Department: Philosophy & Religion - 32250

Brief Summary of Work for this position:

The College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina Wilmington is embarking on a (multi-year) cluster hire initiative to hire multiple faculty across a range of disciplines (History, Psychology, Sociology, Criminology, Film Studies, and Religious Studies) whose scholarly/creative focus is in the area of Race, Racial Inequality, Social Justice, or Africana Studies. Our goal is to instantiate our values of diversity and inclusion as we build regional and national interdisciplinary strengths in these areas. Given our commitment to community engagement and engaged scholarship we seek to appoint faculty who are deeply imbedded in the communities they study. The position of Assistant Professor of Religion within the Department of Philosophy and Religion is part of this initiative.

This nine-month tenure-track position starting August 2021 carries a teaching load of three courses per term while maintaining an active research agenda in their specialization area. The position also includes the opportunity for additional summer school teaching. Selected candidate will be actively engaged in departmental meetings, committees, and special project work to further goals of the department.
We seek to build a network of researchers, scholars, and artists that will support the ongoing work in which we are engaged and to set a path forward as we grow these areas of critical study into regional and national strengths. In addition to the standard diversity recruitment measures mentioned, this hire will be advertised across diversity-platforms as a coordinated cluster hire that has as its ultimate goal to build recognized strengths these areas.

Minimum Education and Experience Requirements:

Doctoral degree in Religion, or a closely related field with at least 18 hours of graduate coursework closely related to the discipline at the time of employment.

Applicants who are ABD for the terminal degree may be considered depending on expected completion date.

Preferred Education, Knowledge, Skills & Experience :

Previous teaching experience at the undergraduate level is preferred

Ability to teach the introductory religion courses in the Philosophy and Religion department in additional upper level courses fitted to the applicant's research interests, along with courses in Africana Studies.

Required Certifications or Licensure:

No certifications/licensure needed.

Primary Purpose of Organizational Unit:

The Department of Philosophy and Religion shares the university’s commitment to excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service. A constituent of the College of Arts and Sciences, the department supports the university’s mission to ground all of its students in the humanities by providing a quality undergraduate education taught by a student-centered faculty who consider their scholarship, research, and service to be essential to effective teaching. It seeks to foster philosophy and the study of religions and to encourage a critical appreciation of the deepest issues of human experience of the past and present, in our own culture and globally. It plays a vital role in the University’s effort to stimulate intellectual curiosity, imagination, rational thinking, and thoughtful expression in its students and in the community.
The Department of Philosophy and Religion strives to maintain a diverse faculty who excel in traditional modes of teaching, research, and service but who are also engaged in innovative approaches to teaching and scholarship. The department has been committed since its inception to internationalization of the curriculum, to community and regional service, and to university-wide and interdisciplinary programs, and it supports the university’s resolution to make technology an integral part of all of its activities.
In all it undertakes, UNCW’s Department of Philosophy and Religion reaffirms the values espoused by the University and the College: diversity, an international perspective, community citizenship, and the pursuit and communication of knowledge as integral to being human.

College/School Information:

The College of Arts and Sciences is UNCW's largest academic unit, employing 450 full-time and 150 part-time faculty members and awarding approximately two-thirds of the university's academic credits. Ours is a comprehensive arts & sciences college comprising the arts, the humanities, the mathematical and natural sciences, and the social and behavioral sciences.
The College's twenty-five units offer a variety of undergraduate majors leading to the Bachelor of Arts, the Bachelor of Fine Arts, the Bachelor of Music, and the Bachelor of Science. The College also offers a full complement of minors, including interdisciplinary minors such as Africana studies, Asian studies, Forensic studies, Latin America studies, Middle East & Islamic studies, Native-American studies, and Women's and Gender studies, among others.
Applied learning is a hallmark of the student experience in the College of Arts and Sciences. Each of the College's departments requires an applied learning experience as a part of the curriculum for its undergraduate majors. Examples include faculty-directed research, internships, service learning, and capstone courses and projects, all of which challenge students to integrate various strands of knowledge and to apply that knowledge to broader, real-world or real disciplinary situations. Through applied learning, students in the College gain direct hands-on experience with the skills of their major fields as an essential part of their preparation for life and career.
In addition to its undergraduate major and minor programs, the College is chiefly responsible for the curriculum that comprises the UNCW's University Studies Program, through which all UNCW undergraduates gain a foundation in the liberal arts and develop the transferable skills essential for life in the twenty-first century. The College strives in its undergraduate programs and in its University Study offerings to nurture creative thinking, intellectual curiosity, diversity and inclusion, and academic integrity in students while providing them with a solid foundation of knowledge in their chosen fields. Upon completion of their undergraduate studies, College of Arts and Sciences students will have the necessary preparation for rewarding careers, advanced study, effective citizenship, and meaningful lives.
Graduate degrees awarded in the College of Arts and Sciences include the Master of Arts, the Master of Fine Arts, the Master of Public Administration, the Master of Science and the Doctor of Philosophy (Marine Biology and Psychology). In addition, the nationally awarded Graduate Liberal Studies program offers a personalized curriculum of interdisciplinary study leading to the Master of Arts. Post-baccalaureate certificates in Applied Statistics, Environmental Studies, Forensic Science, Conflict Management and Resolution, Gender Studies and Hispanic Studies are available. Graduate programs in the College are designed to develop intellectual competence and to prepare the student for careers in business, industry, government, teaching or for further study at the doctoral level.

Applicant Instructions:

Applications will be accepted until 11:59pm on December 11, 2020, the position closing date. To apply, please complete the online application process available at https://jobs.uncw.edu/ and attach the following materials as an Adobe PDF document including:
1. Cover Letter – letter of interest
2. Curriculum Vita
3. Writing Sample (chapter or article length)
Note that letters of application without the requested components will not meet the application requirements.
Please note that a minimum of three professional references are required for all applications. References will be requested during the screening process. Please direct questions concerning the search to Dr. Diana Pasulka, Chair, Religion Search Committee, at pasulkad@uncw.edu. For questions regarding the online application process, contact Ms. Melinda Cooper at cooperm@uncw.edu.

AA/EEO Statement:

At the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW), our culture reflects our values of inclusion, diversity, globalization, ethics and integrity and innovation and we are committed to providing equality of educational and employment opportunity for all persons without regard to race, sex (such as gender, gender identity, marital status, childbirth, and pregnancy), age, color, national origin (including ethnicity), religion, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation, veteran status, military service member status, genetic information, or relationship to other university constituents – except where sex, age, or ability represent bona fide educational or occupational qualifications or where marital status is a statutorily established eligibility criterion for State funded employee benefit programs. UNCW believes that embracing the unique contributions of our faculty, staff and students is critical to our success and paramount in being recognized for our global mindset.