Tenure Track Faculty Position

Assistant Professor of Rhetoric & Composition

English & Modern Languages

College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona invites applications for a tenure track faculty position in the Department of English & Modern Languages. Cal Poly Pomona is one of three polytechnic universities in the 23-campus California State University system and among 12 such institutions nationwide. Since its founding in 1938, Cal Poly Pomona students participate in an integrative experiential learning education that is inclusive, relevant, and values diverse perspectives and experiences. With a variety of degree programs in the arts, humanities, sciences, engineering, and professional disciplines, the university is well known for its learn-by-doing approach and Teacher Scholar Model.

The university is noted for its scenic and historic 1,400-acre campus, which was once the winter ranch of cereal magnate W.K. Kellogg. We acknowledge that Cal Poly Pomona resides on the territorial homelands of the Tongva and Tataavium people who are the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar. The university’s nearly 30,000 students are taught and mentored by the campus’s more than 1,400 faculty as part of 54 baccalaureate and 29 master’s degree programs, 11 credential and certificate programs, and a doctorate in educational leadership.

Highly regarded among its peer institutions, Cal Poly Pomona is No. 2 in the U.S. News and World Report rankings of top public regional universities in the west and was named the No. 28 best value college in the nation by Money Magazine. Cal Poly Pomona, a Hispanic-Serving Institution and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution, stands as a national leader in promoting social mobility, and was placed among the 25 top institutions in the country in awarding bachelor’s degrees to minoritized students by Diverse Issues in Higher Education. In 2022, the campus launched the Black Thriving Initiative recognizing that Cal Poly Pomona’s future as a university is linked to the success of its Black community. More information about our campus initiatives and our Principles of Community can be found on the Office of Inclusive Excellence’s website. 

The Cal Poly Pomona campus is located less than 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles at the intersection of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. It is within an hour’s drive of beaches, mountains and deserts. For additional information about the university, please visit www.cpp.edu, and for more about faculty life, please see YourLife@CPP.

Student Population. Cal Poly Pomona is the number one polytechnic university in the nation for student diversity and economic mobility. Our caring and inclusive campus community is committed to helping anyone who dreams of success achieve it. In Fall 2023, Cal Poly Pomona served more than 24,000 students and close to 2,000 graduate students, mostly residents of California. Over half of Cal Poly Pomona students are first-generation college students, 70% receive financial aid, and 42% are low-income students. The university enrolls 56% percent of historically underrepresented students. Our diverse student body identifies as 53% Hispanic/Latinx, 22% Asian, 13% White, 4% two or more races, 3% unknown, 3% African American/Black, 2% International, less than 1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and less than 1% Native American. Forty-three percent of students enroll in our STEM majors and our top five enrolled programs across the university include mechanical engineering, computer science, civil engineering, psychology, as well as finance, real estate, and law.  

Inclusive Excellence and Student Success. We aspire to be the model inclusive polytechnic university in the nation. We have a strong commitment to inclusive excellence and to educational experiences that leverage the diverse perspectives and experiences needed to succeed and thrive in a diverse society.

*As a part of the application for faculty positions, all candidates must submit a Student Success Statement that demonstrates their commitment and record of contributions to diversity and equity through their teaching, scholarship, or service by speaking to at least two of the Inclusive Excellence Criteria below.

Candidates should explain how they have engaged in the criteria below in their pedagogy, scholarship, and/or service, as well as the level to which these efforts have been consistently incorporated into their work.

Inclusive Excellence Criteria:

1. Incorporates the contributions and struggles of historic ethnic minority groups or other disadvantaged communities into their teaching, scholarly work, and/or service contributions;
2. Adopts teaching strategies that support the learning and success of students from diverse student populations;
3. Mentors and engages diverse student populations in discovery, scholarship, and creative activities;
4. Engages students in problem-based projects and learning that address the needs of diverse communities;
5. Possesses knowledge of challenges and barriers for underrepresented students and faculty within the discipline and uses it to inform their work in specific ways;
6. Mentors and assists diverse student populations interested in pursuing graduate education;
7. Engages in community-responsive action research or service with diverse student populations and communities;
8. Has experience in or demonstrates a commitment to adopting experiential learning activities and pedagogy with diverse student populations and communities; and
9. Has expertise in or demonstrated commitment to teaching, scholarship and/or service that contributes to access, diversity, and equal opportunity in higher education.

College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences: Cal Poly Pomona's College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences (CLASS) brings to life a vibrant hands-on experience through disciplines in the humanities, performing arts, and social sciences. As the heart and soul of the campus, the College’s mission is to cultivate one’s intellectual development, ethical reasoning, and aesthetic sensibility to support creative and critical thinking in a dynamic world of competing challenges. We are a community diverse in backgrounds, expertise, and thought, committed to improving the human condition and to bettering the world. Our faculty, students, and staff are devoted to creating an inclusive environment where all can thrive through the College's programs, research activities, creative performances, community outreach, and signature experiences. Learn more about CLASS and our 12 distinct departments at www.cpp.edu/class. 

