Assistant or Associate Tenure Track Professor Faculty Position for Restorative Justice

The restorative justice emphasis at EMU focuses on education for 1) understanding relational and structural situations of violence and injustice, 2) taking action that creates the conditions for repair of harms at all levels of social organization, and 3) building resilient and trauma-aware communities. Restorative justice at EMU is influenced by the principles of peacebuilding, conflict transformation and  transformative justice. These principles lead our theoretical and practical work to be focused on addressing systemic and structural violence while also addressing personal and relational harms.

The candidate who is hired for this position will join a support system at EMU for other newly hired tenure track professors with a shared commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

 QUALIFICATIONS: 

Preferred candidates will

• Hold a Ph.D. or other terminal degree in restorative justice, peacebuilding, conflict transformation/resolution or a related field with expertise and experience in restorative justice. ABDs with teaching experience may be considered.
• Bring experience in restorative justice practice, which may include but is not limited to work in schools, communities, or the criminal legal system. The applicant should have familiarity with a wide range of restorative justice applications.
• Have a minimum of three years of teaching experience at the university level or teaching/training adults. Strongest candidates will have experience or demonstrated commitment to teaching and mentoring underrepresented students.
• Demonstrate the ability to teach restorative justice theory and practice at the relational, institutional, systemic and structural levels. They should bring  knowledge of racial justice, trauma healing, and the practice of conflict transformation and peacebuilding as crucial factors in restorative justice work. 
• Have experience with participatory, engaged pedagogical practices and teaching hybrid, online, and in-person formats.
• Highlight in their application materials, their experience with integrating trauma-informed and resilience-fostering pedagogical practices into their teaching. 

RESPONSIBILITIES:

The faculty member will

• Support the Masters of Restorative Justice (MARJ), Masters in Conflict Transformation (MACT), and Masters in Transformational Leadership (MATL) programs, and select undergraduate courses through teaching restorative justice theory and practice.
• Share advising and supervision for graduate students along with curriculum development and other administrative duties for the content area of restorative and transformational justice in the graduate program.
• Support the work of the Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice, whose mission is to be a convening space for restorative justice practitioners and other leaders shaping restorative justice as a social justice movement. Collaborating with the Zehr Institute provides opportunities for the faculty member to contribute to the university community and the global restorative justice movement.  The Zehr Institute work may involve collaborating on specific Restorative Justice initiatives, hosting or planning a webinar or series of webinars, contributing written pieces to the ZI blog, building curriculum for training and education, as well as creating new connections within the RJ practitioner network.
• Contribute to other projects sponsored by the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding. One such program is a Restorative Justice Diversion project with the Commonwealth Attorneys of Charlottesville and Albemarle County. Experience working with restorative justice in the criminal legal system is an asset.

POSITION DETAILS: Nine-month contract, 24 semester hours per year. Salary determined by education and experience. EMU uses a tenure with post-tenure review contract system.

 APPOINTMENT DATE: Positions begin mid-August 2023. EMU reserves the right to fill the position at any time or keep the position open.

 INQUIRIES: Application review begins November 1, 2022 and is ongoing. While affiliation with a specific religious faith tradition is not required, all applicants will be asked to respond to questions relevant to EMU’s faith-based mission. The cover letter should include information on how the candidate’s experience will contribute to the university’s mission, especially its strategic goals related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Application materials, including cover letter, curriculum vitae, transcripts (unofficial acceptable) and contact information for three professional references should be submitted in the application. 

Eastern Mennonite University is an equal opportunity employer, committed to enhancing diversity across the institution. EMU does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity. EMU conducts criminal background investigations as part of the hiring process. EMU seeks faculty who show promise of or have demonstrated 

•  teaching excellence in a Christian liberal arts environment,
•  a commitment to ongoing scholarship, and
• familiarity with and respect for Anabaptist/Mennonite Christian faith practices.