Applicants should provide evidence of a well-defined research program. Applicants must demonstrate commitment to underrepresented communities through research, service, teaching, public history projects, and/or community engagement. It is anticipated that the successful candidate will begin August 16, 2024.

Job duties

• The workload of this position is 40% research, 40% teaching, and 20% service.

• Teach two courses per semester (a 2-2 load). Teach upper and lower division undergraduate and graduate courses in United States, Chicana/o/x, Latina/o/x, labor, and/or immigration history and develop courses in their area of research specialization.

• Contribute to the department’s graduate program and to the undergraduate Roots of Contemporary Issues course.

• Maintain an active research program.

• Participate in service at the departmental, college, university, and campus level.

Required Qualifications

• Completed PhD in history or closely related field at time of appointment.

• Evidence of a well-defined research agenda within Latinx history.

• Demonstrated teaching experience or potential for successful teaching and instruction.

• Demonstrated record of or potential for commitment to underrepresented communities and to campus and university diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Candidates with equity focus who do community-engaged scholarship:

WSU is committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive university community. The university recognizes that fostering an inclusive environment for all, with particular attention to the needs of historically marginalized populations, is vital to the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of our institutional mission. Towards continually strengthening this commitment, we seek candidates whose research, teaching, and/or service has prepared them to be an integral contributor to the continued advancement of inclusion, diversity, equity, and access here at WSU.

This position is part of a faculty cluster hire initiative in the scholarship and teaching about racism and social inequality in the Americas, with a particular focus this round on Food and Environmental Justice. The university is particularly interested in hiring scholars who are deeply connected to and integrated into the communities that they study, as a means to build on our strong tradition of engaged and applied scholarship at WSU. We anticipate that this appointment will help to build bridges across the region through public outreach and civic engagement that helps to contextualize issues of race, racism, and food justice in our historical moment.

Application instructions:

Applicants must attach multiple documents at the time of application. Please read the entire posting description and follow the instructions below to apply.

Additional Information:

Area/College:

Washington State University Vancouver

Department Name:

The College of Arts and Sciences, History Department

City, State, Zip:

Vancouver, WA 98686

Department Link:

https://cas.vancouver.wsu.edu/

https://cas.vancouver.wsu.edu/history

Work Location and Schedule:

This position is not eligible for remote/hybrid work assignments.

Salary range:

$76,875-$80,000/year. In accordance with RCW 49.58.110, the above salary reflects the full salary range for this position. Individual placement within the range is based on the candidate’s current experience, education, skills, and abilities related to the position or as mandated by a U.S. Department of Labor prevailing wage determination.

Benefits:

WSU offers a comprehensive benefits package which includes paid sick and vacation leave; paid holidays; medical, dental, life and disability insurance package for employees and dependents; retirement; deferred compensation and optional supplemental retirement accounts. For additional information, please review the detailed Summary of Benefits offered by WSU for Faculty: https://hrs.wsu.edu/employees/benefits/

Find total compensation information here: https://hrs.wsu.edu/managers/recruitment-toolkit/total-compensation/.

FTE:

100%

Position Type:

This is a 9-month permanent tenure track position.

Application Deadline:

Formal review of applications will begin October 30, 2023, and the recruitment will remain open until a successful candidate is selected.

Direct inquiries about this position to Dr. Matthew Sutton, History Department Chair (sutton@wsu.edu) or Dr. Laurie Mercier, Search Committee Chair (lmercier@wsu.edu).

Background Check

This position has been designated by the department to require a background check because it requires access to children or vulnerable adults as defined by RCW 74.34, engages in law enforcement, requires security clearance, interacts with WSU students in a counseling or advising capacity, has access to personal identifying and/or financial information, unsupervised access to university buildings/property, or other business-related need. A background check will not be completed until an initial determination of qualification for employment has been made.

Application Instructions

Application materials should clearly communicate how the applicant meets all required qualifications and additional requirements. Applicants are required to include contact information for professional references within the application.

External candidates, please upload all documents in the “Resume/CV” section of your application.

Internal candidates, please upload all documents in the “Resume/Cover Letter” section of your application.

Applicants must attach the following documents to their online application:

• A cover letter addressing qualifications for this position.

• Current curriculum vita

• A brief (2 pages) research statement addressing your research focus and methodologies, as well as the broader social applications of your research and/or impact on communities.

• A brief (2 pages) teaching statement addressing your teaching approaches and philosophies, including ways in which you address issues of educational equity.

• A brief (1 page) service statement that discusses your past activities and experience as well as your future plans to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion, in alignment with WSU Vancouver’s mission, through activities such as mentoring, professional activities, recruitment, outreach, retention, community-based work, and/or committee, task force, or board service.

• Names, addresses and contact information of at least three individuals who can address your history or potential for excellence in research, teaching and service. Letters will be requested at a later point in the search process. 

