Assistant Professor - Environmental Science & Resource Management (ESRM): Environmental Justice

Job no: 532403
Work type: Instructional Faculty – Tenured/Tenure-Track
Location: Channel Islands
Categories: Unit 3 - CFA - California Faculty Association, Tenured/Tenure-Track, Full Time, Faculty - Natural Sciences

Program: Environmental Science & Resource Management (ESRM)

Rank: Assistant Professor, Tenure Track

Title: Assistant Professor - Environmental Science & Resource Management (ESRM): Environmental Justice

Effective Date of Appointment: August 21, 2024
(Subject to Budgetary Approval)

About the University:

California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI) opened in 2002 as the newest campus in the California State University system. Since that time, the University has grown and developed into one of the premier public universities, not only in the California State University system, but also in the nation. Indeed, U.S. News & World Report listed CSUCI as 29th among “Regional Universities West” in its 2023 edition of Best Colleges Rankings. In 2023, CollegeNET ranked CSUCI 71st out of over 1,400 schools in its “Social Mobility Index.” In 2020, Money Magazine rated CSUCI as the 15th “Most Transformative College” in the nation.

CSUCI is a public comprehensive university that engages students in critical inquiry and is dedicated to educating leaders for a global society. The University is located in Ventura County and is home to more than 4,959 undergraduate and 168 graduate students. Approximately 48% of CSUCI’s students are Pell Grant eligible, and approximately 60% are first-generation college students. CSUCI is also proud to be designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), with 61% of its undergraduate students self-identifying as Latinx, 23% as White, 6% as Asian/Asian American, 4% as multiracial, and 2% as Black/African American. In 2022, CSUCI was among the first institutions to be recertified with Excelencia in Education’s "Seal of Excelencia” for its facilitation of Latinx student success.

CSUCI is committed to diversifying its faculty in order to address students’ ever-changing needs in the 21st century. The University is also taking steps to confront racism and to advocate for social justice. To this end, CSUCI encourages applicants to apply who are motivated to serve and contribute to the university’s tenure-track body, which self-identifies as 54% White, 24% Latinx, 11% Asian/Asian American, and 4% Black/African America.

Diversity Statement:

CSUCI is committed to recruiting individuals who are dedicated to furthering inclusive excellence in our campus community. We seek to enhance our diverse University population by welcoming people from all backgrounds, and by working to sustain an environment where colleagues can not only work and learn, but also create and thrive.

CSUCI Mission Statement:

Placing students at the center of the educational experience, California State University Channel Islands provides undergraduate and graduate education that facilitates learning within and across disciplines through integrative approaches, emphasizes experiential and service learning, and graduates students with multicultural and international perspectives.

CSUCI’s Commitment to You:

CSUCI is committed to helping newly hired faculty develop a sense of belonging in a collaborative and supportive community dedicated to providing resources and opportunities for establishing and sustaining a research agenda and engaging in continuous improvement in equitable teaching and learning.

About the Program:

Today’s environmental problems call for individuals who are educated in more than one discipline, highly trained in technical skills, and aware of the political, economic, and social dimensions of environmental decisions. The Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Resource Management (ESRM) provides solid training in basic physical, biological, and social sciences, and application of management science to reduce adverse impacts of human activity on the environment and to maximize the benefits that accrue from environmental resources. In the narrowest sense, Environmental Science is the study of the impact of human systems on physical and biological systems, and the dependence on natural resources by human systems. In a broader sense, Environmental Science is the study of the interaction and co-evolution of human, physical, and biological systems. Resource Management is concerned with the most effective means of avoiding damage to environmental assets and extracting beneficial uses of environmental resources, within the context of social institutions. Effective Resource Management considers benefits and costs, uncertainties and risks, limits of knowledge, institutional constraints, and social and political forces.

About the Position:

The Environmental Science and Resource Management (ESRM) Program at California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI) invites applications for a full-time (beginning Fall 2024) tenure-track assistant professorship in Environmental Justice. The ideal candidate will approach their work through an environmental justice lens and be an innovative colleague who is interested in strengthening our efforts to understand and address inequitable environmental burdens in communities throughout our region. The ideal candidate will also have demonstrated proficiency (or be able to provide strong evidence of their promise in that area) in using emerging technologies and techniques to both assemble and analyze complex datasets and communicate and apply the insights gained.

Our ESRM curriculum combines extensive, innovative field and laboratory coursework alongside traditional classroom experiences designed to ground students in modern, quantitative environmental skills, enhance understanding of context, and develop collaborative skills to effectively work with interdisciplinary and diverse settings, teams, and stakeholders. Our ESRM coursework and student training actively engages existing environmental challenges across local and national settings; we seek a colleague who will continue and deepen this tradition. A doctorate or equivalent in Environmental Science, Natural Resource Management, Ecology, Chemistry, Geosciences, Geography, Hydrology, Anthropology, Applied Statistics, or a related field is required by the time of appointment; a strong record of teaching, research, and service (or be able to provide strong evidence of their promise in each of those areas) is critical.

