Open Rank Professor of Journalism & Director of the Center for Environmental Journalism

Position description

The Department of Journalism in the College of Media, Communication and Information (CMCI) at the University of Colorado Boulder invites applications for a tenure-track open-rank professor of environmental journalism. The successful candidate will also be appointed as the Faculty Director of the college’s Center for Environmental Journalism (CEJ).

Established in 1992, and one of the world’s preeminent centers of its kind, the CEJ’s goal is to enrich public understanding of environmental issues by elevating the quality, range, and depth of coverage by journalists. The CEJ does this by helping seasoned and emerging journalists enhance their knowledge of the scientific, economic, political, and social aspects of these issues. The CEJ includes oversight of the Ted Scripps Fellowships in Environmental Journalism and the Water Desk.

The successful candidate will be a full-time tenured member of the Department of Journalism and expected to contribute commeasurably to the department, college and university. Roughly 20% of the successful candidate’s appointment will be dedicated to service as the Director of the CEJ. The responsibilities of this position include the supervision of a staff of three people (the CEJ’s Program Manager, and two Water Desk co-directors), and oversight of the CEJ-directed work of the Assistant Director of the CEJ; budget and fund-raising for existing and new programs and initiatives; the Ted Scripps Fellowships in Environmental Journalism; The Water Desk. As part of these responsibilities, the Director oversees the organization of symposia and seminars; planning weekly seminars and regular field trips for the Scripps program; selection, on-boarding and support of Scripps Fellows; planning and administration of all aspects of The Water Desk; planning and administration of new and existing CEJ initiatives, programs and projects.

The successful candidate will identify within the broad field of journalism but specialize in an area that could fit under a very broad definition of environmental or science journalism. We wil consider both academics and professionals for this job. If the successful candidate researches environmental journalism, the department strongly prefers someone well-grounded in journalism studies and open to creative interchange with colleagues practicing a variety of qualitative, quantitative and practice-based methodologies while researching and teaching journalism and media through both a social science and humanistic approach. All candidates should also have demonstrated commitment to and experience with inclusive pedagogies and the mentoring of a diverse range of undergraduate and graduate students.

In addition to the service commitments above, the position is responsible for teaching 2 courses each academic year, usually assigned as 1 course per semester, and is expected to commit 40% of their effort to maintaining a strong national and/or international scholarly/creative work profile within their discipline.

Qualifications

An MA in journalism or a closely allied field is required at the time of appointment.

At least one year teaching at the undergraduate level.

Preferred Qualifications

A PhD in journalism or a closely allied field is preferred.

An already tenured candidate is strongly preferred. We will, though, consider candidates whose body of scholarly/creative work, teaching experience, and record of service make a clear case that they would receive an award of tenure from the University of Colorado through the University’s requisite hire with tenure processes. Salary is commensurate with experience.

Three or more years teaching at the undergraduate level is preferred. 

Experience teaching at the graduate level is preferred.

Application instructions

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