Assistant Professor of English
Job Description
Full job description
Position Summary
Join our Racial Equity-Centered College!
Pierce College District is student-centered and mission-driven to ensure that all our students thrive and reach their fullest potential. As an institution committed to antiracism, we are action-oriented and intentional in dismantling every systemic barrier that prevents Black and Brown student excellence and liberation.
As Pierce College deepens its commitment to racial equity, it is of the highest priority that we focus our tenure-track and permanent status faculty hiring process to seek faculty with the expertise to lead our institution in serving Black and Brown students. This cluster hire is an opportunity for the college community to continue to act upon our values but more importantly for the empowering of our students' self-efficacy, for cultivating sense of belonging, and for the diversity of our entire student body, especially Black and Brown students, being reflected in a position of power in the classroom. Learn more about Pierce's faculty cluster hire here: https://www.pierce.ctc.edu/hr-faculty-cluster-hire.
We are excited to invite you to bring your lived experiences and authentic selves to contribute to discourse and action in supporting Black and Brown students.
About the Program
The Pierce College English Department is a dynamic group of faculty who serves a diverse student population in composition, literature, creative writing, and humanities coursework. English courses serve to prepare students in written communication for all of the academic pathways at Pierce College. The department actively interrogates data to identify areas of inequity and has been essential to advancing college’s commitment to equitable access, retention, outcomes, and transition. The department has been innovative in implementing guided self-placement processes and co-requisite freshman composition courses to advance student success, particularly for our most marginalized students. English Department courses and faculty are vital to our very healthy certificate, associate, and transfer programs, as well as our applied baccalaureate degree programs.
About Pierce College
Pierce College is an innovative community college striving to re-envision our institution through an antiracist framework to advance equity in student engagement and learning. We value student learning experiences that foster inclusion and intercultural engagement in the classroom and that expand into our local and global communities. Faculty, staff, and administrators work collaboratively to lead initiatives that advance equitable student success: from closing areas of inequity to building guided career pathways. The college serves over 15,000 students in basic skills, transfer, and professional technical programs. Through continuous efforts, we have improved retention rates by 17% and graduation rates by 89%. This year, Pierce was again named a top community college by several national organizations.
Pierce College employees and students live and work in various communities that offer the diverse cultural and environmental benefits of rural, suburban, and urban lifestyles in the Pacific Northwest. As part of the community and technical college system in Washington State, the District includes Pierce College Fort Steilacoom, Pierce College Puyallup, Pierce College at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, as well as other extended learning sites.
Essential Functions
Responsibilities of the successful candidate include:
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Designing and teaching a variety of courses in the department, specifically composition and rhetoric, in a manner that promotes Black and Brown excellence
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Creating race-conscious course assessments and evaluations, assessing data, and engaging in continuous improvement of courses based on that analysis in order to advance student achievement of outcomes, success in subsequent courses, and impact on retention, graduation, and successful transition to employment or further education;
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Continuously innovating inclusive pedagogy and active learning experiences (campus, online, hybrid) in response to assessment and evidence/data analysis;
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Demonstrating cultural humility and intercultural engagement, including an awareness and understanding of historically marginalized populations, and the creation of an educational environment that affirms the identities and communications of students of color;
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Incorporating appropriate and engaging technology across modalities;
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Creatively designing learning experiences that extend beyond delivering content and assist students in achieving course, program, and degree outcomes, including the college's five core abilities of Intercultural Engagement; Critical, Creative and Reflective Thinking; Information Competency; Global Citizenship; and Effective Communication;
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Contributing to a collaborative and innovative department, division, and institution;
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Leading efforts to increase student success in English, including closing areas of inequity, particularly with regard to race and ethnicity;
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Teaching, advising, and mentoring students holistically from recruitment to completion and transition to employment or further education;
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Engaging in shared governance including district-wide efforts to build an antiracist institution focused on action to advance access, retention, and success for our most marginalized and vulnerable students and employees;;
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Actively engaging with cohort peers as part of the First-Year Faculty Cohort in the first year of the tenure process, which will provide opportunities to engage with practices that enable Black and Brown student excellence.
Qualifications
Required:
- Graduate Degree in English, composition, rhetoric and/or writing
Application Process
To be considered for this position, applicants must include the following items in their application package:
WITHIN THE SCHOOLJOBS.COM PROFILE AND SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTION SECTION:
- References: contact information for 3 professional references with name, relationship to candidate, address, email address, and telephone number. Letters of recommendation will not be accepted.
- Cover Letter (approx. 500 words): Letter of formal application that addresses how your experience and education qualifies you to perform the assigned responsibilities.
