Associate or Full Professor of History and Director of Africana Studies
Department of History
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
The Department of History at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga invites applicants for the position of tenured Associate or Full Professor of History and Director of Africana Studies to begin on August 1, 2023 or January 1, 2024.
The successful candidate will:
• Teach two courses per semester. These classes will include introductory and upper-level courses in Africana Studies, reading and writing in history, the History capstone course, and other teaching assignments in the History Department
• Develop new courses for the History and Africana Studies curricula
• Administer the Africana Studies program, including budget, curriculum development, and other duties
• Collaborate with program-affiliated faculty in a wide range of departments
• Recruit, retain, and mentor students minoring in Africana Studies and majoring or minoring in History
• Coordinate activities and programs that serve students in their academic, social, cultural, and co-curricular development
• Coordinate activities and programs related to the culture, history, intellectual traditions, and heritage of Africa and the African diaspora that connect the university community and the broader Chattanooga community
• Build and sustain relationships with campus groups including, but not limited to, the Black Student Alliance, the African Student Association, and the Black Faculty and Staff Association
• Collaborate with campus partners, including the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Engagement, the Multicultural Affairs Center, the Center for Student Success, the Center for Women and Gender Equity, and the Center for Global Education
• Work with appropriate campus and community partners to identify and pursue additional funding opportunities, including grants, gifts, etc.
Successful (Ideal) candidates will possess the following requirements:
• A PhD in History, Africana Studies, Black Studies, or a closely related discipline with training, research, and teaching experience in history
• Proven experience and success in interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches to teaching, service, and research
• Proven experience in fields such as Africana Studies, Black Studies, and the history of Africa and/or the African diaspora
• Ability to teach introductory and advanced courses in history and Africana Studies
• Willingness to engage in a variety of instructional modalities, including online instruction
• Willingness to engage in assisting the UTC campus in its ability to reach additional goals as specified in UTC’s Strategic Plan, including a demonstrable commitment to diversity and inclusion
• Demonstrated understanding of the diverse and intersectional needs and concerns of students and communities from Africa and the African diaspora and their impact on student success
• Demonstrated experience coordinating, planning, and facilitating programs with topics related to History and Africana Studies
• Demonstrated experience building relationships with community organizations, student groups, and faculty across departmental and disciplinary boundaries
Applicants must submit the following materials electronically through the UTC Faculty Career Job Site:
• Cover letter of two or three pages which includes teaching philosophy; experience coordinating interdisciplinary programs and/or projects; and current and proposed research agenda. Evidence of candidate’s commitment to equity and inclusion in higher education and examples of ongoing commitments to those efforts is optional but preferred.
• Curriculum vitae (CV), including up-to-date personal contact information (e-mail, phone, etc.)
• Sample syllabi for an introductory core course in Africana Studies and an upper-division Africana studies course on a topic of the candidate’s choice
• Additional materials, including a writing sample and letters of reference will be requested of semi-finalist candidates.
Only complete applications will be considered. Review of applications will begin May 8 and continue until the position is filled. The search committee will conduct Zoom interviews with an initial pool of semi-finalists and schedule campus visits with finalist candidates. Questions regarding the position may be directed to the chair of the search committee, Dr. Julia Cummiskey at Julia-Cummiskey@utc.edu.
About the Africana Studies Program
UTC has a growing interdisciplinary program in Africana Studies that offers a minor as well as a wide range of cocurricular and extracurricular activities. Founded in 1988, the Africana Studies program has been led by interim directors and an advisory committee of faculty and staff from several departments for the past several years. The History Department believes that having a senior faculty director in this position will lead to continued growth and expansion of this program with the support of the College of Arts and Sciences and university leadership. We are seeking a director to lead efforts to recruit, retain, and mentor students in the program and to build connections between the program and the broader campus and Chattanooga communities. The Director will have the support of the History Department, in which the Africana Studies program is housed; a dedicated budget from the College of Arts and Sciences; and a substantial endowment fund. Around 20 faculty and staff members from across the university contribute to the program, with between 5 and 10 faculty members teaching courses each semester that count for the minor. You can find more information about the program by visiting our website www.utc.edu/africana and our Instagram account @utc_africanastudies.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is the second-largest campus in the University of Tennessee System and serves a diverse student body of more than 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students through five academic colleges. Since its founding as Chattanooga University in 1886, UTC has established a reputation for excellence built on a unique blend of the private and public traditions of American higher education. Today, UTC brings a passion for excellence in all pursuits and is dedicated to making a difference in our community and in the lives of our students.
At UTC, we welcome and cultivate diverse perspectives and populations—whether shaped by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, intellectual diversity, political beliefs and other life experiences and ideologies—and embrace equity and inclusion.
UTC is a university distinguished by respect for the dignity, uniqueness, and value of every individual. We foster a campus community that is welcoming and inclusive of all. We value diversity in our workplace and learning environments, benefiting from the varied backgrounds and abilities of our campus community. The diversity of our voices and experiences is vital to our pursuit of excellence and fulfillment of our mission.
UTC is in the heart of Tennessee’s fourth-largest city, located in the southeastern part of the state near the border with Georgia and at the junction of four interstate highways. Conveniently situated within just a two-hour drive from Atlanta, Nashville, Knoxville and Birmingham, Chattanooga, offers the opportunity to live and learn in an exciting and enchanting environment. Dubbed the ‘Scenic City,’ and endowed with incredible vistas and popular area attractions, the city has been recognized nationally for its downtown renaissance and a revitalized riverfront that has become the blueprint for other cities to emulate. Chattanooga achieved the first gig internet capacity in the country, and today has the nation’s fastest internet service with a 100% fiber network that links every residence and business in a 600-square mile area.
The city is home to companies such as Unum, McKee Foods, U.S. Xpress, Volkswagen, Coke United, and Amazon, and a number of tech startups attracted to its blazing fast internet and low cost-of-living. Thousands of visitors are drawn yearly to the Tennessee Aquarium, Lookout Mountain, Civil War battlefield sites, the Bessie Smith Cultural Center—Chattanooga African American Museum, Creative Discovery Museum for Children, Riverbend Festival, and the weekly Nightfall Summer Concert Series held in the heart of downtown. Chattanooga also has a long and rich history interwoven with the Civil Rights movement and Native American heritage. The Trail of Tears National Historic Route runs through the city and is on the traditional territory of Tsalaguwetiyi (Cherokee, East).
Whether it’s Chattanooga’s ideal geographical location with comfortable temperatures year-round to suit an active lifestyle, its cultural and culinary diversity, reasonable cost of living, world-class healthcare facilities, reputable educational institutions like UTC, or countless other reasons, it’s no wonder more and more people are choosing to make Chattanooga their home.
The University of Tennessee Chattanooga is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA institution. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, or protected veteran status.
View the original posting & apply online: https://ut.taleo.net/careersection/utc_faculty/jobdetail.ftl?job=23000000JM&tz=GMT-04%3A00&tzname=America%2FNew_York
