The University of Kansas

The University of Kansas School of Social Welfare

Assistant/Associate/Full Professor of Racial Justice & Social Work

The University of Kansas School of Social Welfare (KU SSW) is seeking dynamic candidates with experience in racial justice for a faculty cluster hire. We aim to recruit and hire two associate/full professors and one assistant professor to begin Fall 2021 (9-month, tenure-track). Faculty candidates with a Ph.D. in Social Work or related fields with scholarly expertise in racial justice are invited to apply. Three faculty members will be hired and affiliated with the KU SSW Toni Johnson Center for Racial and Social Justice and provided Center funds and resources to facilitate their research and scholarly agendas. Additional collaborative opportunities exist within the community, including Haskell Indian Nations, one of two federally operated tribal universities in the U.S.

Candidates should have a research agenda and experience broadly pertaining to racial justice, such as racism and anti-racism; anti-Blackness and Black liberation; Indigenous communities and Native Sovereignty; Latinx communities and anti-Latinx racism; Asian populations, Sinophobia, and anti-Asian racism; etc. Centering racial justice in our cluster hire, we welcome candidates who have scholarly experience in racial justice with intersections across related forms of oppression, including but not limited to environmental justice, international and global issues, immigration and xenophobia, and refugee/migrant issues, etc. We welcome all types of research within an anti-racist or racial justice lens including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods; creative methodologies; community-based and engaged research; conceptual, historical, and theoretical scholarship; and innovative methods with the understanding that a broad range of methodologies are necessary to impact and affect change in racist systems and societies. A history of funding is not a requirement for these positions; we encourage candidates to demonstrate a commitment to supporting their research and scholarship through a variety of funding, community-based partnerships, and other mechanisms.

Faculty candidates should have experience in and/or a desire to teach across the BSW, MSW, and/or PhD programs. As part of our ongoing curriculum innovation process and new course redesigns, we are particularly interested in candidates with experience in teaching racial, social, economic, and environmental justice and human rights, although we welcome candidates with interest across our social work curriculum.

The KU SSW is committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive educational environment for students, faculty, and staff. We also encourage our school community members to engage in practice and research related to racial and social justice. We aim to recruit and retain faculty to assist us in this mission to challenge white supremacy in our own school, university, community, and profession. The successful candidates will have a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in social work practice and research, centered in social work values and ethics, and contribute to the school in these areas.

As a School of Social Welfare within a comprehensive, premier research university, we continually strive to reinvent, innovate, transform, and educate through quality education, research advancement, and community engagement. The KU School of Social Welfare offers the BSW, MSW, and PhD programs. The main University of Kansas campus is located in Lawrence and offers the BSW, MSW, and PhD plans of study. The satellite campus, the Edwards Campus, is located in Overland Park, a suburb of Kansas City, and offers the BSW and MSW plans of study. The MSW plans of study are also offered at our two partnership sites, Garden City Community College in Garden City and Pittsburg State University.

Situated in the beautiful, historic, and culturally vibrant city of Lawrence, a thriving community 40 minutes from the Kansas City metropolitan area and home to Haskell Indian Nations University, the School of Social Welfare plays a central role in the life of the University of Kansas. Founded in 1865, The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university that serves as a center for learning, scholarship, and creative endeavor. The University of Kansas is the only state university in Kansas to hold membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU), a select group of 62 public and private research universities that represent excellence in graduate and professional education and the highest achievements in research internationally. The University enrolls more than 28,000 students, offers 5000 courses, more than 400 degree and certificate programs and employs 2,800 faculty members, many of them at the top of their fields. In KU’s dynamic, cross-disciplinary research and learning environment, students exchange ideas, discover new ways of processing the world, and address society’s grand challenges.

In a continuing effort to enrich its academic environment and provide equal educational and employment opportunities, the university actively encourages applications from members of underrepresented groups in higher education. The successful candidates must be eligible to work in the U.S. prior to the start of the position.

Salary is commensurate with qualifications and experience. Faculty hired as part of this cluster hire will be provided with financial support and resources as part of their affiliation with the Toni Johnson Center for Racial & Social Justice.

To apply, go to https://employment.ku.edu/academic/18314BR A complete online application will include a: (1) cover letter addressing: interest in the position; alignment between their practice, values, and experiences and social work values; commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion; and anticipated contributions to KU and the SSW, (2) research and scholarship statement addressing: candidate’s area of expertise/interest related to racial justice; community-engaged nature of the candidate’s work; plans for incorporating their research agenda at KU; and inclusion of DEI in research and scholarship.(3) Teaching, Mentoring, & Advising statement addressing: teaching philosophy with attention to DEI; evidence of responding to student feedback and evaluations; courses taught; interests in teaching at KU; experience with course design; experience mentoring students and pre-tenure faculty (associate/full only). (4) Scholarship examples (one or two) – may include evaluation reports, published articles, theoretical/conceptual papers, community dissemination products, grant proposals, policy briefs, creative/innovative dissemination products, etc. (5) List of three professional references.  First review of applicants will begin on January 22, 2021 and will continue until position(s) filled. 

University of Kansas is an EO/AA Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, and genetic information.