- Supplemental Question (approx. 500 words): Responses to the following: Provide specific examples how you fulfill at least 2 of the following 4 criteria: (1) Have experience or have demonstrated commitment to teaching, mentoring and/or engaging in services for Black and Brown students; (2) Have demonstrated knowledge of barriers for Black and Brown students and experience in addressing disproportionate impact at an institution; (3) Have experience in or have demonstrated commitment in facilitating Black and Brown students’ navigating a higher education institution; (4) Have experience or have demonstrated commitment to integrating elements of culturally relevant and inclusive pedagogy. ****Please see: Tenure-track Faculty Cluster Hire to Support Black and Brown Students | Pierce College District (ctc.edu)***
- Curriculum Vitae: Detailed curriculum vitae of all educational and professional experience, including a list of courses taught.
- Relevant Transcripts: Unofficial copies of relevant college and university transcripts that include degree received and confer date. Degrees earned outside the US: international transcripts MUST include a foreign credential evaluation. For a list of approved credential evaluation services visit: https://www.naces.org/members. Unofficial transcripts acceptable for application process; official transcripts required prior to hire.
***APPLICATION MATERIALS NOT INCLUDED IN THE LIST OF ATTACHMENTS WILL NOT BE VIEWED. Birthdates, social security numbers and photos will be redacted. If possible, please do not include these in your application materials***
All correspondence regarding your application status will be sent to the email address associated with your SchoolJobs.com account. Please make sure to check your spam folder periodically, in the case of an automated, incorrect delivery.
Terms of Employment
This position, which is contingent upon funding, is a full-time, tenure-track assignment of 174 contracted days per year with the tenure process starting in September 2025. Assignment may include district discipline/program coordination, as well as evening, hybrid, and/or online teaching. This is a District position with a "home" campus assignment. Initial placement of this position will be at the Puyallup campus. Candidates will be working for a District Dean and will be required to attend district meetings as well as collaborate with colleagues across the district and across departments. This position requires regular and consistent attendance.
Salary & Benefits
Initial salary placement is based on the current full-time faculty salary schedule and is dependent upon education and experience. Salary placement for newly hired full-time faculty will be at one of five levels based upon qualifications including teaching experience and credentials. The five levels range from $72,882 to $78,675 per 174-day academic year. Opportunities for summer employment and other assignments are in addition to the base salary.
While not guaranteed, full-time faculty may have the opportunity for additional income during the academic year and summer through additional teaching. These opportunities are based on a variety of considerations including: student needs, balanced schedules, faculty preference and other appropriate factors.
Full-time faculty may receive an annual COLA equal to that allocated by the state. Newly tenured faculty members will receive a $2,000 salary increase starting in the first year of their tenure. For more information and other promotional opportunities, please see Section 10.3 Faculty Salary Advancement in the PCFT Agreement located here: Human Resources - Collective Bargaining Agreements | Pierce College District (ctc.edu)
Washington State offers one of the most competitive benefits packages in the nation, worth an additional value equivalent to approximately 35% of your salary. A comprehensive health care benefits package for you and your dependents includes medical, dental and vision insurance. Life and long-term disability insurance plans; vacation, sick and personal leave; reduced tuition; and retirement benefits are also provided. For more information, please visit our Benefits and Leave website at: https://www.pierce.ctc.edu/hr- benefits.
Reasonable Accommodation
Applicants with disabilities who require assistance with the application and employment process will be accommodated to the extent reasonably possible. Requests should be made to the District Human Resources Office by calling 253-964-7342. Persons who are deaf or hard of hearing may dial 711 to place a call through Washington Relay, the state's free telecommunication access service.
Screening & Interview Process
Only those candidates who have complied with the application process and meet the required qualifications will be considered. Following the review of application materials, the most qualified candidates will be contacted for an interview. Check the email account you used for the application process for communication regarding the status of your application. Application materials submitted to Pierce College are the property of the College and will not be returned.
Conditions of Employment
Applicants considered for this position will be required to disclose if they are the subject of any substantiated findings or current investigations related to sexual misconduct at their current employment and past employment. Disclosure is required under Washington State Law RCW28B.112.
Pierce College has adopted a Drug Free Workplace policy. As a condition of employment, employees must agree to abide by the requirements established in that policy.
Bargaining Unit
This position has been designated as a bargaining unit position represented by the Pierce College Federation of Teachers (PCFT).
Equal Opportunity
The Pierce College District is an equal opportunity employer. The Board of Trustees and Pierce College District are committed to providing equal opportunity and will not discriminate in terms and conditions of employment and personnel practices for all persons without regard to race, color, national origin, age, perceived or actual physical or mental disability, pregnancy, genetic information, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, creed, religion, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or use of a trained guide dog or service animal.
For more information or assistance regarding your application, contact Human Resources at: jobs@pierce.ctc.edu or 253-964-7342.
Questions regarding equal employment opportunities or discrimination may be directed to the following:
Sean Cooke, Title IX Coordinator (253) 840-8472
Davi Kallman, ADACO / Section 504 Coordinator (253) 912-3715
Deena Forsythe, Interim Vice President for Human Resources (253) 964-6586
Paula Henson-Williams, District Affirmative Action Officer (253) 864-3229
*Please mention you saw this ad on DisabledInCareers.*
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