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Tenure Track Assistant Professor in Geographic Information Science

Position overview

Salary range: The posted UC salary scales set the minimum pay determined by rank and step at appointment. See Table 1 for the salary range. A reasonable estimate for this position is $78,700 - $130,000. “Offscale salaries”, i.e. a salary that is higher than the published system-wide minimum salary at the designated rank and step, are offered when necessary to meet competitive conditions.
Anticipated start: July 1, 2024

Application Window

Open date: October 10, 2023

Most recent review date: Friday, Nov 10, 2023 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications received after this date will be reviewed by the search committee if the position has not yet been filled.

Final date: Sunday, Jun 30, 2024 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position description

The Department of Geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara invites applications for a full time 9-month tenure-track Assistant Professor with research expertise and teaching interests in the area of Geographic Information Science. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, development of novel GIScience methods in spatial data science, geospatial artificial intelligence, geo-computation, agent-based simulation, spatial modeling, spatial optimization, geographic visualization, and geostatistics.

UCSB Geography is internationally recognized. The Department’s vision is to lead the integration of natural, social, and information sciences to solve problems of people and the environment. In alignment with the core mission of the University of California, the department aims to foster an academic climate that not only celebrates diversity but also actively dismantles institutional and systemic barriers to diversity.

Responsibilities of faculty members generally include the development of an actively funded research program of the highest quality, teaching at undergraduate and/or graduate levels, recruitment, supervision, and mentorship of graduate students, and participation in university service and professional activities. Successful candidates are expected to establish and maintain a strong quantitative research record, and high quality teaching relevant to GIScience at both graduate and undergraduate levels. 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. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values at UC Santa Barbara. Our excellence can only be fully realized by faculty, students, and staff who share our commitment to these values.

In 2023-24, a wide array of UC Santa Barbara departments is partnering with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to launch a special faculty recruitment initiative named after Benjamin Banneker, the 18th-century African American mathematician, astronomer, anti-racist, engineer, ecologist, and peace advocate. Funded by an Advancing Faculty Diversity grant from the UC Office of the President, with the goal of diversifying faculty, research, and curriculum, the Banneker Initiative aims to recruit scholars, scientists, and engineers whose disciplinary and interdisciplinary work would take place within the community of interests exemplified by Banneker’s intellectual, ethical, and social commitments as an African American scientist. Applicants may be eligible to be fellows in the Benjamin Banneker Initiative. The community of Banneker Fellows will receive funding for cohort building and professional development activities, including enrollment in the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity Faculty Success Program, proposal writing training, and seed grants.

Qualifications

Basic qualifications (required at time of application)
  • Candidate will need to be all but dissertation, ABD, at point of application in Geography, GI Science, or a related field.
Additional qualifications (required at time of start)
  • A Ph.D conferred in Geography, GI Science, or a related field is required by the time of appointment.
Preferred qualifications
  • Broadly trained with interdisciplinary experience and a commitment to disciplines directly relevant to GIScience. Preference will be given to candidates who demonstrate significant contributions to either the modeling, representation, retrieval, integration, visualization, and/or analysis of spatial data

  • Prior record of research, teaching, and professional activity in GIScience and Spatial Data Science

  • Evidence of past and ongoing contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion in research, teaching/mentoring, professional activity, and/or service

Application Requirements

Document requirements
  • Cover Letter - To facilitate unbiased review of applications, on a single page with reasonable formatting, please concisely introduce us to your research question and highlight your unique qualifications.

  • Curriculum Vitae - Please submit a complete CV including full publication, funding, and mentorship records.

  • Statement of Research - Describe research experience and interests, your current research focus, highlighting major contributions to the field thus far as well as areas to be investigated in future work. This statement may also include information about the candidate’s open science practices, possible areas of collaboration within the department or campus, and the potential for sustained impact of the research. (2 pages max)

  • Statement of Teaching - The search committee will use this document to evaluate your potential as an instructor. Please provide a statement that includes teaching and mentorship experiences to date, a brief summary of your teaching philosophy, a list of courses taught, and one or more topics that you would be interested in teaching. (2 pages max)

  • Statement of Contributions to Diversity - The search committee will use this document to evaluate your potential to contribute to the diversity of UC Santa Barbara. Please describe how your scholarship, teaching and mentoring, and/or service and engagement contribute to diversity, equity, and inclusion. In this statement, describe any steps you have taken (or are planning to take) to foster an inclusive intellectual environment in your lab, in the classroom, in the department and on campus, and/or in your field more generally. (2 page max)

Reference requirements
  • 3-4 required (contact information only)

Names and contact information for 3 - 4 references will be provided by each applicant. Letters from those
references will be requested for only those applicants selected for serious consideration.

Apply link: https://recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF02600

Help contact: geog-facultyrecruit@ucsb.edu

About UC Santa Barbara

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, age or protected veteran status. For the University of California’s Affirmative Action Policy please visit: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4010393/PPSM-20. For the University of California’s Anti-Discrimination Policy, please visit: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/1001004/Anti-Discrimination.

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.

Job location

Santa Barbara, CA