Assistant Professor, Writing Studies Department of English University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The Department of English at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor in Writing Studies. Applicants must have a promising research agenda and a strong commitment to undergraduate and graduate teaching. The successful applicant will have a PhD or equivalent degree in English or another academic area recognized as contributing to the interdisciplinary field of Writing Studies. Once hired, the successful applicant will be expected to teach effectively at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, establish and maintain an active and independent research program, and provide service to the department, the university, and the profession.

We are especially interested in applicants whose scholarship and teaching focus at least in part on multimodal, professional, technical, and/or digital writing. We prefer applicants to have demonstrated a compelling commitment to scholarship and teaching that ethically represents persons whose humanity has been historically diminished or denied by predominantly white institutions such as the university. We will be open to evidence of scholarly engagement in many forms. We appreciate that effective teaching can be documented in a variety of ways and in a wide range of settings.

The successful applicant will bring their scholarly and instructional expertise into conversation with faculty and graduate students affiliated with the Center for Writing Studies (https://cws.illinois.edu). The Center was established in 1992 to foster interdisciplinary research on writing and to support writers and writing instruction across the disciplines. Among current initiatives is to design undergraduate coursework in the English major that prepares graduates to write professionally in a broad array of settings.

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Illinois, in which the English Department and Center for Writing Studies are located, is a world leader in research, teaching, and public engagement. Faculty in the College create knowledge, address critical societal needs through the transfer and application of knowledge, and prepare students for lives of impact in the state, nation, and globally. To meet these objectives, the College embraces and values diversity and difference through hiring faculty candidates who can contribute through their research, teaching, and/or service to the diversity and excellence of the Illinois community.

To apply, create your applicant profile through the University of Illinois Job Board application login page at https://jobs.illinois.edu. Submit the following documents:

1. a letter of interest;
2. a curriculum vitae;
3. statement on scholarship (1-2 pages);
4. statement describing how your scholarship, teaching, service, or public engagement has contributed to the success of students who are underrepresented at your doctoral institution or current place of academic employment (1-2 pages);
5. a sample of scholarship (published or unpublished, 20-30 pages or equivalent);
6. contact information for three academic references (from whom letters of recommendation may be requested at a later date).

Only applications submitted through the University of Illinois Job Board will be considered. To ensure full consideration, all required application materials must be submitted by November 1, 2021. Applicants may be interviewed before the closing date; however, no hiring decision will be made before November 1, 2021. The aforementioned PhD or equivalent degree is required by mid-June 2022 for appointment as an Assistant Professor on the anticipated start date of August 16, 2022. Salary, commensurate with qualifications and experience, is competitive. For additional information about this position, please contact Peter Mortensen, chair of the search committee, at pmortens@illinois.edu.

The University of Illinois is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer that recruits and hires qualified candidates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability or veteran status. For more information, visit http://go.illinois.edu/EEO. To find out more about the resources available at the university and Urbana-Champaign community please visit these sites:

Dual Career Program 

Benefits 

Living in Champaign-Urbana

The University of Illinois conducts criminal background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer. Convictions are not a bar to employment. The University of Illinois System requires candidates selected for hire to disclose any documented finding of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment and to authorize inquiries to current and former employers regarding findings of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment. For more information, visit Policy on Consideration of Sexual Misconduct in Prior Employment.  As a qualifying federal contractor, the University of Illinois System uses E-Verify to verify employment eligibility. The University of Illinois must also comply with applicable federal export control laws and regulations and, as such, reserves the right to employ restricted party screening procedures for applicants.