Assistant Professor of Communication, tenure track, starting August 2025

Position Summary

The School of Communication at Western Michigan University invites applications for a full-time tenure track position in Organizational/Strategic Communication at the rank of Assistant Professor, to begin August 2025. Faculty will contribute to a dynamic program in organizational/strategic communication situated within a liberal arts curriculum, emphasizing critical thinking to inform student work. Candidates with scholarship that demonstrates a commitment to social justice issues are especially encouraged to apply.

The candidate should have experience with (or interest in) the operation and growth of internship programs and other professional field experiences for undergraduates. The instructional load for this position includes administrative and teaching responsibilities related to the internship program, which accounts for a substantial part of the instructional workload.

Qualifications

Ph.D. in organizational or strategic communication (ABDs are eligible for consideration but are required to complete their degree requirements by August 5, 2025). Candidates need to provide evidence of strong potential to develop and maintain a nationally recognized program of scholarship and demonstrate the capacity for excellence in teaching. The ideal applicant is a scholar with the ability to teach organizational or strategic communication, conflict, or teamwork communication, as well as to direct the inaugural undergraduate internship program (by identifying and coordinating placements). Required qualifications include the ability to teach quantitative research methods. The successful candidate will demonstrate a commitment to diversity and inclusion in their scholarship, teaching, service, or student mentoring.

General Summary

University

We would like to recognize that Western Michigan University is located on lands historically occupied by Ojibwe, Odawa, and Bodewadmi nations. WMU seeks to acknowledge and honor this ancestral land of the Three Fires Confederacy, the sacred lands of all indigenous peoples and their continued presence.

Western Michigan University (WMU), located in Southwest Michigan, is a vibrant, nationally recognized student-centered research institution with an enrollment of more than 19,000. WMU delivers high-quality undergraduate instruction, has a strong graduate division, and fosters significant research activities. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has placed WMU among the 185 public institutions in the nation designated as research universities with high research activities. Western Michigan University is a globally engaged university that promotes success for learners at all levels and stands out among America's more than 4,600 public and private degree-granting colleges and universities.

This hiring coincides with ongoing anti-racism efforts at the university focused on creating an inclusive environment and equitable structures for hiring, teaching, learning and research. These include the Racial Justice Advisory Committee, which recently made recommendations toaddress systemic racism on campus, andthe president's Mountaintop Initiative, a $2 million fund to advance these recommendations, as well as other proposals from the WMU community. The university also recently received a $550 million endowed, multi-year Empowering Futures Gift, which will fund many projects and initiatives that aim to break down the barriers created by historic inequities. The Empowering Futures Gift is the largest gift for a public institution of higher education in U.S. history.

INSIGHT into Diversityconsistently honors WMU for its outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Ability

Annual employment surveys show that upon graduation, 9 of 10 WMU graduates are employed, with 90% landing positions related to their degree.

Military Timesranks WMU among the best institutions for veterans, and WMU is the only Michigan school to appear on all nine years of its annual Best for Vets list.

WMUoperates the nation's largest and most comprehensive collegiate support program for former foster-care youth and is an international model for teaching, research, learning, and public service related to foster care and higher education.

Washington Monthly ranked WMU first in the state of Michigan for its impact on alumni earnings 10 years after graduation.

Department

The School of Communication at Western Michigan University embraces the philosophy of engaged scholarship - a philosophy that grounds our theory and research in a practical effort to make an impact on our personal relationships, organizations, communities, society, and the global community. We have a nationally recognized master's program and 17 tenured/tenure-track faculty who have national and international research and creative activity records and who are actively engaged in student mentoring. Our graduate program engages students in public scholarship, providing transparent criteria for student success, and employs the best practices such as teamwork, interdisciplinary approaches, and mentoring. Our undergraduate curriculum serves approximately 400 students in five majors, including Communication Studies; Digital Media and Journalism; Film, Video, and Media Studies; Interpersonal Communication; and Strategic Communication - and 200 students in three minors: Communication, User-Experience/ Human-Computer Interaction (UX/HCI), and Journalism. This position coincides with a multi-million-dollar renovation of Dunbar Hall, to include a highly visible broadcast production space ideal for live news and sports shows, interviews with visiting scholars, professionals, or alumni, chroma key, photography shoots, or other performance-based activities.

