Recruit

The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) invites applications for an open field tenured position in American Indian and Indigenous Studies at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor to be located in a department in the Division of Social Sciences (SOSC). The appointment is expected to be in a department in SOSC, although a joint or cross-divisional appointment can be considered. This position is part of a coordinated recruitment of tenured scholars in the three divisions of the College of Letters and Science. This position, along with a position in the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts, is being conducted in 2022-2023. Please visit this link https://recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF02423 to apply to the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts position. A third position, in the Division of Mathematics, Life and Physical Sciences, will be conducted 2023-24. This recruitment builds upon a substantial and dynamic cadre of recently-appointed early career faculty across the divisions and disciplines to expand and strengthen American Indian and Indigenous Studies (AIIS). It is the result of a core group of several faculty and community members who devoted many years to program building in this area. We invite applications in any of the following fields and areas of expertise: American Indian and Indigenous Studies, Anthropology, Asian American Studies, Black Studies, Chicano/a Studies, Communication, Economics, Feminist Studies, Global Studies, Political Science, Sociology, or other relevant fields. In addition to scholarly and pedagogical contributions to their home department(s), the ideal candidate should have a record that demonstrates the ability to advance and build the national profile of the American Indian and Indigenous Studies (AIIS) program on campus. This includes working with interdisciplinary and inter-divisional faculty and students as well as with community members to promote and sustain an innovative and intellectually expansive community for American Indian and Indigenous-centered research, curriculum and initiatives at UCSB. We are seeking a candidate who values working collaboratively towards community building and has the leadership skills and experiences to help develop AIIS at UCSB.

This position is open until filled. The University is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community through research, teaching and service as appropriate to the position.

Background/AII Institutional History

The AIIC (American Indian and Indigenous Collective) continues the vision and mission initiated by generations of student organizing, student-driven research and community building. UCSB’s American Indian and Indigenous Student Association (AIISA) was founded over fifty years ago, just 25 years after the university itself. The American Indian and Indigenous Studies Minor was instituted 20 years ago, and 10 years ago American Indian and Indigenous graduate students initiated and founded the AIIC (American Indian and Indigenous Collective) Research Focus Group. Under the aegis of an AIIC umbrella, initiatives and programs serving UCSB and Native and Indigenous communities at large were sustained and developed. These include STANDS (Students Taking Action for Native Dreams and Success), a student-initiated college outreach program to junior and high school American Indian and Indigenous students. Also, an American Indian and Indigenous Gardens Alliance was established in consultation and collaboration with local Chumash community members and UCSB Native students in 2015 and continues today. Community sustaining activities affiliated with the gardens such as the Native Families project, the Native Arts Collaborative, and University/Community partnership with the AIIGA continue to emerge from the AIIC umbrella. In response to student demand the AIIS minor was expanded in 2018 to include several course options within Environmental Studies which focus on Traditional Ecological Knowledges, Sustainability, and Indigenous Environmental Justice. The most notable development reaching beyond the UCSB campus is the annual AIIC Symposium, which in 2023 is ten years strong. The AIIC and the symposium graduate student visionaries want to provide opportunities for all students and community members to forge relations and scholarship with Native and Indigenous relatives near and far by sharing knowledges, stories, and communities. Pre-pandemic in-person attendance was consistently over 125 and virtual participation reached over 450 global participants in 2022.

UCSB’s AIIC Academic Council, established in summer 2016, is a product of this ceaseless work. In June 2016 at the request of Native (graduate and undergraduate) student activists, a meeting was held with UCSB senior administrators to demand the reinstatement and expansion of academic and student services and programs for American Indian and Indigenous students at UCSB. At that time the AIIC Academic Council was created to serve as a liaison body between UCSB administration and the Native student community. The AIIC AC’s establishment and commitment to consensus decision making fosters shared constituent and community governance and involvement. The Academic Council includes the participation of eight recently hired, early career scholars across the divisions in the College of Letters and Science. In tandem with the opening of an AII Center on campus, an AIIC-Academic Council plan for a Major in AIIS is currently under review and includes the template for establishing a department. Please visit the UCSB American Indian and Indigenous Studies website at aiis.ucsb.edu.

Acknowledgements and Commitments

The AIIC Academic Council and its members acknowledge the traditional custodians of these lands and waters and are committed to working collaboratively with tribes, bands, councils, committees, and families among the local Chumash Peoples and other Native and Indigenous peoples of lands currently known as the Americas and beyond. We seek counsel, direction and partnering with those who have cared for these lands and waters across millennia. UCSB currently sits on a distinguished traditional place of learning, known to have drawn Peoples from distances for thousands of years in safety, community, and sharing, not only of resources but also of knowledge. In partnership with Chumash Elders and scholars and Native and Indigenous Peoples and scholars from the Americas and beyond, we listen to and learn from place-based understandings of land, language, culture, and peoples, thereby shifting epistemological perspectives in ways that strengthen and intertwine current disciplinary practices.

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

As a condition of employment, you will be required to comply with the University of California Policy on Vaccination Programs, as may be amended or revised from time to time. Federal, state, or local public health directives may impose additional requirements.