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Department Summary

AFAM offers an undergraduate major and 3 minor concentrations (African American Studies, Black Women’s Studies and African Studies). Additionally, AFAM offers a BA + Master of Arts in Teaching (4+1) degree in connection with the Spartan Accelerated Graduate Education Scholars program. This degree program is designed to prepare graduates to teach History, Social Science, and Ethnic Studies in California public high schools. Furthermore, AFAM is one of three departments at SJSU that offers courses under the new CSU Ethnic Studies requirement. The department has three full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty and eight part-time or full-time lecturers. AFAM faculty are trained in various disciplines with distinct community and research interests that contribute to a vibrant community of activist scholars.


The Department of African American Studies aims to provide students throughout the University with critical, interdisciplinary, and specialized knowledge about African and African American populations and its communities. Our curriculum, programming, and scholarship examines, explores, and engages the intellectual traditions within the African Diaspora from multiple perspectives—historical, cultural, philosophical, political, social, and theoretical—in service to its students and society. We are always looking for qualified instructors who can teach lower-division survey courses (especially Area F - Ethnic Studies courses) and occasional upper-division (Masters required & PhD or applicable terminal degree preferred) or graduate-level courses (PhD or applicable terminal degree required) as well. The temporary faculty pool is continuously open, and positions are filled as needed, based on student enrollment and funding. Candidates may need to be available to begin teaching on short notice. The Fall term begins in late August and ends in mid-December; the Spring term begins mid-January and ends in mid-May.

Brief Description of Duties

The Department of African American Studies (AFAM) at San José State University invites highly qualified and motivated applicants for a pool of part-time teaching appointments. The AFAM Department welcomes all forms of diversity including race, ethnicity, geography, religion, gender, ethnicity, veterans, people with varied abilities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. AFAM invites applications from candidates who can demonstrate excellence in teaching and working with faculty, staff, and students from diverse backgrounds.

• Demonstrate awareness of and address the needs of a student population of great diversity–including age, abilities, cultural background, ethnicity, religion, economic background, primary language, sexual orientation, gender identity, and academic preparation–through inclusive course materials, teaching strategies and advisement.
• Faculty shall organize all their classes within the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS).
• All classes must be offered and meet as scheduled throughout the entire semester or term, in the mode assigned and listed in the schedule of classes (i.e., asynchronous, synchronous, bichronous, in-person, or hybrid).

Required Qualifications

• A Master’s degree in the field relevant to the curriculum or related discipline to teach lower-division courses.
• A Ph.D. degree in the field relevant to the curriculum or related discipline is required to teach upper-division courses.
• Preference will be given to candidates with prior teaching experience at the college or university level and who can furnish evidence of excellence in teaching.
• Applicants must have experience in teaching undergraduates from diverse ages, socioeconomic, cultural, and academic backgrounds.

Compensation

Compensation and salary range placement are determined by qualifications and experience. To learn more about range placement, please see University Policy S21-2.

Anticipated starting salary:

L-A / Range 2 - $5507 - $5959
L-B / Range 3 - $6221 - $7481
L-C / Range 4 - $6825 - $9431
L-D / Range 5 - $8593 - $10347

Range salaries above are the anticipated monthly salary rate of full-time AY faculty--part-time rates are prorated. There are 6 monthly payments per semester (full-time AY annual salary = rate x 12). See the Faculty Salary Schedule for more information.

Application Procedure

Click Apply Now to complete the SJSU Online Employment Application and attach the following documents:

• CV
• Cover Letter
• List of at least three (3) or as many as five (5) references
• Statement of Expertise, including professional experience, and courses you are qualified to teach
• Unofficial transcripts (an official transcript will be required upon initial appointment)

This is a continuing open position. 

