Assistant Professor, General Education - (997074)

About MRU

Mount Royal University (MRU) is located within the traditional homelands of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot, including the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai), the Tsuut’ina, and the Îyârhe Nakoda Nations of Bearspaw, Chiniki and Wesley. The City of Calgary is also home to the Métis Nation. 

Founded in 1910 and located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Mount Royal University grew into a vibrant college in the 1930s and became a mid-sized university in 2009. Mount Royal has carved out a distinct niche by offering smaller class sizes, a robust liberal education, and unique undergraduate programs. Currently, more than 15,000 credit students choose from 13 bachelor’s degrees and 38 majors.

Mount Royal University is committed to removing barriers and fostering the inclusion of voices that have been historically underrepresented or discouraged in our society. In support of our belief that diversity in our faculty and staff enriches the work, learning and research experiences for the entire campus community, we strongly encourage members of the designated groups (women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities, and diverse sexual orientation and gender identities) to apply and self-identify.

About the Department of General Education

The Department of General Education stewards the liberal education requirement at Mount Royal University. All students enrolled in degree programs at the institution take up to twenty-five percent of their courses from general education.  General Education courses at MRU engage four general themes that are relevant to all students: Numeracy and Scientific Literacy; Values, Beliefs and Identity; Communities and Societies; and, Communications.  The Department of General Education has jurisdiction over first year courses in the General Education provision, while a majority of the remaining courses are offered by academic units across the university. For this position, the successful candidate will be responsible for delivering courses that fall primarily into General Education’s Cluster-Two, Values, Beliefs, and Identity, but opportunities to teach in other Clusters and departments of the University may arise. 

About the Role

Mount Royal University is accepting applications for a full-time tenure track position at the rank of Assistant Professor in the Department of General Education with expertise in one or more humanities disciplines. The position will commence July 1, 2023.

The successful candidate's teaching responsibilities will principally be in support of Department of General Education's Cluster Two - Values, Beliefs and Identity. Cluster-Two courses Mount Royal critically explore the values, beliefs and ideas that shape human experience, including understandings and meaning expressed through art, music, literature, philosophy and critical thought from one or more world wisdom traditions around the globe. Cluster-Two courses emphasise the study of texts (broadly construed) from the ancient, medieval, early-modern, and modern periods. Cluster-Two professors normally come from humanities disciplines or their equivalent. Given the interdisciplinary, cross-cultural nature of General Education foundation level courses, professors should have, or be willing to acquire, some familiarity with “non-western” texts and oral traditions including those of Indigenous peoples. Accordingly, the successful candidate will develop and teach interdisciplinary courses reflecting a broad, innovative liberal education ethos.

The successful candidate will be expected to either have an established research agenda or the ability to immediately develop a research program. The successful candidate will be hired on the Teaching-Scholarship-Service (TSS) stream, and will therefore be expected to teach six 3-credit hour courses per academic year (typically 3 courses in the fall semester, 3 courses in the winter semester). Class sizes normally do not exceed 40 students. Full time faculty appointments include an expectation of some service contribution, which may include service on department, faculty, and university level committees, student advising, curriculum and programme development work, community engagement activities, and other administrative work in support of the University’s academic mission.

 Qualifications

The successful candidate is expected to have a completed PhD in a humanities or critical social science discipline such as history, literature, cultural studies, philosophy, political theory, psychology, cultural anthropology, art or music history, etc. or a terminal degree in the fine arts. While the subject area for this position is open, preference will be given to candidates with teaching experience at the postsecondary level, and who will be able to teach introductory level interdisciplinary courses centred on the concerns of the humanities and innovative conceptions of the aims of liberal education that embrace socially and culturally diverse communities.   The successful candidate will share Mount Royal’s commitment to scholarly informed teaching. That is, the bringing of scholarly experience and research findings into the classroom, engaging students in research, or by the critical, scholarly study and reflection on teaching and learning practices.  

What We Offer

MRU strives to be an employer of choice among Canadian post-secondary institutions.  At Mount Royal University we recognize that people are a combination of many intersecting identities; we work to cultivate an environment that welcomes the whole person and harnesses the strength that is available in our diversity, creating a rich and inclusive workplace.

Mount Royal University offers a competitive total compensation package including professional development funds, health and dental benefits, a pension, health and personal spending accounts, paid vacation, and a free membership in our fully equipped recreation centre. 

Our campus offers the convenience of a full medical clinic, dentist, and pharmacy, as well as a variety of wellness services such as physiotherapy and massage therapy. Campus Recreation offers many activities, including personal training, fitness classes, climbing, aquatics, sports, tournaments and certifications for students, employees, and the public.

Closing Date: May 1 2023   

The selection committee will begin reviewing applications on April 28, 2023. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Interviews are expected to occur in May 2023.