Hi AoIR Folks, We're hiring for an open-rank position here in the UMass Amherst Journalism Department. As you'll see, the opening contains a good amount of flexibility with respect to folks' scholarship, "though the successful candidate will be expected to possess expertise in media law and ethics." The text of the posting is below and here's the official link to the ad on our HR platform<https://careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-us/job/520380/open-rank-tenure-track-journalism-ethics-and-law>. Please spread this widely within your networks and feel free to direct questions to me, as I'm chairing the search committee. I am happy to call UMass home. I love my colleagues and students and have found it a lovely and exciting place to work. Josh Braun ________________________________ Open Rank Tenure Track — Journalism — Ethics and Law About University of Massachusetts Amherst UMass Amherst<https://www.umass.edu/>, the Commonwealth's flagship campus, is a nationally ranked public research university offering a full range of undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. The University sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, and offers a rich cultural environment in a bucolic setting close to major urban centers. In addition, the University is part of the Five Colleges (including Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College), which adds to the intellectual energy of the region. Job Description The Journalism Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is accepting applications for an open-rank, tenure-track professor position set to begin on September 1, 2024. The ideal candidate will constructively bridge the worlds of journalism studies and journalism practice, and contribute to our goal of providing an education that reflects and is responsive to our entire student body and the diverse industries in which they will become leaders. Candidates should have a demonstrated track record of outstanding academic or creative scholarship, as well as evidence of excellence in teaching and a commitment to service. The selected candidate will teach a 2/2 course load and contribute to the growth of the department in its offline, online, and multimodal endeavors. If hired at a senior rank, they will also be expected to help mentor their colleagues. The department is open to candidates with research interests in a range of areas and experience with any research methodology, though the successful candidate will be expected to possess expertise in media law and ethics. Requirements This is an open rank search. Teaching experience at the undergraduate level and a robust research or creative scholarship record are strongly preferred. ABD candidates with an expected completion date by August 31, 2024 will be considered. A candidate who is eligible to be appointed at a mid-career or senior-level position will be reviewed for tenure on an expedited basis if the qualifications permit. They are expected to have at least five (5) years of experience in a tenure-track professorship post in Journalism, Mass Communication, or a closely related field, preferably with undergraduate teaching experience and a robust record of research or creative scholarship. Ph.D. is required; preferably in Journalism, Mass Communication, or a closely related field. Additional Information Rank and salary will be commensurate with qualifications; salary and benefits are competitive. This position is eligible for membership in the Massachusetts Society of Professors<https://umassmsp.org/>, the faculty and librarian union at UMass Amherst. The Journalism Department<https://www.umass.edu/journalism/> is a collegial and dynamic group within the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Our focus is on a superlative undergraduate classroom experience for our approximately 400 majors, which include students in our public relations and sports journalism concentrations. Our research profile in emerging media technologies, media distribution, history, and social justice has grown substantially over the past decade. We have also developed fruitful connections with our sibling units in the Department of Communication, the Computational Social Science Institute, and the Public Interest Technology Initiative. As a campus with an increasingly diverse student body, we are looking for candidates who can operate effectively in a diverse faculty and student community, and who value collegiality, collaboration, achievement, and integrity. We encourage applications from women, minorities or those from minoritized backgrounds, and individuals with a commitment to mentoring under-represented demographics within journalism and public relations. We are also interested in candidates who have had non-traditional career paths, those who have paused their careers for family or pandemic reasons, or who spent time outside of academia. We are committed to helping all constituents reach their full potential, creating best-in-practice operations to support faculty scholarship, and fostering excellence in student experiences inside and outside our department. UMass Amherst is a leader in providing institutional support for faculty to combine work and family/personal responsibilities, and was listed among the Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Great Colleges to Work For.” UMass is in the top 10% of public research-intensive universities in the COACHE survey for making having and raising children compatible with the tenure-track. For more information on work-life balance at UMass Amherst, see https://www.umass.edu/prospective-faculty/work/balance. Application Instructions Along with the application, please submit the following: 1. A letter of interest addressed to Professor Joshua Braun, Search Committee Chair, S414 Integrative Learning Center, 650 North Pleasant Street, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA. 1. A curriculum vitae. 1. Up to three (3) sample works published within the past five (5) years that the applicant believes show their strongest work. 1. A teaching statement describing the candidate’s teaching philosophy and, if the candidate has prior teaching experience, evidence of quality teaching (such as summaries of teaching evaluations). 1. A one-page statement outlining the skills, experience, and commitment the candidate will bring to bear in teaching, mentoring, and professional service to promote equity, inclusion, and diversity for the University’s historically underrepresented and other marginalized groups of students, as well as for the discipline as a whole. 1. Names and contact information for three (3) professional references who are willing to submit letters upon request through the UMass online application system. Shortlisted candidates that are suitable for an upper rank position will be asked to provide materials that demonstrate the candidate's eligibility and qualifications to show they meet the criteria and the standards for tenure<https://www.umass.edu/provost/resources/all-resources/academic-personnel/policy-and-labor-contracts/academic-personnel-policy-red> at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Evaluation of applications will begin October 15, 2023 and will continue until the position has been filled. Inquiries about the position can be addressed to Professor Joshua Braun, the Search Committee Chair, at jabraun@journ.umass.edu<mailto:jabraun@journ.umass.edu>. The University is committed to active recruitment of a diverse faculty and student body. The University of Massachusetts Amherst is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer of women, minorities, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities and encourages applications from these and other protected group members. Because broad diversity is essential to an inclusive climate and critical to the University’s goals of achieving excellence in all areas, we will holistically assess the many qualifications of each applicant and favorably consider an individual’s record working with students and colleagues with broadly diverse perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds in educational, research or other work activities. We will also favorably consider experience overcoming or helping others overcome barriers to an academic career and degree. -- Josh Braun, Ph.D. Associate Professor // Journalism Department University of Massachusetts Amherst Mastodon: @josh@sciences.social Distribution Matters series @ The MIT Press https://mitpress.mit.edu/series/distribution-matters/ "Maybe the only gift is a chance to inquire, to know nothing for certain. An inheritance of wonder and nothing more." William Least Heat-Moon