About WSU, the History Department, Vancouver, and the College of Arts and Sciences:

Washington State University (WSU) conducts transformational research and provides world-class education to a diverse student population of approximately 31,000 students statewide. Founded in Pullman in 1890, WSU today consists of four campuses: Pullman (21,000 students), Spokane (1,600 students), Tri-Cities (1,800 students), and Vancouver (3,500 students). This multi-campus system shares one central administration and one faculty. The University strongly values diversity among its faculty, staff and students. As a Tier-1 land-grant institution, Washington State University is committed to excellence in research, learning, and outreach to all constituents.

The Department of History at WSU is a collegial community of over 40 full-time faculty members across three campuses, who conduct ground-breaking research in a wide variety of fields and have been awarded numerous prizes, fellowships, and teaching awards. For more information, see the department website, https://history.wsu.edu. The WSU Vancouver History Program has an established record of public engagement through public forums, digital archives, radio and television programs, and collaborations with metropolitan, regional, and international history museums. Historians on the Vancouver campus have played a central role in the creation and programming efforts of the interdisciplinary Collective for Social and Environmental Justice (CSEJ), which brings a wide variety of public programs, digital projects, and conferences to WSU Vancouver and Southwest Washington. CSEJ has developed a certificate program in social and environmental justice for undergraduates and has initiated several ongoing interdisciplinary research and outreach projects on environmental, Indigenous, and food justice. The new hire will be able to help support and expand these initiatives, welcomed into a community of collaboration.

WSU Vancouver is an inclusive, innovative, non-residential campus dedicated to offering premier undergraduate and graduate educational and research experiences. Situated on 351 scenic acres, WSU Vancouver is on the homelands of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and Peoples of the Lower Columbia Valley. Located in the southwest region of Washington state, Vancouver is part of the Portland, Oregon metro area, and offers a wealth of social justice, cultural and recreational interests, community events, visual and performing arts, professional sports teams, farmers’ markets, and hiking trails. Currently the population is approximately 300,000 in the Greater Vancouver area and nearly 3 million in the Greater Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area. Economic growth in Vancouver includes an expansion of the downtown Columbia River waterfront community as well as growth in the tech and healthcare sectors. Vancouver’s central location also facilitates access to a number of nearby attractions and metropolitan areas, including the Washington and Oregon coasts, Cascade mountain range, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas.

WSU Vancouver’s strategic plan includes the goal to “Promote an ethical and socially just society through an intentional commitment to inclusion, equity, and diversity.” One of our goals in that area is to increase the success of our historically minoritized students, particularly Latinx, Black, Native American, Pacific Islander and underrepresented Asian student populations with a goal of closing the opportunity gap in graduation rates of these groups. WSU Vancouver has been recognized by Insight Into Diversity Magazine as a top college for diversity.

As the second largest campus in the WSU system and the only public four-year educational institution in Southwest Washington, WSU Vancouver enjoys a personal atmosphere, small classes, and extraordinary community support. The campus is committed to developing areas of academic and research excellence that fulfill regional needs, with more than 100 tenure-line faculty. To learn more about the university visit www.vancouver.wsu.edu.

Encompassing more than 30 departments, schools, and research institutes on five campuses statewide, the College of Arts & Sciences is the heart of WSU. Together our 730+ faculty and staff deliver more than 50% of WSU’s total undergraduate and graduate instruction, including the vast majority of WSU’s core curriculum. We also drive wide interdisciplinary research in public and community health, environmental change, equity and social justice, and data and technology at the boundaries. As Arts & Sciences celebrates its 10th anniversary as a unified college, we seek to lead a reimagining of WSU’s land-grant mission for the 21st century, expanding the boundaries of creativity and discovery while simultaneously recognizing more completely our obligations to Native and Indigenous peoples. For more about the College of Arts & Sciences at WSU, please see https://cas.wsu.edu.

WSU acknowledges that its locations statewide are on the homelands of Native American peoples, who have lived in this region and have been caretakers of the land from time immemorial. The Morrill Act of 1862 established our land-grant institution by providing public and federal lands that are traced back to the disposition of Indigenous lands, often taken by coercive and violent acts, and the disregard of treaties. For that, we extend our deepest apologies. We owe our deepest gratitude to the Native peoples of this region and maintain our commitment towards reconciliation. And as a land-grant institution, WSU is deeply committed to the land-grant mission, its Memorandums of Understanding with Native tribes in the region, and a tradition of service to society. To read the full WSU land acknowledgement, please see https://wsu.edu/about/wsu-land-acknowledgement/.

WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EDUCATOR AND EMPLOYER. Members of ethnic minorities, women, special disabled veterans, veterans of the Vietnam-era, recently separated veterans, and other protected veteran, persons of disability and/or persons age 40 and over are encouraged to apply.

WSU employs only U.S. citizens and lawfully authorized non-U.S. citizens. All new employees must show employment eligibility verification as required by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

WSU is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation in its services, programs, activities, education and employment for individuals with disabilities. To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact Human Resource Services: 509-335-4521 (v), Washington State TDD Relay Service: Voice Callers: 1-800-833-6384; TDD Callers: 1-800-833-6388, 509-335-1259(f), or hrs@wsu.edu.