Employment Conditions

Faculty employees must complete CSU employee training as assigned and required based on their role (e.g., preventing discrimination and harassment, gender equity and Title IX, health and safety). Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act) and CSU systemwide policy, the faculty member in this position will subject to ongoing review for designation as a Campus Security Authority (CSA). Individuals designated as Campus Security Authorities are required to immediately report Clery incidents to the institution and to complete Clery Act training as determined by the University Clery Director. Questions regarding CSA designation and training can be sent to the Clery Director at clerycompliance@sjsu.edu. The President may recommend or require compliance with safety measures that decrease the likelihood of COVID-19 transmission or illness and allows the core mission and activities of the campus to continue.

Conditional Offer

The work for this faculty position is located in the State of California and requires commuting to the campus. Employment is contingent upon US residence and proof of eligibility to work in the United States. Offers of employment are conditional, and may be rescinded if the background check reveals disqualifying information, and/or it is discovered that the candidate knowingly withheld or falsified information. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the continued employment of a current CSU employee who was conditionally offered the position.

Appointment is contingent upon budget and enrollment considerations and subject to order of assignment provisions in the collective bargaining agreement between California State University and California Faculty Association. These provisions state the order in which available courses must be assigned to faculty, starting with tenure line faculty and ending with new lecturer appointees.

San José State University: Silicon Valley's Public University

Located in the heart of Silicon Valley—one of the most innovative and diverse regions in the world—San José State University is the founding campus of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system and the first public university in the West. Recognized as a national leader in transformative higher education, San José State University is an essential contributor to the economic, cultural, and social development of Silicon Valley, the Bay Area, and California. SJSU ranks high nationally in research funding and is second highest in research productivity in the CSU system. Cutting-edge research, combined with world-class scholarship, student-centered learning opportunities, and experiential and interdisciplinary programs, allows SJSU to provide transformative opportunities that advance the public good locally and globally.

San José State enrolls more than 36,000 students — many are historically underserved, and around 45% are first-generation and 38% are Pell-recipients. SJSU is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander (AANAPISI) Serving Institution. The university’s commitment to social justice extends from its vibrant, inclusive campus to an international network of over 275,000 alumni. As such, San José State is committed to increasing the diversity of its faculty so our disciplines, students, and community can benefit from different and divergent cultural and identity perspectives.

Equal Employment Statement

San José State University prohibits discrimination on the basis of Age, Ancestry, Caste, Color, Disability, Ethnicity, Gender, Gender Expression, Gender Identity, Genetic Information, Marital Status, Medical Condition, Military Status, Nationality, Race, Religion, Religious Creed, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Sex Stereotype, and Veteran Status. This policy applies to all San José State University students, faculty, and staff as well as University programs and activities. Reasonable accommodations are made for applicants with disabilities who self-disclose. Note that all San José State University employees are considered mandated reporters under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and are required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment.

Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act and Campus Housing Fire Safety Notification

Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, the Annual Security Report (ASR) is also now available for viewing at https://www.sjsu.edu/clery/docs/SJSU-Annual-Security-Report.pdf. The ASR contains the current security and safety-related policy statements, emergency preparedness and evacuation information, crime prevention and Sexual Assault prevention information, and information about drug and alcohol prevention programming. The ASR also contains statistics of Clery crimes for San José State University locations for the three most recent calendar years. A paper copy of the ASR is available upon request by contacting the Office of the Clery Director by phone at 408-924-1501 or by email at clerycompliance@sjsu.edu.

Pursuant to the Higher Education Opportunity Act, the Annual Fire Safety Report (AFSR) is also available for viewing at https://www.sjsu.edu/clery/docs/SJSU-Annual-Fire-Safety-Report.pdf. The purpose of this report is to disclose statistics for fires that occurred within SJSU on-campus housing facilities for the three most recent calendar years, and to distribute fire safety policies and procedures intended to promote safety on Campus. A paper copy of the AFSR is available upon request by contacting the Housing Office by phone at 408-795-5600 or by email at uhs-frontdesk@sjsu.edu.