The Department of Environment, Development & Health in the School of International Service (SIS) at American University (AU) invites applications for a full-time, tenure-line position at the rank of Assistant Professor beginning August 1, 2024.

They welcome applicants who work on the political economy, history, and/or contemporary politics and process of development and aid, broadly conceived. The ideal candidate is a scholar and/or theoretically-trained practitioner-scholar who aspires to teaching excellence, and will be a dedicated mentor to students who seek to address development and aid challenges of the 21st century. We are seeking candidates who are able to bring together conceptual, critical, practical, and empirical innovations in the investigation of emerging topics related to global development and/or the international aid sector.

The successful candidate will be enthusiastic about working in a multidisciplinary environment that includes anthropologists, architects, communication scholars, economists, geographers, health scholars, international relations scholars, lawyers, physicians, political scientists, and sociologists. Preference will be given to applicants whose work is theoretically grounded, empirically tested, and policy or practice relevant.

The successful candidate will welcome teaching at least one core course in development , broadly defined, in addition to topical courses relevant to their research agenda. Willingness to mentor students in our vibrant undergraduate, masters and doctoral programs is desirable. The search is open to any related academic discipline, research methodology, level of analysis, or geographic concentration. Possible areas of interest include, but are not limited to, development or aid as these relate to climate change, environmental harms, biodiversity, natural resources, disasters, violence, migration, social movements, social equity, underserved or marginalized groups, gender, race and ethnicity, emerging or artificial technologies, data analytics, and/or data justice.

The successful candidate will also share a commitment to the university’s diversity and inclusion plan.

Applicants should hold a PhD or the highest equivalent degree in a social science discipline by the start date, though ABD applications will be considered. The standard course load for a tenure line faculty is 2/2, with an annual service requirement. Salary and benefits are competitive. Review of applications will begin on October 1, 2023 and will continue until the position is filled.

Applications must be submitted electronically via the Interfolio application system. Applications should include the following:

A cover letter detailing your research, teaching and service record to date
Curriculum vitae
Sample publications
A short teaching portfolio with a statement of teaching philosophy and evidence of teaching effectiveness (e.g., teaching evaluations)
A statement describing past examples of your contributions to diversity and inclusion in your scholarship, the classroom, and/or in other professional settings
The names and email addresses of three references that Interfolio system can contact for a confidential letter of recommendation.

Queries about the search may be sent to Chair of the Search Committee and Chair of the Department of Environment, Development, and Health, Lauren Carruth (lcarruth@american.edu). Queries about the online application system may be sent to SIS faculty affairs coordinator Alissa Iwaniuk (aiwaniuk@american.edu) and help@interfolio.com.