Visiting Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Studies

Stetson University, College of Arts and Sciences

Position: Visiting Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Studies               

Stetson University seeks a Visiting Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Studies. This full-time, non-tenure-track, 9-month sabbatical replacement appointment, beginning August 2023, is for a dynamic teacher and active scholar with enthusiasm for teaching a variety of undergraduate classes within the rhetorical, interpretive, and/or critical traditions of the communication discipline.

Qualifications:
 A Ph.D. from a Communication and/or Media-related program is preferred, but applicants who are ABD with expected degree conferral in August 2023 will be considered. The applicant also needs to demonstrate excellence in teaching undergraduates in both general and specialized areas of communication with a variety of effective teaching strategies. We seek a colleague who is enthusiastic about working across disciplines, and eager to contribute to a liberal arts-based program and a broader community of undergraduates. Applicants whose teaching and/or research focuses on BIPOC or International experiences are preferred, as are applicants who can demonstrate experience working with diverse populations.

Responsibilities:  
This position involves both teaching and student mentoring. Involvement with undergraduate senior research project, student advising, and a 4/3 teaching load is expected for the academic year. Courses may include (1) qualitative theory and methodology which serves as a required course for Communication and Media Studies majors, (2) courses in the candidate’s specialty, (3) and other courses based on program needs such as Organizational, Health, Gender, and/or Environmental Communication. In addition to supporting our major and minors, teaching assignments may include courses for the University’s General Education Curriculum, including Writing Enhanced courses. This position carries no research or University-level service expectations.

For more information on our expectations in teaching and scholarship and our support for faculty development, please see the Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs website: http://www.stetson.edu/provost.  

The Department:
The Department of Communication and Media Studies (https://www.stetson.edu/other/academics/programs/communication-and-media-studies.php) is a thriving department within the Humanities Division of the College of Arts and Sciences with approximately 120 majors and minors. Central to the mission of our program is encouraging students to better understand culture, meaning, and symbolic activity, especially as they relate to our key concerns of democracy and equality. Through the study of communication, we seek to prepare enlightened graduates who are adept at interpreting the world and ready to offer energetic and innovative leadership as citizens and in their professions. We offer a major and minor in Communication and Media Studies as well as an interdisciplinary minor in Journalism. Our focus is exclusively on undergraduate students who desire rigorous training in becoming creators and critics of communication in mediated, public, and relational contexts within the framework of a liberal arts education. Our students learn through dynamic, discussion-rich classes as well as through internships, field experiences, and a year-long Senior Project sequence.

College of Arts and Sciences:
Stetson’s College of Arts and Sciences (http://www.stetson.edu/portal/artsci/) is the largest and most diverse of the University’s colleges and schools. With nineteen academic departments and nine interdisciplinary programs, the College is the liberal arts core of the University; it includes the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, education, and creative arts. A great strength of the College is its faculty of approximately 140 full-time teacher-scholars. The College offers 31 undergraduate majors and 34 undergraduate minors; six graduate degrees are offered in Education, Counselor Education, and Creative Writing. Every undergraduate major requires a senior research project, giving students the opportunity to design and carry out independent research under faculty mentorship. Our academic programs are shaped by the values of social justice and civic responsibility. All of our courses and programs of study promote engaged learning, whereby students create connections between the classroom or lab and the local, regional, and global community. The academic programs of the College of Arts and Sciences prepare students to live significant lives, to interact with and positively affect the world around them.

The University: 
Founded in 1883, Stetson University (http://www.stetson.edu) is a private, selective university comprised of a rich array of liberal arts and professional academic programs. Collectively, Stetson’s faculty works with nearly 4,000 students in undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. The University’s historic main campus, located in DeLand, enrolls more than 2,600 students in undergraduate programs in the College of Arts & Sciences, the School of Business Administration, and the School of Music. Stetson University College of Law, Florida’s first law school, moved from the main campus to Gulfport in 1954, and, with the addition of the Tampa Law Center, serves approximately 1,000 students working full-time or part-time toward J.D. or LL.M. degrees. Graduate programs offered include Business, Accounting, Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Creative Writing. Florida’s oldest private institution of higher learning, Stetson has regularly been ranked among the best regional universities in the Southeast and was the first private college in Florida to be granted a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.

Stetson University provides an inspiring education that engages students with rigorous academic and creative study grounded in liberal learning and promotes civic values of personal and social responsibility. Working closely with faculty and with one another, students cultivate abilities to explore issues deeply, think critically, reason empirically, speak persuasively, and connect ideas creatively. Firmly committed to inclusive excellence, our vibrant community of teacher-scholars nurtures the potential of individual students to lead lives of significance and prepares each to meet the challenges of shaping the future—locally, nationally, and globally.

The Community:
DeLand is a town of 32,000 inhabitants located 20 miles west of Daytona Beach and 35 miles northeast of Orlando. The area offers extensive cultural as well as recreational activities.

Salary: Salary is competitive.

Starting Date:  August 8, 2023

Application:
Applicants must supply the following materials for initial consideration: 1) cover letter detailing how the applicant’s professional accomplishments and experiences meet the requirements of the position; 2) curriculum vitae; 3) transcripts (copies acceptable for screening); 4) teaching evaluations and other evidence of teaching effectiveness (e.g., peer observation letters); and 5) confidential letters of recommendation from three professional references (at least two of which should be able to address teaching ability). In the cover letter, candidates are encouraged to highlight skills and experiences that demonstrate a commitment to social justice, diversity, and inclusion.

All information may be submitted electronically to Dr. Jelena Petrovic, Search Committee Chair, at communicationstudies@stetson.edu. While electronic submissions are preferred, alternatively application materials may be mailed to

Dr. Jelena Petrovic, Search Committee Chair
Department of Communication and Media Studies
Stetson University
421 N. Woodland Blvd. Unit 8377
DeLand, FL 32723

Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. For full consideration, applications should be submitted by February 24, 2023.

Stetson University is an Equal Opportunity Employer that affirms cultural diversity and inclusion as a core value of academic excellence at Stetson University. We are committed to achieving equal access in education, employment, and participation through the recruitment and retention of outstanding faculty, staff, and students from diverse backgrounds, and to meaningful academic and intellectual transformation in curriculum, research and service. We are dedicated to actions and policies that foster a community in which individuals with various identities, cultures, backgrounds, and viewpoints work together to create opportunities for engagement through rewarding and fulfilling careers and personal experiences in a culturally and racially diverse society and a globalized world. We strongly encourage members of historically under-represented and economically-disadvantaged groups and women to apply for employment. Stetson University is an EEO, ADA, ADEA, and GINA employer.