Associate Professor (tenure-track) and Graduate Programs Director, Children’s Literature

Simmons College Company • Boston, MA

32d • Hybrid

About The Position

Simmons University is seeking an established scholar and educator with academic, creative, or relevant professional experience for a tenure-track Associate Professor position, sponsored by the Children’s Literature Alumni Fund for Faculty. This role will support the implementation of the Children’s Literature graduate curriculum across multiple degree programs and provide leadership as the Graduate Programs Director and Director of the Center for the Study of Children’s Literature. The successful candidate will bring energy and vision to a signature program at the University, which has a strong tradition of empowering women and challenging traditional gender roles. Simmons University offers Boston’s only women’s undergraduate program and graduate programs open to all, and is committed to preparing students to become social justice-oriented leaders. This position is part of an exciting time of innovation at Simmons, with a new academic structure and a focus on delivering high-value education for career growth. The university values diversity, equity, and inclusion, and encourages applications from all under-represented groups.

Requirements

• MA or MFA considered, PhD in Children’s Literature or a related discipline preferred
• Evidence of excellent teaching at the college level and a commitment to providing high-quality education
• A strong record of scholarship
• Administrative experience
• Potential for and/or demonstrated ability to teach students with diverse backgrounds at the undergraduate and graduate levels
• Demonstrated commitment to collegiality when interacting with others within the university community
• Deep knowledge of (primarily Anglophone) historical and contemporary literature for children and young adults
• Grounding in literary or critical theoretical approaches to works of literature for young people
• Strong commitment to teaching and pedagogical work with a diverse body of graduate students
• Strong teaching, scholarship, and knowledge of and experience with the children’s and young adult trade publishing industry

Nice To Haves

• Capacity to teach in one or more of the following areas: Literary theory and critical approaches to children’s and young adult literature, Genre and form, History, historicity, Intersections of critical and professional practices.

Responsibilities

• Teach, research, and assume administrative and leadership duties as the Children’s Literature Graduate Programs’ Director and the Director of the Center for the Study of Children’s Literature, including oversight of the Summer Institutes in Children’s Literature.
• Teach a range of courses in a variety of formats, including graduate seminars, undergraduate general education courses, and courses within the candidate’s area of specialization.
• Advise graduate students in the children’s literature programs and potentially in the undergraduate literature and writing programs.
• Actively engage in service to the Simmons community, in part through their leadership roles in Children’s Literature.
• As a graduate program director, be responsible for curriculum development and oversight, academic quality, faculty supervision and excellence, student recruitment and retention, working with the graduate student advisory group, overseeing the BookNook, and supervising the Graduate Fellow and Teaching Assistants.

Benefits

• Benefits-eligible position
• Health benefits
• Retirement savings offerings
• Work-life balance initiatives such as flexible hours and remote work opportunities

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level