Director of the Africana, Asian American, Chicano, & Native American (AAACNA) Studies Center

San José State University • San Jose, CA

12d • $120,400 - $145,125 • Onsite

About The Position

San José State University’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library seeks a full-time, tenured Associate or Full Librarian to serve as Director of the Africana, Asian American, Chicano, & Native American (AAACNA) Studies Center and as a Liaison Librarian. The position is divided between 60% Center directorship and 40% liaison librarian duties, with an anticipated start date of February 2027. The Director normally serves a renewable four-year term and reports to the Associate Dean for Student and Faculty Engagement.

The AAACNA Studies Center is a 6,000-square-foot academic and cultural hub on the fifth floor of the King Library. It brings together collections and resources in Africana, Asian American, Chicano, Native American, and comparative Ethnic Studies, supporting cross-cultural dialogue, interdisciplinary research, and community engagement. The Director provides strategic leadership for the Center’s programs, collections, services, partnerships, and operations, and serves on the University Library Leadership Team. The role also leads the AAACNA Advisory Board and contributes to philanthropic development, grants, gifts, and endowment support.

As a faculty librarian, the Director provides research, reference, consultation, and information-literacy instruction; develops and promotes collections and services; participates in shared governance and scholarship; and collaborates with academic departments, campus groups, public library partners, and community organizations. The position also strengthens the Center’s long-term infrastructure through annual planning, clear governance and decision-making processes, assessment and reporting, continuity of institutional knowledge, and alignment with Library priorities.

The anticipated annual hiring salary range is $120,400–$126,850 at the Associate Librarian rank and $134,375–$145,125 at the Full Librarian rank, commensurate with qualifications, experience, and rank. The stated salary structure includes a Director stipend, which ends when the Director assignment ends. Faculty employee benefits are described as competitive; applicants are directed to the CSU Employee Benefits Summary for details. Work must be performed in California, with an on-campus presence, and employment requires US residence and proof of eligibility to work in the United States.

Requirements

• Master’s degree from a program accredited by the American Library Association or an equivalent international degree.
• At least five years of experience as a leader developing ethnic studies services, programming, and collections.
• Demonstrated leadership providing strategic direction and advancing university library outreach and user-engagement initiatives across campus and in the broader community.
• Experience leading and serving on committees that advance learning and research among students, faculty, and the broader community.
• Demonstrated success establishing and sustaining strategic partnerships with academic programs, advisory groups, cultural organizations, and community-based organizations through effective communication.
• Experience cultivating philanthropic support and securing funding for programs and endowments.
• Expertise providing instruction and research consultations across ethnic studies and interdisciplinary courses.
• Experience developing specialized collections aligned with the AAACNA mission and areas of focus.
• Record of scholarly achievement in relevant areas of specialization, including research that examines or engages with diverse communities, populations, experiences, or perspectives.
• Awareness of and sensitivity to the educational goals of a socially and economically diverse student population, gained through cross-cultural study, training, teaching, or comparable experience.
• Ability to understand and support students with diverse ages, abilities, cultural backgrounds, ethnicities, religions, economic backgrounds, primary languages, sexual orientations, gender identities, and levels of academic preparation.
• Ability to work on campus in California; US residence and proof of eligibility to work in the United States are required.
• Satisfactory completion of background and reference checks is required.

Nice To Haves

• Experience working in an academic library or comparable higher education environment.
• Experience incorporating diverse perspectives and culturally responsive practices into instruction, collections, exhibits, programs, or services.
• Demonstrated success leading significant organizational change or complex, multi-phase initiatives.
• Prior supervisory experience.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for the AAACNA Studies Center, establish priorities, and advance a vision aligned with the Center’s mission and University Library and SJSU goals.
• Plan, implement, and assess Center programs, exhibits, events, research initiatives, and activities highlighting the Center’s focus areas.
• Guide the development, stewardship, visibility, discovery, preservation, digitization, access, and use of the Center’s specialized collections.
• Build and sustain partnerships with academic departments and programs, faculty and staff associations, student organizations, campus resource centers, advisory groups, community organizations, and other partners.
• Oversee the Center’s daily operations, including space, budget, program calendar, policies, workflows, and allocation of resources.
• Coordinate employees, student assistants, interns, volunteers, and project teams assigned to Center activities, fostering an inclusive, collaborative, service-oriented environment.
• Establish measures of effectiveness; collect and analyze data; communicate the Center’s accomplishments; and use assessment findings to guide planning and improvement.
• Represent and advocate for the Center within the University Library, across SJSU, and in community and professional settings; pursue grants, gifts, endowment support, and other opportunities.
• Facilitate and lead the AAACNA Advisory Board.
• Develop and manage the Center’s endowments and create opportunities for new gifts and philanthropic support.
• Collaborate with Ethnic Studies and other campus faculty to support student learning and effective use of curriculum-specific information resources.
• Provide research, reference, consultation, and information-literacy instruction to undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and researchers in synchronous and asynchronous formats.
• Select, evaluate, and promote information resources in multiple formats for assigned academic programs and the Center’s specialized collections.
• Maintain knowledge of research practices, scholarly communication, digital scholarship, and artificial intelligence technologies relevant to assigned disciplines and academic librarianship.
• Design, implement, and assess user-centered library services, instructional activities, and resources for assigned academic departments and programs.
• Participate in shared governance, including department, library, and university committees and other service assignments.
• Demonstrate awareness of the needs of a diverse student population through inclusive course materials, teaching strategies, and advisement.
• Participate in library and university governance and engage in scholarship as a faculty member.
• Review operating agreements and governance documents, consult the existing MOU, maintain institutional knowledge, and align Center activities with Library strategic priorities.

Benefits

• Faculty employee benefits described as very competitive for the higher education sector; applicants are referred to the CSU Employee Benefits Summary for details.

What This Job Offers

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