The Department of English and Modern Languages (EML) is a blended department that explores the intersection of diverse languages and cultures through the disciplines of applied linguistics, languages, writing, and literature. EML serves more than 300 undergraduate majors and 60 graduate students, with options in Literary Studies, English Education, Spanish, Applied Language Studies, and more than 60 graduate students with options in Literature, Rhetoric & Composition, and TESOL.

The Department’s faculty support each other through clusters of scholarly and pedagogical interests around subjects such as Writing Studies (including creative writing, translation studies, multimodal literacies, etc.), Critical Race Theory, Digital Humanities, and Multilingualism. Over the past decade, the English program has evolved significantly to meet students’ needs, including an increasingly decolonized curriculum, a focus on professionalization and career readiness, and the expansion of project-based coursework. As a model for an “inclusive polytechnic” education EML works to cultivate versatile critical thinkers that are ready to build community and succeed in their future endeavors.

Position description: The department seeks a tenure-line faculty member in Rhetoric & Composition. The successful candidate will teach courses in rhetoric, writing studies, and multimodal literacy in the English BA and MA, as well as General Education courses in composition, critical thinking, and the humanities. Additionally, the successful candidate will have training or experience in writing program or writing center administration, and/or WAC/WID work that could provide innovative support to university initiatives. The successful candidate should expect opportunities to shape curricular revisions and develop courses in their area of expertise, engage faculty in service to the department/college/university, and maintain an active research agenda.

Minimum requirements include:

• Ph.D. or Ed.D. in Rhetoric & Composition, English, or related fields (degree must be conferred by the start date of the position)
• Demonstrated evidence of training, experience, or research in Multimodal Literacy
• Demonstrated evidence of training, experience, or research in one of the following areas:
  • Writing Program Administration
  • Writing Center Administration
  • WAC/WID Programming
• A track record of scholarly engagement, a viable research agenda, and the potential for publication in the field of the candidate’s professional and scholarly expertise.
• Pedagogical experience or training reflecting the ability to teach courses in rhetoric, composition, and multimodal literacy.
• Demonstrated experience using culturally responsive pedagogy to create an inclusive, student-centered environment for teaching and learning.
• Demonstrated commitment to inclusivity and equity.

Preferred/Desired Qualifications:

As a blended department, EML seeks to expand its interdisciplinary connections in teaching and research and to further diversify the professionalization opportunities for its students. As such, evidence of expertise in the following secondary areas is desirable but not required for a successful candidate:

• Queer Theory/Rhetorics
• Digital Humanities
• Creative Writing
• Training, experience, or research in a second or third area:
  • Writing Program Administration
  • Writing Center Administration
  • WAC/WID Programming

Conditions of Employment:

The person offered this position is required to pass a background check.

Application Process:

A completed application will consist of:

• A cover letter in which you describe your interest in the position, relevant experience, and how you meet the minimum and preferred qualifications
• A curriculum vitae
• A Student Success Statement (up to 2 pages, single-spaced) that responds to the prompt above at “Inclusive Excellence and Student Success” and addresses at least two of the Inclusive Excellence Criteria listed (please indicate the criteria numbers in your Statement)
• A Pedagogy Reflection that outlines the applicant’s teaching philosophy and practices. In this document, the applicant should discuss their beliefs about teaching and learning, ideally addressing how these beliefs apply to a specific course (or courses) that the candidate has taught, if applicable
• A writing sample of relevant, disciplinary work
• Unofficial transcripts of all graduate-level work

Finalists for the position will be required to:

• Provide official transcripts for highest degree before the on-campus interview
• Submit three letters of reference dated within the last two years
• Submit the names and contact information for at least three individuals who can serve as references (this list may include but need not be limited to the names and contact information of the referees providing the aforementioned letters)
• Give a presentation to the department on research and pedagogy
• Conduct a teaching demonstration in the classroom

The position is open until filled. First consideration will be given to completed applications received no later than September 3, 2024. Semi-finalists will be interviewed via videoconferencing.

Please direct inquiries to Dr. Aaron DeRosa, Search Chair, amderosa@cpp.edu.

Applications accepted only via PageUp—online application portal—for University hires.

Salary range for academic year, nine month appointment: $83,000-$86,500

Equal Opportunity Employer

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The university seeks to recruit and retain a diverse workforce as a reflection of our commitment to serve the people of California, to maintain the excellence of the university, and to offer our students richly varied disciplines, perspectives, and ways of knowing. Cal Poly Pomona subscribes to all state and federal regulations and prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity/gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, age, disability, genetic information, medical condition, and covered veteran status. The university hires only individuals lawfully authorized to work in the United States. As required by the Clery Disclosure Act, the university prepares a public annual security report.