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Position Rank and Title: Assistant Professor in Applied-Biological Anthropology

School/Department Name: Anthropology

Compensation: Commensurate with qualifications, experience, and rank as established by the CSU Salary Schedule. See Benefits Summary for details about the CSU’s excellent employment benefits. Anticipated annual salary range for Assistant Professor is $86K-$90K.

Target Start Date: August 18, 2025

Application Deadline: December 1, 2024 (Applications accepted until filled or closed)

Position Description

The Anthropology Department at San José State University is pleased to announce a search for an Assistant Professor in Applied-Biological Anthropology, to begin in August 2025. We are seeking applicants with expertise in bioinformatics, data analytics, applied robotics, artificial intelligence, health equity, or design. The Department is particularly interested in candidates with expertise in innovative data science and AI approaches that can be applied to a range of topics such as health and disease, epigenetics, hominid evolution, biological variation, genomics, early human migration, forensic anthropology, demography, climate-induced human migration, ergonomics and product design, or human-robotic co-evolution. The successful candidate will teach a range of undergraduate and graduate courses that might include: medical anthropology, modernity and disease, human evolution, primates, forensic anthropology, bioarchaeology, osteology, applied anthropology, culture and adaptation, and quantitative methods.

The Anthropology Department has gained national recognition for its commitment to applying anthropology in an integrated, innovative way—by reconnecting the discipline’s subfields, encouraging interdisciplinary approaches, and collaborating with organizations. Anthropology faculty take a student-centered approach, providing dedicated advising, professional development, and career consultation. Students apply social science skills for a wide range of public, private, and non-profit organizations, and faculty encourage the development and implementation of projects that address real-world problems for partner organizations. Our faculty and students benefit from the Integrative Anthropology Laboratory, a facility that accommodates research projects in biological, archaeological, and cultural anthropology. (For more information, visit our website: sjsu.edu/anthropology/.)

The Anthropology Department and San José State University value diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Our excellence in research, teaching, and service can only be fully realized by faculty, students, and staff who share our commitment to these values. SJSU enrolls more than 36,000 students, many of whom are historically underserved, and around 45% are first-generation and 38% are Pell-recipients. SJSU is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and 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 the community can benefit from multiple ethnic and gender perspectives.

The Anthropology Department is part of the College of Social Sciences, which is committed to equitable and inclusive teaching and learning. The College sees faculty and student success as inextricably linked, and strives to provide culturally-sustaining, and academically-affirming approaches to supporting and engaging students and faculty. We provide opportunities for faculty development around asset-based, holistic student success, and support scholarship of engagement that addresses issues that affect our campus and community. In all of our endeavors, we strive to build leadership capacity and foster a culture of support and belonging for faculty, staff, and students.

Successful candidates will demonstrate evidence of a commitment to equity and inclusion through their research, teaching, and/or service. We ask that all applicants include a Diversity Statement with their application package. A guide to writing this statement can be found at SJSU Diversity Statement Guidelines, along with information about how these statements will be evaluated.

Required Qualifications

• A PhD (or equivalent) in anthropology or a closely related academic field from an accredited institution
• The ability to develop practice-oriented projects at local, regional, or global levels of organization that potentially involve students
• A demonstrated commitment to teaching excellence and advising for undergraduate and graduate students, and the capacity to develop and teach a range of courses
• A record of research productivity as demonstrated through peer-reviewed publications, scholarly presentations, grants, or community engaged research
• Applicants should demonstrate an awareness of and sensitivity to the educational goals of a socially and economically diverse student population as might have been gained in cross-cultural study, training, teaching, and other comparable experience
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

Priority will be given to candidates who possess one or more of the following:

• The ability to apply bioinformatics, data analytics, applied robotics, artificial intelligence, or design principles to anthropological work
• The ability to use anthropological knowledge and skills to address real-world problems in and between organizations, communities, and networks
• Experience or expertise in online teaching, remote learning, and high-impact educational strategies
• The ability to develop opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration across different departments and colleges
• Experience or expertise in one or more of the following areas: biological variation, epigenetics, hominid evolution, health and disease, genomics, early human migration, forensic anthropology, demography, climate-induced human migration, ergonomics and product design, human-robotic co-evolution
  
  

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and teach courses appropriate undergraduate and graduate courses, including general education courses
• Initiate local, regional, or global projects that potentially involve undergraduate or graduate students
• Provide academic advising for undergraduate students in Anthropology and Behavioral Science
• Supervise and advise graduate students in applied anthropology and participate fully as a member of the graduate faculty
• Maintain an active research as manifested in publications, professional presentations, community engaged research, or creative activity in support of tenure and promotion
• The candidate will participate in shared governance, usually in department, college, and university committees and other service assignments.
•  Faculty shall organize all their classes within the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS).
• The candidate must demonstrate awareness and experience understanding the needs of a student population of great diversity—in 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.
  
  

Other Duties

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.

Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act) and CSU systemwide policy, some faculty duties may lead to designation as a Campus Security Authority (CSA). CSAs are required to complete Clery Act training and to immediately report Clery incidents to the institution.

Application Procedure

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

• letter of interest
• curriculum vitae
• diversity statement
• statement of teaching interests/philosophy
• research plans
• list of three references [Please let recommenders know letters should be no more than 2 pages and are requested after applicants move onto candidacy.]

Inquiries may be directed to the Department Chair and Search Committee Chair: Dr. Charlotte Sunseri (charlotte.sunseri@sjsu.edu)

Conditional Offer

The work for this faculty position may only be performed in the State of California and requires establishing an on-campus presence. Employment is contingent upon US residence and proof of eligibility to work in the United States. Satisfactory completion of a background check (including a criminal records check) is required for employment. SJSU will make a conditional offer of employment, which 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 employee who was conditionally offered the position.

San José State University: Silicon Valley's Public University

Located in the heart of Silicon Valley — one of the most innovative 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 leading transformative educational institution, San José State is an essential partner in the technological, economic, cultural, and social development of Silicon Valley, the Bay Area, and California. SJSU is a top-200 school nationally in research funding and second highest in research productivity in the CSU system. Cutting-edge research, world-class scholarship, student-centered learning, diverse communities, and commitment to social justice, allow SJSU to provide life-changing opportunities and advance the public good locally and globally.

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.

Campus Security and 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 available 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.