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Assistant Professor of Sociology

Employer
Bemidji State University
Location
Minnesota, United States
Salary
Salary Commensurate with experience
Date posted
Dec 14, 2020

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CLOSING DATE:  Tuesday, January 12, 2021

APPOINTMENT DATE:  August 17, 2021

 

Bemidji State University (BSU) invites qualified applicants to join our team as an Assistant Professor of Sociology. BSU’s vision is to educate people to lead inspired lives. To accomplish BSU’s vision, the University prioritizes creating a culture in which diversity is embraced and all people are safe, welcome, and validated. BSU also prioritizes increasing engagement with Indigenous communities to become a destination university.

 

BSU is located amid the lakes and forests of northern Minnesota and occupies a wooded campus along the shore of Lake Bemidji.  BSU balances rigorous academia with the opportunity to enjoy a fun, robust, outdoor culture.  The proximity to the lake and the surrounding north woods allows easy access to an assortment of recreation.  Major campus facilities are connected by all-season underground passages for safe and warm travel during the cold, winter months. 

 

Enrolling around 5,000 students, BSU offers more than 70 undergraduate majors and eight graduate degrees encompassing arts, sciences and select professional programs. BSU is a member of the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities and has a faculty and staff of more than 550. BSU’s Shared Fundamental Values include civic engagement and leadership, international and multicultural understanding, belief in the power of the liberal arts, and environmental stewardship.

 

The Sociology Program consists of four faculty and is housed in the Department of Sociology and Communication Studies.  Sociology offers a fully online and on campus undergraduate degree and minor.  Our mission is to instill “a deep understanding of social systems and structured inequalities and enhance capacities to interpret change and assist communities.”  The recently revised curriculum reflects that mission and focuses on an intersectional analysis of social inequalities, helping students connect theoretical knowledge to their lives and to the social environment.  Students also gain experience developing and implementing sociological research projects and they learn how to interpret the data and share it with multiple audiences. The sociology degree provides a foundation for beginning a career or toward graduate study. The sociology program also houses a Gender and Women’s Studies minor and sociology faculty have responsibility for its delivery.

 

Responsibilities of the assistant or associate professor in sociology position include:

  • The incumbent would be expected to teach four courses (12 credits) primarily within sociology each semester, but also periodically within gender and women’s studies.
  • The incumbent would be expected to teach courses that would include, but are not limited to Society and Social Issues (Introduction to Sociology); Social Statistics; Research Methods; Theory (Social Explorations); Social Class and Inequality; and Men, Women and Society.  The Department welcomes the ability to teach courses in areas of Religion and Politics, Sociology of Education, etc.
  • Demonstrated experience with teaching courses online.
  • Contributing to a program of scholarship within the discipline, student advising, service to the University and community, and other associated faculty duties.
  • Contributing to interdisciplinary teaching and involvement in activities that support Bemidji State University's signature themes: Environmental stewardship, Civic engagement, Global/Multicultural Understanding.
  • The successful applicant will be expected to contribute to a collegial and supportive environment that advances the goals of the sociology program, including curriculum development, assessment, and other departmental and governance activities.

 

Minimum qualifications for this position include:

  • Earned Doctorate in Sociology from a regionally accredited institution at the start of employment.
  • Demonstrated commitment to quality teaching, as evidenced by teaching evaluations or teaching effectiveness.
  • Demonstrated evidence of continued or promising scholarly research agenda within the sociology discipline (e.g., conference presentations, publications).
  • Demonstrated experience working with and/or interest in working with students and colleagues from multicultural and diverse backgrounds.
  • Ability to teach social statistics both on campus and online.

 

Preferred qualifications include:

  • Substantive graduate area expertise in theory, critical theory, intersectionality, and statistics and one additional area that aligns with programmatic direction.
  • Experience with designing and delivering online courses.

 

To facilitate proper crediting, please ensure that your application and/or resume clearly demonstrate fulfillment of these minimum and preferred qualifications.

 

 

Apply online:             https://bemidjistate.peopleadmin.com/

A complete application will include the following attachments:

  • Cover letter, which addresses the required qualifications and your specific interest in working at Bemidji State University.
  • Curriculum Vitae.
  • A teaching philosophy/statement that discusses your commitment to teaching, and experience with teaching undergraduate students.
  • Teaching evaluations, where available, or evidence of teaching effectiveness.
  • Names and contact information for three (3) people who can provide a professional reference.
  • Unofficial transcript(s) of all undergraduate and graduate coursework.

 

Inquiries:

Dr. Debra Peterson, Search Chair

Professor and Chair of the Sociology and Communication Studies Department

Debra.Peterson@bemidjistate.edu

 

If you have general questions about this posting or submitting an application, contact Teresa Hanson at teresa.hanson@bemidjistate.edu

 

 

UNIVERSITY / COMMUNITY

WHY BEMIDJI:

 

Bemidji State University is nestled among the pines along the shores of Lake Bemidji, just blocks from a thriving downtown community. In this Northwoods setting, students, staff, and faculty have a variety of activities at their fingertips. Possessing all the charm and character of a college town, Bemidji remains a tight-knit community of good neighbors and engaged citizens who always come out to cheer for the Bemidji State Beavers. While the city of Bemidji — named after the Ojibwe Chief Shaynowishkung (nicknamed Bemidji) — is home to a diverse population of more than 15,000 people, it serves a regional population of more than 100,000.

 

Located between three American Indian reservations – Leech Lake, Red Lake and White Earth, students at Bemidji State University have the opportunity to experience a dynamic local culture and history. Bemidji also sits at the center of the legends of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. The famous statues of Paul and Babe greet students as they drive in from the south along Lake Bemidji.

 

Though quaint and historic, the city offers the urban conveniences upon which college students rely. Bemidji State is conveniently located minutes away from affordable restaurants, cozy coffee shops, grocery stores, city parks and more. Small, locally owned shops and art sculptures line the streets of downtown Bemidji, while national chains can be found in and around the Bemidji area, including an uptown selection of department stores and restaurants.

 

The thriving downtown community presents ample opportunities for engagement off-campus. Among other things, there are fine-dining restaurants, cafes, and a natural foods co-op in downtown Bemidji. The historic Paul Bunyan Playhouse has a calendar of classic shows; restaurants and lounges offer weekly live music performances; the First Friday Art Walk provides a tour of new monthly art exhibits; and annual events such as the Loop the Lake Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Blue Ox Marathon, Bemidji Winterfest, and The Minnesota Finlandia bring the community together.

 

For those who love the outdoors, there are wooded, multi-use trail systems within minutes of campus and community parks with walking trails, playgrounds and a skate park. Lake Bemidji State Park and its miles of navigable trails is located directly across the lake from BSU, and the Buena Vista Ski Area — just 12 miles north of campus — offers downhill skiing and BSU-sponsored student transportation in the winter months. Further, the Mississippi River Headwaters is a mere 45 minutes from Bemidji.

 

For further information, visit our website at: http://www.bemidjistate.edu

 

Review a "special report on how this former lumber town has rebuilt itself as a high-speed, regional center of enterprise" at Bemidji 2.0

 

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