Texas Christian University

Fort Worth, TX

Professor and Department Chair

Deadline: October 12, 2020

Department: Women & Gender Studies

Type of Appointment : Tenure-track/tenured

Position Title: Professor and Department Chair

Position Details: Open until filled

Job Description:

The Department of Women & Gender Studies (WGST) at Texas Christian University invites applications for the position of department Chair at the rank of associate or full professor. Building on 25 years as an innovative interdisciplinary program, WGST gained departmental status in 2018. Housed in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies (SIS), we serve a community of faculty, staff, and students from numerous disciplines, representing every college on campus. We seek a creative and experienced leader who is both prepared and eager to provide intellectual and administrative leadership in the development of our interdisciplinary department and its links to the community. While areas of specialization are open, we are most interested in candidates whose expertise would contribute to the foundational, interdisciplinary curriculum of our department, particularly scholars whose inquiry focuses on one or more of the following: feminisms of color, decolonial feminisms, intersectional feminisms, queer/trans feminism, and transnational feminisms. Successful candidates will have experience in administration, ideally including program building, fund-raising, and mentoring of junior faculty. Candidates should also demonstrate evidence of dynamic and effective teaching and an active research agenda centered on women, gender, sexualities, feminist, and/or queer/trans studies. We especially seek scholars who employ intersectional analysis in their teaching and research. They should also possess interpersonal and networking skills that will enable the successful candidate to represent the department effectively to the campus and the community, and enhance our visibility and impact on campus, locally, and nationally. The teaching load is 3 courses per year, including lower- and upper-level undergraduate courses and graduate courses in our graduate certificate program, which draws participation from across campus. The successful candidate will provide financial/budgetary oversight, supervise staff, hiring, scheduling, and mentor junior faculty. Providing leadership in curriculum development for our undergraduate majors and minor, the Chair will also promote our strong relationships with stakeholders across campus and in the broader community. Required qualifications: • A doctoral degree in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, or another affiliated discipline with clear and convincing scholarly and interdisciplinary experience in WGST that would support intellectual leadership in the department; • A research, teaching, and service portfolio appropriate to the rank of associate or full professor at an R2 university with a strong liberal arts heritage; • Experience in feminist/womanist activism, community engagement, or service learning; • Administrative experience, preferably including budget management, financial planning, and fund-raising; • A track record in curriculum development, strategic planning, program building, and/or academic program leadership

Department Details:

Women’s Studies was founded 25 years ago at TCU as an interdisciplinary program with a minor, emphasis, and graduate certificate. Our program was renamed Women & Gender Studies in 2014, and gained departmental status two years ago, when we launched both BA and BS programs. Our BA emphasizes theory and interdisciplinary studies; our BS emphasizes application and activism. WGST students complete community-engaged and action-oriented projects, as well as internships with local organizations. Requirements for the major include newly developed courses in Queer Theories, Feminisms of Color, Feminist/Queer Inquiry, and Transnational Gender & Sexuality. We also offer a graduate certificate to students in the departments of English, History, Art History, Education, and Social Work, as well as students from Brite Divinity School. We have over 160 affiliate faculty and staff from schools and colleges across campus. In addition to active affiliates, the department houses an Associate Director, a half-time administrative assistant, a graduate assistant, and, starting this fall, our first tenure-track Assistant Professor. Our course enrollments, programs, and campus impact have grown exponentially in recent years with the addition of new resources, making this an especially exciting time to join our team.