Urban and Regional Planning, Assistant Professor

Cal Poly Pomona • Pomona, CA

4d • $86,328 - $90,648 • Onsite

About The Position

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona invites applications for a tenure track faculty position in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning. Cal Poly Pomona is one of three polytechnic universities in the 22-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 and 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, 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. 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. 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 2024, Cal Poly Pomona served more than 25,000 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 57% percent of historically underrepresented students. Our diverse student body identifies as 54% Hispanic/Latinx, 21% Asian, 13% White, 4% two or more races, 3% unknown, 2% African American/Black, 2% International, less than 1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and less than 1% Native American. Forty-five 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. The College of Environmental Design (ENV) mission is to provide an outstanding academic and professional learning experience within a multidisciplinary structure. Creative excellence, environmental sustainability, and social responsibility guide ENV's programs. ENV was established in 1970. Our award-winning programs offer professional degrees at the undergraduate and graduate levels in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Urban and Regional Planning; at the undergraduate level in Art History and Visual Communication Design; and at the graduate level in Regenerative Studies. Faculty research, professional and creative activities are brought into the classroom through the Teacher-Scholar Model. Support and recognition for faculty efforts facilitates interdisciplinary collaboration and promotes their rich talent, expertise and influence. We seek opportunities for engagement with practice in California, nationally and internationally. We are educating the future leaders of the design professions, and therefore have an obligation to ensure that all constituencies of those professions represent the diversity of California's population. Diversity represents our strength. The Department of Urban and Regional Planning (URP) programs emphasize interdisciplinary learning and linkages between practice and theory, taking advantage of connections with the architecture, landscape architecture, regenerative studies and art programs that are also housed in the College of Environmental Design. The faculty emphasizes teaching, enriched by research activities, professional involvement, and community service. The undergraduate program provides a diverse student body with an entry into professional planning practice. The graduate program, offered primarily in the evening, provides a professionally oriented program. According to Planetizen’s ranking system (2023), the graduate program was ranked among the top ten suburban programs and second most diverse program. The department has 7 tenured and tenure track faculty and serves about 50 graduate and 200 undergraduate students. URP is one of the largest and the most diverse planning programs in the U.S. About 56 percent of the students are Hispanic/Latino. Asian students (19%) are the second-largest ethnic group, followed by White (14%) and Black/African American (2%). The student body also represents college students from socially and economically underrepresented populations. A large group of URP students are first-generation college students and transfer students.

Requirements

• A master's degree in urban design, architecture, landscape architecture or closely-related design discipline, with demonstrated ability to apply design within planning or urban contexts.
• Demonstrated expertise in urban design evidenced through a portfolio of design work, built projects, or research-driven design practice, with engagement in one or more of the research areas mentioned above.
• Demonstrated commitment to teaching excellence, particularly in studio-based or project-based learning, and contributions to curricular development.

Nice To Haves

• Ph.D. in urban planning and/or related fields with a strong focus on urban design (ABD will be considered, but the degree must be conferred by the start date of the position).
• Experience in teaching urban design studios, and potential for teaching a range of courses in the curriculum.
• Evidence of scholarly, creative, or professional work in urban design, including publications, built work, competitions, or funded research
• Insights into mentoring & advising students, especially first-generation and students from historically underrepresented groups.

Responsibilities

• Teach undergraduate-level urban design studios and a graduate-level urban design course.
• Teach a community planning studio.
• Mentor students in visualization, representation, and design thinking that integrates research into applied design projects.
• Contribute to instruction and research in areas of specialization and curriculum development for the department’s accredited undergraduate and master’s programs in planning.
• Contribute to the department’s diversity through teaching, scholarship, and/or service to the institution.
• Further the department’s commitment to diversifying the urban planning profession.
• Teaching, advising, scholarly activities, and service to the profession, community, the department, college, and university.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Associate degree