Working/Functional Title

Assistant/Associate/Full Professor Tenure System

Position Summary

The Department of African American and African Studies invites applications for two open rank tenure-system faculty positions in Black Feminisms, Genders, and Sexualities Studies with the ability to be appointed at the rank of Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor (9-month appointment) in the Department of African American and African Studies in the College of Arts & Letters at Michigan State University. We have special needs in Black Genders Studies and Black Sexualities Studies. Each position is a 100% appointment in African American and African Studies and begins August 16, 2021.

Both faculty members will play a key role in collaboratively building the new AAAS Department, with core areas in Feminisms, Genders, and Sexualities Studies. The normal teaching load is 2-2. The successful candidates will maintain high quality research in Black Studies or related interdisciplinary fields and approaches. A typical workload percentage for a 100% appointment in the College of Arts and Letters is 40% research, 40% teaching, 20% service. However, the service load for this position will be distinctive as both faculty members will provide substantial support to the new build. The following responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Aiding in the implementation of strategic short- and long-range plans for departmental development;
• Assisting in the creation and implementation of operating policies and procedures, including best practices for recruiting outstanding faculty, students, and staff;
• Collaborating with AAAS faculty in sustaining public-facing humanities research agendas and excellence in outreach to foster and produce knowledge in the field and local communities. 

Required Degree

Doctorate

Minimum Requirements

Desired Qualifications

• Black Genders Studies and Black Sexualities Studies
• Visionary BS: Visionary Black Studies in AAAS at MSU includes, but is not limited to: Creative Expression, Afrofuturism, Performance Studies, Religion and Spirituality, Environmental Justice, Entrepreneurship, Black Girlhood Studies, etc.
• Concrete connections between scholarship, pedagogy, and social justice causes/Demonstrated history of community engagement and/or community-based approaches to scholarship
• Excellent communication skills
• Capacity to engage in curriculum and departmental development

Required Application Materials

1. A cover letter
2. Current CV
3. A research statement articulating research trajectory emphasizing representative scholarship and future plans
4. A summary of your experience with diversity in the classroom and/or in your past, or planned research or administrative endeavors, any experience mentoring diverse students or community outreach initiatives, and an explanation of how you will advance our goals of inclusive excellence
5. If applying for a position at the rank of Assistant Professor, the names and email addresses of 3 potential referees who can comment on quality of scholarship/teaching. If applying for a position at the rank of Associate or Full Professor, the names and email addresses of 4 potential referees, all of whom must be of equal or higher rank who can comment on quality of research, teaching, engagement and/or service.

Special Instructions

Application Procedure: To apply, applicants must submit an application at the MSU Human Resources site at http://careers.msu.edu/ 

Applications received by January 4, 2021 will receive full consideration.  The search will remain open until the position is filled.

Inquiries about the position should be addressed to: Dr. Tamura Lomax, Associate Professor of African American and African Studies, Michigan State University 619 Red Cedar Rd #C629 East Lansing, MI 48824 Email: lomaxtam@msu.edu

Review of Applications Begins On

01/04/2021

Department Statement

Michigan State University is a national leader in agricultural research and extension programming. AAAS at MSU was initially founded as a PhD granting program in 2002 as a unit committed to making concrete connections between faculty scholarship, pedagogy, and social justice causes. An undergraduate minor was created in 2014 in order to extend the Black Studies experience to an increasing interested undergraduate population. On July 1, 2019, AAAS became a department. The new AAAS department embraces diverse scholarly approaches to research, teaching, and civic engagement required for comprehensive study within the larger Black Studies discipline. As a department our areas of specialization include Feminisms, Genders, and Sexualities Studies in all aspects of curriculum.

MSU is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer. MSU is committed to achieving excellence through cultural diversity. The university actively encourages applications and/or nominations of women, persons of color, veterans, and persons with disabilities.  Persons with disabilities have the right to request and receive reasonable accommodation.

The College of Arts & Letters recognizes that only an academic and organizational culture, which actively seeks out and strengthens diverse voices and perspectives among its members results in true excellence. We are an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. The College of Arts & Letters is particularly interested in candidates of all backgrounds who are committed to the principle that intellectual leadership is achieved through open access and pro-active inclusion.

Michigan State University occupies the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary Lands of the Anishinaabeg–Three Fires Con federacy of Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi peoples. The University resides on Land ceded in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw.

MSU Statement

Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.