CSUCI is the newest campus in the California State University system, with our main campus located in coastal Ventura County (between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles) at the interface of protected areas, agricultural zones, and urban cores. Many local responses to our region’s environmental and social challenges have become templates in and beyond our region, e.g., recovery of endangered species, sea level rise adaptation, farmworker protections, and offshore energy regulation. Some of our unique features include our partnership with the National Park Service including our Santa Rosa Island Research Station, conservation partnership with the Santa Barbara Zoo, membership in the Southern California Marine Institute and Ocean Studies Institute, and involvement in the CSU-based Council on Ocean Affairs, Science and Technology (COAST).

We are a Hispanic Serving Institution dedicated to serving our diverse student body and surrounding community while promoting interdisciplinary inquiry, strong community engagement, and an international focus. Candidates are expected to share those commitments and are encouraged to learn more about our campus and program.

Minimum Degree Requirements:

Applicants must possess a doctorate or equivalent in Environmental Science, Natural Resource Management, Ecology, Chemistry, Geosciences, Geography, Hydrology, Anthropology, Applied Statistics, or a related field at the time of appointment (August 2024).

Required Qualifications:

Record of teaching experience or demonstrated commitment to professional growth in teaching and student success.

Record of research productivity commensurate with years of experience, and the ability to develop and sustain an externally-funded research program that will lead to original, peer-reviewed publications and allow mentoring of undergraduate students.
Demonstrated record of, or commitment to, using an environmental justice lens in teaching and scholarship.
Ability to communicate effectively and work cooperatively with departmental colleagues.
Demonstrated record of, or commitment to, an ethnically and culturally diverse student and CSUCI campus community.
Demonstrated expertise with one or more technical skills (including but not limited to: ESRI suite, R, Python, EarthEngine, statistical analyses, Adobe Creative Suite, Spectroscopy, chemical characterization, drone-based mapping, remote sensing, etc.) and ability to actively employ them within engaging undergraduate curricula.
Applicants should demonstrate the commitment to effectively work with and engage a diverse student population and evidence of how they would successfully mentor minoritized students with a special focus on Latinx, Black/African American, American Indian, and Asian/Asian American/Pacific Islander students.

Preferred Qualifications:

Applicant’s research program applies methods in their field of expertise to contemporary climate-related problems, especially those involving measuring and understanding environmental change and human/natural system interactions and those that complement the research expertise of current faculty members.
Preference will be given to applicants with demonstrated intercultural competence with diverse groups in teaching, research, and service.
Experience with or strong interest in California’s human/natural systems.

Application Deadline:

Screening of applications will begin on November 27, 2023. Priority will be given to applicants who meet the screening deadline; however, the position will remain open until filled.

Applicants must submit the following materials:

Cover letter addressing required/preferred qualifications
Curriculum vitae (including a record of teaching experience and scholarly activities)
A statement of teaching philosophy that identifies courses from the ESRM curriculum the applicant may be interested in teaching (up to 2 pages).
A description of research accomplishments and future research goals, including student involvement (up to 2 pages).
A narrative statement describing your commitment to working effectively with faculty, staff, and students in a multicultural/multiethnic campus environment with a substantial population of first-generation students. Please address your experience with mentoring students from underrepresented backgrounds (up to 2 pages).
A statement describing your experience mentoring and/or working with minoritized students with a special focus on Latinx, Black/African American, Asian/Asian American/Pacific Islander and American Indian students, and
A teaching philosophy describing how you plan to engage and interact with students, with a special focus on Latinx, Black/African American, Asian/Asian American/Pacific Islander, and American Indian students.

In later phases of the search process, applicants may be requested to provide verification of terminal degrees, licenses, and certificates.

Submit all required materials to the CSUCI Careers application web address below:
http://jobs.csuci.edu

Compensation:

The California State University maintains a systemwide Salary Schedule for Assistant Professor (Academic Year) faculty. The anticipated, equity-minded starting salary for this position is $6,700 - $8,000 (monthly). The University offers excellent fringe benefits.

General Information:

Evidence of degree(s) required at time of hire.

At time of appointment, the successful candidate, if not a U.S. citizen, must have authorization from the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services to work in the United States.

The person holding this position may be considered a 'mandated reporter' under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and is required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment.

A background check (including a criminal records check) must be completed satisfactorily before any candidate can be offered a position with the CSU. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the application status of applicants or continued employment of current CSU employees who apply for the position.

CSUCI is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, medical condition, marital status, veteran status, and disability. Our nondiscrimination policy is set forth in CSU Executive Order 1096.

Per CSU-wide policy (HR2021-04), all faculty who will begin initial employment (or return from a 12-month break in service) on or after January 1, 2022 are required to perform their work from within the State of California. Faculty hired prior to January 1, 2022 must be available to perform work in the State of California if their assignment is in-person.

Reasonable accommodations will be provided for applicants with disabilities who self-disclose by contacting Faculty Affairs at academicpersonnel@csuci.edu.

Advertised: September 28, 2023 (9:00 AM) Pacific Daylight Time
Applications close:

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Assistant Professor - Environmental Science & Resource Management (ESRM): Environmental Justice