Director of the School of Transborder Studies (Job #10917)
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Arizona State University
Arizona State University invites applications for the position of Director of the School of Transborder Studies (STS) with a concurrent appointment as tenured Professor. Appointment will be located on the Tempe campus with an anticipated start date of July 1, 2015. Salary and start-up will be competitive and commensurate with qualifications.
STS is the home to a dynamic and interdisciplinary faculty focused on the theoretical and empirical examination of transborder processes and communities. STS approaches transborder studies in a way that is both grounded in and inspired by the geographical specificity of the U.S.-Mexico border as well as the broad theoretical applications of border studies including health and community development, immigration and economy, cultural expression and adaptation, gender and sexuality studies, language and learning, questions of identity and representation of transborder Latina/o subjects. This approach is unique among U.S. universities and an emerging field of study globally. The location of STS in the Phoenix metropolitan area, a Latino hub and epicenter of rapid changes in the social and demographic landscape of the United States, makes this unit an ideal place to study these issues.
 STS offers an undergraduate degree in Transborder Chicana/o and Latino/a Studies with three interdisciplinary concentrations: media and expressive culture, transborder community development and health, and U.S. and Mexican regional immigration policy and economy. A graduate program is in development. A recently launched presidential initiative, the Program for Transborder Communities (PTC), advances cutting-edge research on the changing needs and growing political, economic, and cultural influence of Latina/os and other communities in the U.S.-Mexico border. Consistent with the ASU New American University vision of social embeddedness and transformation, STS maintains a strong program of collaboration with Latino communities in Arizona. STS also sustains a strong research and exchange program with Mexican academic institutions on the border and beyond.
The director will lead STS in shaping, consolidating, and expanding its different research, instructional, service, and community endeavors. As an intellectual leader, the director must be strongly committed to supporting the multidisciplinary, scholarly work that is central to the mission of STS; advancing the school’s standing as a center of knowledge production on transborder studies both nationally and internationally; and faculty governance. She or he also will be responsible for overseeing budgets, curriculum development, research advancement programs and funding, recruitment and retention, planning and implementation of degree programs, and community engagement actions.
Required qualifications include:
·       Ph.D. (or equivalent) in the social sciences or the humanities
·       Extensive scholarship and demonstrated leadership in his or her field with a focus on U.S. Latina/os and/or transborder studies appropriate to the rank of full Professor
·       A record of excellence in teaching, service, and administrative experience in an academic setting
Desired qualifications include:
·       A record of externally funded research
·       Experience with program development in curriculum and graduate education
·       Involvement with community-based research initiatives
·       Spanish language proficiency.
To apply, please submit as a single pdf to STSDirectorSearch@asu.edu: a cover letter addressing qualifications, a vision statement for STS, a curriculum vita, and the names and contact information for three references. All application materials will be held in confidence. This is an online, paperless search; only electronic applications will be accepted. Consideration of completed applications will begin on November 15, 2014. Complete applications will be considered on a weekly basis as necessary until the search is closed. A background check is required for employment.
Informal inquiries and nominations may be directed to Linda Lederman, Chair of the Search Committee, at linda.lederman@asu.edu.
Arizona State University is a VEVRAA Federal Contractor and an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. https://www.asu.edu/aad/manuals/acd/acd401.html  https://www.asu.edu/titleIX/