Associate Professor or Full Professor and Department Chair Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies

Application Deadline
March 25, 2022

Position Details
This full-time faculty position is on-campus and in-person.

The Department for Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies (CRES), School of Interdisciplinary Studies seeks strong leaders and teacher-scholars for the position of chair. The CRES Department Chair: (1) understands themselves as an engaged, active, and visible academic colleague, (2) possesses an inspiring leadership ethos of exemplary workplace citizenship, and (3) supports while enhancing stellar unit-wide achievements in the primary areas of teaching, research/creative activities, service, and community engagement. In addition to serving as a successful critical thought leader on the Dean’s leadership team, the CRES chair will lead as an innovative bridge builder between SIS departments and others campus wide. Our new CRES chair also will engage in numerous teaching, research, and leadership activities that directly or indirectly support the transformative mission and vision of SIS either entrepreneurially or as assigned by the dean.

The CRES chair will be a tenurable member of CRES at the rank of either an advanced associate or full professor. Interdisciplinary specializations in the following disciplines are strongly preferred: Education, Business, Fine Arts, or a STEM/Professional school area uniquely twinned with a humanities-focused field of concentration. This position requires:
•An exemplary teacher-scholar possessing three or more years of extensive administrative leadership marked by a successful record of quantifiable excellence in key areas of (1) strategic vision and organizational management, (2) curriculum iteration, design, and/or modification, (3) faculty and student success, and (4) a masterful comprehension of university systems and the dynamic states of work-flow cohesiveness between, among, and across academic units at premier higher ed institutions.
•Demonstrated state-of-the art proficiency in DEI leadership excellence that is twinned if not organic to the candidate’s shared-governance philosophy in action.
•Evidenced comfortability and leadership agility in making tough administrative decisions that, at times, prove favorable and/or unfavorable to colleague-peers, sometimes both and simultaneously at others.
•Possessing unquestionable integrity and a fidelity to direct reports, those in one’s reporting chain, and overall unit mission
•An exemplary teacher (strengths in DEI/antiracist pedagogy strongly preferred)
•Demonstrated success and ongoing potential for productivity in research, publication, creative exhibitions, and/or performance.
•The CRES department chair will report directly to the dean of the School of Interdisciplinary Studies and be an excellent communicator in an array of leadership and communication contexts.
•Pedagogy and leadership grounded in candidate’s teaching philosophy and personal theory of democratic leadership.

Department Details
The Department of Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies (CRES) offers an interdisciplinary educational experience through which students, along with faculty, critically examine power, race, and indigeneity with a focus on the lives, experiences, cultures, and perspectives of Native American, Black American, Latinx and Caribbean American, Asian American, Pacific Islander American, Arab American, and other peoples of color within the United States to understand and dismantle white supremacy and other systems of oppression.

School/College Description
Established in 2018, the School of Interdisciplinary Studies connects experts, ideas, and communities to promote empathy, respect, and social justice. Our vision is to transform the TCU community through diversity, equity, and inclusion; to enable scholarly and radical collaborations; and to model deep, integrated learning that connects TCU’s academic disciplines, faculty, and students to our broader communities. The School offers bachelor’s degrees and graduate certificates in Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies and Women and Gender Studies; a bachelor’s in Interdisciplinary Inquiry; and undergraduate minors in CRES, WGST, African American and Africana Studies, and Latinx Studies. The School also oversees the student success program University Life, the Intensive English Program, and the IdeaFactory, an innovation hub that provides workshops and courses on human-centered design.

University & Fort Worth Description
ABOUT TCU

Founded in 1873, Texas Christian University sits on 302 acres nestled in a primarily residential part of Fort Worth, just minutes away from downtown. The University includes seven schools and colleges, in addition to the John V. Roach Honors College and the Burnett School of Medicine.

Currently, TCU enrolls more than 10,200 undergraduates and 1,700 graduate students. Twenty-eight percent of students self-identify as a member of a minority group, five percent are international students, and forty-five percent are from out-of-state. Our students are supported by more than 2,200 faculty and staff. The University has more than 700 full-time faculty members and is a top 100 National University as classified by US News and World Report and has a Carnegie Classification of R2: Doctoral Universities – High Research Activity.

At TCU, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are an educational imperative directly tied to the University mission, vision, and strategic plan. Fulfilling TCU’s mission to develop ethical leaders and critical thinkers in a global community depends on the University’s ability to attract and retain students, faculty, and staff from diverse backgrounds. A diverse and inclusive campus leads to innovation, broadened perspective, and understanding—values that are foundational aspects of higher education. For the fourth consecutive year, TCU has earned the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award, which highlights ongoing commitment to build a comprehensive DEI strategy that aligns with core values and creates a campus culture where everyone is respected and included.

ABOUT FORT WORTH

Like TCU, Fort Worth has the approachable, friendly charm of a smaller town, but offers the amenities, cultural activities, diversity and unique personality of a much larger city. Fort Worth, Texas, is the 13th largest city in the United States with an ever-growing population nearing 1 million. Fort Worth and TCU have grown together in a nearly 150-year relationship. You’ll find that many Horned Frogs remain here after graduation, thanks to the region’s thriving job market. Fort Worth is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, the fourth largest metropolitan area in the United States, and the number 1 tourist destination in Texas. In 2018, bizjournals.com ranked Fort Worth the 7th most affordable city to live and work in the United States and U.S. News and World Report named Fort Worth one of the Best Places to Live. Fort Worth, Dallas and Arlington all rank among the top 25 most diverse cities in the country.

Fort Worth is known for its vast array of cultural, educational and entertainment opportunities. The city boasts three world class art museums—the Kimbell Art Museum, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. The Bass Performance Hall is one of the premier performance venues in the country. Concerts, film festivals and other events are held regularly at Sundance Square, Panther Island and Near Southside venues.

Required Application Materials & Application Instructions
1. A cover letter that addresses your reasons for applying for CRES chair and the unique qualifications that make you suited for the vision of SIS at TCU.

2. A statement showcasing your teaching and research that is attuned to issues of DEI and honors TCU's teacher-scholar model.

3. A vision statement that offers your short-term and long-term vision alongside your leadership philosophies in the context of a department committed to CRES.

4. A current CV that demonstrates your administrative, community-building, teaching, and scholarly experiences.

AA/EEO Statement
As an AA/EEO employer, TCU recruits, hires, and promotes qualified persons in all job classifications without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ethnic origin, disability, genetic information, covered veteran status, or any other basis protected by law.

Advertised: February 22, 2022 Central Standard Time
Applications close: