Assistant Professor Position in English & Communication & Writing and Multi-literacy Center Director
The Department of English & Communication at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position at the Assistant Professor level beginning in September 2025. The candidate will pursue a strong research agenda, teach courses, and advise students for the English & Communication department. The Department is particularly interested in candidates with a teaching and research focus in university writing centers. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated expertise and/or experience and skills necessary to assume additional contracted leadership position as director of the university Writing and Multi-literacy Center (WMC). The WMC position may be subsequently renewed and is subject to periodic review by the department, Dean and Provost. This appointment has the possibility of compensated summer work related to the writing center.
The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is in the beautiful oceanside community of Dartmouth, about an hour south of Boston, half an hour east of Providence, and half an hour west of Cape Cod. It offers a world-class education to undergraduate and graduate students each year in over 40 undergraduate and 23 graduate programs offered by the College of Engineering, College of Nursing, Charlton College of Business, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Visual and Performing Arts, School of Law and School for Marine Science and Technology.
The College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of English & Communication value the ability to serve students from a broad range of cultural heritages, socioeconomic backgrounds, genders, abilities, and orientations. We seek a teaching faculty who values working in a collegial, collaborative environment, guided by a commitment to helping all students achieve their educational goals. The ideal candidate will embrace our values predicated on the primacy of student success and will support an inclusive, accessible, and equitable learning environment.
UMass Dartmouth has transformed the lives of 40,000 alumni and distinguishes itself as a vibrant, public research university dedicated to engaged learning and innovative research. It is the only Massachusetts Tier 1 national research university south of Boston and serves as a catalyst for the region.
Duties:
The successful candidate is expected to implement inclusive, evidence-based teaching and learning approaches to ensure the academic success of a diverse student population; advise undergraduate and graduate students; contribute to university and professional service; foster interdisciplinary collaborations; and actively engage in college and university diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The candidate should hold an interest and/or aptitude in directing a university writing center. Additional support, compensation, and course releases may be provided for these additional duties. Responsibilities of the director include coordinating WMC support services for students in the colleges/disciplines, including hiring, training, scheduling, supervision, and budget management. Subsequent renewal of the directorship will be subject to periodic review by the department and the dean. The hired candidate will teach courses to train WMC tutors, as well as first-year English, writing for the general education program, and other courses that serve the department of English & Communication programs. The position includes the potential to develop and teach upper-level undergraduate courses for department majors and graduate courses in the Master of Arts in Professional Writing & Communication program.
Minimum Qualifications:
- PhD in Rhetoric and Composition, Writing Center Pedagogy, or closely related field at the time of hire and appointment
- Minimum two years teaching experience at the University level
- Demonstrated effectiveness with diverse learners
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience and/or expertise in running a university writing center
- Training or experience in multilingual writing tutoring; ESL/ELL tutoring; tutoring graduate writers; inclusive tutoring and pedagogy; and/or WAC/WID
- Secondary area of teaching and research that supports department programs in rhetoric, writing, and communication
SALARY: $72,500 - $75,000
UMass Dartmouth offers exciting benefits such as:
- 75% Employer-Paid Health Insurance
- Flexible Spending Accounts
- Life Insurance
- Long Term Disability
- State Pension Retirement Plan
- Optional Retirement Savings Plans
- Tuition Credit (Employee, Spouse, & Dependents)
- Twelve (12) paid holidays
- And More!
Benefits for Faculty Federation
Application Process:
Qualified applicants are invited to submit electronically a single .pdf file that includes: a letter of interest, detailed curriculum vitae, concise, separate research and teaching statements, and contact information for three professional references. Writing sample and letters of reference will be requested of finalists. Employment is contingent upon verification of background/credentials and work authorization.
The review of applications will be ongoing until the position is filled.