Tenured Faculty Position
College of Natural and Social Sciences
Position: Associate or Full Professor of Pan-African Studies (specialization open) with Tenure
Starting Date: August, 2019
Minimum Qualifications:
1) An earned PhD, JD, or MFA in Black/Pan-African/African-American/African/African Diaspora Studies, Ethnic Studies (or equivalent) from an accredited institution is required at the time of application.
2) Evidence of successful teaching experience and effectiveness at the undergraduate level.
3) Evidence of publications in scholarly journals.
Preferred Qualifications:
1) Evidence of successful teaching experience at the graduate level.
2) Demonstrated expertise in a closely-related discipline.
3) Evidence of academic leadership experience, including but not limited to department chair or associate chair, committee chair, program director, etc.
4) Demonstrated commitment to community-engaged scholarship.
Duties:
The primary professional responsibilities of instructional faculty members are: teaching, research, scholarship and/or creative activity, and service to the University, profession and to the community. These responsibilities generally include: advising students, participation in campus and system-wide committees, maintaining office hours, working collaboratively and productively with colleagues, and participation in traditional academic functions.
As a senior hire in Pan-African Studies, the successful candidate will serve on committees, particularly those requiring senior faculty, and contribute to Department and Black student initiatives, including Black student recruitment/retention, mentoring, living-learning community, graduate program, study abroad, and/or disciplinary advancement. She/he/they will also represent the Department at disciplinary conferences and gatherings, as well as in the community and public appearances, as appropriate.
The successful candidate will be committed to the academic success of all of our students and to an environment that acknowledges, encourages, and celebrates diversity and differences. To this end, the successful candidate will work effectively, respectfully, and collaboratively in diverse, multicultural, and inclusive settings. In addition, the successful candidate will be ready to join faculty, staff, students, and administrators in our University’s shared commitment to the principles of engagement, service, and the public good.
Salary: Initial salary is commensurate with qualifications and experience.
The University:
California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is the premier comprehensive public university in the heart of Los Angeles. Cal State LA is ranked number one in the United States for the upward mobility of its students. The University is dedicated to engagement, service, and the public good, offering nationally recognized programs in science, the arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education, and the humanities. Founded in 1947, Cal State LA serves more than 28,000 students and more than 240,000 distinguished alumni. A majority of the University’s alumni live in the Los Angeles region, enriching their communities and contributing to the vitality of the local economy. Cal State LA is focused on developing a new bioscience entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley regions through partnerships with local business. To provide increased educational opportunities, Cal State LA recently opened a campus in downtown Los Angeles that offers graduate and undergraduate programs, as well as professional development and certificate programs. The university is home to the critically acclaimed Luckman Fine Arts Complex, Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs, Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center, Hydrogen Research and Fueling Facility, Billie Jean King Sports Complex and the TV, Film and Media Center.
The Department/Division/School:
The Department of Pan-African Studies (PAS) at Cal State LA is the second oldest Black Studies Department in the nation and proudly identifies as “the intellectual arm of the revolution.” PAS encompasses the systematic investigation of the history, culture, social relationships, political economy, literature, arts, and languages of peoples of African descent and their contribution to world civilization. In order to give students a unique foundation for critical thinking and socio-cultural analysis, the curriculum combines in-depth and transnational approaches to the study of the Black experience. In particular, PAS places African American Studies in a larger comparative context of Africa and the African Diaspora—thus the name "Pan-African" Studies. Moreover, the goal of the curriculum is to allow for flexibility in required core and elective courses. The Department maintains the commitment to community-engagement foundational to the discipline and is intentional in its intersectional approach inclusive of gender, sexuality, and gender identity. This approach maximizes student ability to determine areas of emphasis and, with faculty advisement, to select a creative set of courses that expose majors and minors to the historical context, fundamental concepts, central issues, and methodological evolution of Pan-African Studies.
Required Documentation:
Please submit the following to the Search Committee Chair at the email address below:
1) A cover letter specifically addressing minimum and preferred qualifications.
2) A curriculum vitae.
3) A narrative statement describing your commitment to working effectively with faculty, staff, and students in a multicultural/multiethnic urban campus environment with a substantial population of first-generation students.
4) A narrative describing your demonstrated commitment to community engagement and engaged scholarship.
5) A list of three professional references.
6) A University Application for Employment Form (www.calstatela.edu/academic/position).
Finalists will be required to submit:
1) Official transcripts.
2) Three current letters of recommendation.
Employment is contingent upon proof of eligibility to work in the United States.
Application:
Review of applications will begin November 15, 2018, and will continue until the position is filled.
Please email all application materials in a single PDF to: pas@calstatela.edu. Please type “Pan-African Studies Tenure-Track Application” in the subject line.
Please address all questions to the search committee chair Melina Abdullah at: mabdull2@calstatela.edu or 323-343-2291.
Note: The person holding this position is considered a "mandated reporter" under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and is required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment.
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.
In addition to meeting fully its obligations under federal and state law, Cal State LA is committed to creating a community in which a diverse population can live, work and learn in an atmosphere of tolerance, civility and respect for the rights and sensibilities of each individual. To that end, all qualified individuals will receive equal consideration without regard to economic status, race, ethnicity, color, religion, marital status, pregnancy, national origin or cultural background, political views, sex, sexual orientation, gender identification, age, disability, disabled veteran or Vietnam era veteran status.
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/TITLE IX EMPLOYER
Upon request, reasonable accommodation will be provided to individuals with protected disabilities to (a) complete the employment process and (b) perform essential job functions when this does not cause undue hardship.