The School of Communication is committed to the University's strategic direction on inclusive excellence and equity and actively works to promote a diverse, equitable, and inclusive University culture to ensure social sustainability and accessibility. We strongly encourage applications from candidates in underrepresented groups, including those with physical disabilities, neurological disabilities, as well as multilingual candidates for whom English is not a first language. We seek all candidates who have a passion for inclusion, accessibility, and related themes.

In support of the School of Communication's commitment to scholarly and creative activity, the successful candidate will enjoy many opportunities to develop their research and/or production activity portfolio. Travel funding will be provided, with support for presenting at conferences, publishing in professional publications, creative activities, and developing leadership experience.

College

The College of Arts and Sciences represents the foundation of learning and the academic heart of WMU. As articulated in the College of Arts and Sciences strategic plan, we are committed to fostering a community of diverse, inclusive, equitable, and globally engaged scholars, learners, and leaders. With 23 departments and interdisciplinary schools and institutes, WMU's largest college offers a broad range of learning opportunities and career paths for our students. CAS students are among the very top students in the country, having received very competitive awards including Goldwater Fellowships, Udall Scholarships, Boren Fellowships, and Fulbright awards, among others.

Kalamazoo

Kalamazoo is located only two and a half hours by car from Chicago and Detroit and only 45 minutes from the beaches of Lake Michigan. It is in one of Michigan's designated research corridors, maintaining a strong life sciences/biotech presence and supporting two leading medical centers. With 263,000 people in the greater Kalamazoo area, the community offers an array of cultural events, entertainment, and all-season recreation. The city supports an international keyboard competition and a nationally recognized symphony and has earned a reputation for a vibrant community theatre and visual arts scene. Relatedly, Kalamazoo is committed to social justice, community development and the elimination of generational poverty through its Shared Prosperity Kalamazoo initiative, with structural budgetary support provided by the City of Kalamazoo's Foundation for Excellence program. Kalamazoo also is the home of the Kalamazoo Promise, a scholarship program offered to all Kalamazoo Public School students that covers up to 100% of tuition and mandatory fees to all Michigan public (and many private) institutions of higher learning.

Compensation

Competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience, with an excellent benefits package, including participation in TIAA. Opportunities exist to teach in the summer for additional compensation.

Starting Date

August 2025

Applications

Review of applications will begin November 27, 2024, and will continue until the position is filled. Applicants should visit http://www.wmich.edu/hr/jobs to apply. Online applications include:

1. Curriculum vita

2. Letter of application that addresses fulfillment of qualifications and demonstrates skills, knowledge, and/or success in diversity, equity, and inclusion work

3. Representative examples of convention and/or published research

4. Three samples of teaching materials (e.g., syllabi, assignments, prepared materials for class)

5. Unofficial copies of graduate transcripts

Please direct any questions to Andrew Bryant (andrew.d.bryant@wmich.edu)

Qualifications

Ph.D. in organizational or strategic communication (ABDs are eligible for consideration but are required to complete their degree requirements by August 5, 2025). Candidates need to provide evidence of strong potential to develop and maintain a nationally recognized program of scholarship and demonstrate the capacity for excellence in teaching. The ideal applicant is a scholar with the ability to teach organizational or strategic communication, conflict, or teamwork communication, as well as to direct the inaugural undergraduate internship program (by identifying and coordinating placements). Required qualifications include the ability to teach quantitative research methods. The successful candidate will demonstrate a commitment to diversity and inclusion in their scholarship, teaching, service, or student mentoring.

Responsibilities

Candidates will teach organizational or strategic communication courses in their area(s) of expertise, direct an internship program, and maintain a nationally recognized research agenda. The ability to teach foundational courses also is expected.