Associate Professor STEM Education and Equity

Position Announcement

Associate Professor STEM Education and Equity

The School of Education (SOE) at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) invites applications and nominations for a full-time, tenure-track Associate Professor of STEM Education and Equity. The position will commence as early as July 1, 2024, or as negotiated.

Our Program, School, and University

The UCR SOE is a growing community that serves both undergraduate and graduate students. Located in a region rich in racial, cultural, and linguistic diversity, SOE serves majority students of color with a high percentage of working class and first-generation college students and boasts the most diverse faculty of a School of Education in the University of California system. Divided into area groups devoted to higher education; leadership and policy; social, cultural, linguistic, and racial analysis; cognition and learning; school psychology; and special education, our collective mission is to call students to teach students and advance equitable and transformative educational systems and practices that are reflective of and responsive to our local racially and economically diverse communities.

UCR is a member of the American Association of Universities (AAU). As a Minority Serving Institution, UCR ranks among the top public universities for Making a Public Impact (No. 20, Princeton Review) and is No. 2 among public universities in the U.S. for social mobility (No. 1 from 2019-2021). UCR has several designations that underscore its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. UCR is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI). As the only public research university in diverse Inland Southern California, UCR’s School of Education is positioned to shape effective service delivery for historically and multiply marginalized young people locally and across the state.

Position Description

We are seeking a faculty member with commitments to advancing the field of equity and justice-based STEM Education. This includes research that expands perspectives and ideas, utilizes and builds on critical theoretical and methodological approaches, and demonstrates expertise in critical epistemic foundations that challenge and reimagine dominant, Eurocentric approaches to STEM education. Candidates could take on a variety of specific research directions and inquiries within STEM education across a variety of levels (e.g., systemic, structural, institutional). We are most interested in candidates invested in advancing research on the social constructs that impact STEM access such as identity, socialization, racialization, and more. Additionally, we especially encourage applicants with commitments to reclaiming Indigenous, or other non-dominant epistemologies in STEM, that draw from asset-based and culturally sustaining, justice-oriented theoretical foundations.  

We welcome applications with any area of research in STEM equity and justice, especially focused on the populations we serve at UCR and in the Inland Empire, and that go beyond naming lack of representation. Particular research focus that candidates might engage in include, but are certainly not limited to:

Ethno-STEM (e.g., ethnomathematics, land education, decolonization)

Critical and race-focused theories in STEM Education (e.g., anti-blackness, critical race theory, feminist epistemologies)

STEM effective, engaged, and culturally sustaining teaching and learning for historically marginalized populations (e.g., women, youth of color, linguistically diverse students, neurodiverse students, LGBTQ+ students)

System-wide analyses, practices, and policies that structurally advance race and gender equity and justice in STEM

Examination of the digital divide, the growing popularity of online learning and artificial intelligence, and its impact on equitable STEM learning

Minimum Qualifications

An earned doctorate in a field of STEM Education (e.g., Mathematics Education, Science Education,

Computer Science Education, Engineering Education) or related fields (e.g., Higher Education, Early

Childhood Education, Social/Cultural Foundations in Education, Ethnic Studies, Educational Psychology,

Special Education)

A successful record of high-impact research, scholarly publications, and external research funding in STEM education

Evidence of effective teaching and advising of both undergraduate and graduate-level students from historically marginalized and diverse communities in the field of STEM Education

Demonstrated knowledge of PK-16 educational equity issues and limiting structures

Demonstrated commitment and approach to advancing STEM educational equity, and equity across research, teaching, service, and public engagement

Preferred Qualifications

Contributions that address the STEM education needs of the culturally, linguistically, and educationally diverse populations of California and the Inland Empire, particularly through partnerships serving those populations

Understanding of the intersections of systemic racism, CIS heteropatriarchy, classism, and ableism in reproducing STEM inequities.

Inquiries about the position should be directed to the search committee chair, Marsha Ing ([email protected]).

Interested candidates should submit an electronic application to https://aprecruit.ucr.edu/JPF01880 that includes a cover letter describing current and proposed future areas of research, curriculum vitae, a statement of teaching philosophy, statement of research, recent teaching evaluations, a statement of past and/or planned contributions to advancing diversity and inclusive excellence and information for at least 6 people who can be contacted for letters of recommendation (extramural letters will be solicited by the University for the top candidate). Review of applicants will begin March 14, 2024, and may continue until the position is filled.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.