Department Chair, Department of Language, Literature and Culture

About Clark University:

Founded in 1887, Clark was one of the first all-graduate institutions in the United States. Today the University is a highly-ranked, student-centered institution educating approximately 2,350 undergraduate and 1,150 graduate students to be imaginative and contributing citizens of the world and to advance the frontiers of knowledge and understanding through rigorous scholarship and creative effort. This commitment to scholarship and inquiry reflects the University's commitment to "challenge convention and change our world" and to address issues of critical importance to society. It is also reflected by Clark's many national and international distinctions, including recognition for its diversity and inclusion efforts, innovation, community engagement and impact, as a top green campus, and for having a distinguished geography and international development program. Clark has also been included in the groundbreaking Colleges that Change Lives guide since it was first published in 1996.
 

Clark is located in Worcester, Massachusetts, a dynamic, diverse city "on the rise." The second largest city in New England, Worcester is home to 11 institutions of higher learning and is increasingly recognized for its growing healthcare and biotechnology communities, its thriving cultural scene, and as a vibrant food hub.


Job Description:

The Department of Language, Literature and Culture (LLC) at Clark University seeks to hire its next departmental Chair at the rank of associate professor or professor to begin Fall 2022. Successful applicants will have research specialization in the field of Afro-Hispanic Studies and/or Afro-Latinx Studies. Scholars whose research focuses on the Afro-descendant populations of Mexico, Central America, the Andean countries or Equatorial Guinea are particularly encouraged to apply. This will be a tenured appointment as Chair with an initial three-year term, renewable as Chair.
 

The new chair will join Clark University at a time of new leadership and change and will play a crucial role working with the faculty in shaping the department culture for Clark's engaged student body. They will be responsible for developing and implementing new strategic goals for the department, ensuring that existing programs and offerings meet today's student needs and building programs and systems to serve future needs.


 

Requirements:

The departmental Chair should be an active scholar committed to teaching in Spanish in their field and at all levels, and to offering courses available to the wider university community. The Chair will have an initial 0-1 teaching load in their first year, followed by a 1-1 course load for the duration of their term. Upon completion of their term, the Chair may retreat to regular tenured faculty status with a 2-2 teaching load. The successful candidate will also receive a research bursary of $30,000 over the first three years, in addition to a one-time allotment of money for library items. As a faculty in the Humanities, the Chair will be part of the Higgins School of Humanities, a resource that enhances the intellectual and cultural life of Clark University through its advocacy for the arts and humanities by fostering connections between the humanities disciplines, by sponsoring public programming and campus initiatives, by encouraging curricular innovation, and by supporting teaching and research/creative practice through grants.               

 

Clark University currently requires all employees and students to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Exemptions will be made for medical or disability reasons or religious beliefs, and could be made, at the sole discretion of the University, for other well-documented reasons.


Additional Information:

Committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Clark University offers this position as part of a university-wide hiring initiative focusing on the hiring of "synergy" positions, or academic clusters, that will offer discipline-specific courses that contribute to and strengthen our interdisciplinary concentrations in Africana Studies and Latin American & Latinx Studies at the Center for Gender, Race and Area Studies (CGRAS). Each appointment within the synergy cluster will reside full time in the hiring department with promotion processes occurring in the hiring home department.

 

About CGRAS: CGRAS is an academic hub at Clark University consisting of a federation of interdisciplinary programs designed to engage and facilitate intellectual synergies within and across intersectional approaches to gender, race, and ethnicity in scholarship and teaching. It spans a broad range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences that advance the academic and compositional diversification of Clark University, providing a vibrant intellectual and mentorship space.

 

Clark University embraces equal opportunity and affirmative action as core values: we believe that cultivating an environment that embraces and promotes diversity is fundamental to the success of our students, our employees and our community. This commitment applies to every aspect of education, services, and employment policies and practices at Clark. Our commitment to diversity informs our efforts in recruitment, hiring and retention. All positions at Clark share in the responsibility for building a community that values diversity and the uniqueness of others by exhibiting integrity and respect in interacting with all members of the Clark community to create an atmosphere of fairness and belonging. We strongly encourage members from historically underrepresented communities, inclusive of all women, to apply.


Application Instructions:

For full consideration please submit a letter of application, statement of leadership philosophy, c.v. that includes a list of courses taught, summary of research interests, and the contacts of three references. Applicants' statements should detail how their leadership, scholarship and teaching will support the success of students from underrepresented racial, ethnic, and gender backgrounds and further Clark's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.  Review of applications will begin November 15, 2021. Inquiries regarding the position should be directed to Professor Odile Ferly, Chair, LLC Search Committee at llcsearch@clarku.edu.

 

To be considered for this position, you must submit your credentials online. Create a Clark University Careers Account by clicking this link.


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