Assistant Professor, Political Science: Comparative or American Politics (Artificial Intelligen[...]

Position Rank and Title : Assistant Professor, Political Science : Comparative or American Politics (Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Technology Policy)

School / Department Name : Political Science

Compensation : Commensurate with qualifications, experience, and rank as established by the CSU Salary Schedule. Anticipated hiring academic year annual salary range :

The following information provides an overview of the skills, qualities, and qualifications needed for this role.

$ 86,000 - $ 90,000

Faculty employee benefits are very competitive for the higher education sector. See the CSU Employee Benefits Summary for details about the CSU's excellent benefits package.

Target Start Date : August 2025

Application Deadline : October 11, 2024 (Applications accepted until filled or closed)

Position Description

The Political Science Department at San Jose State University seeks qualified candidates for a full-time, tenure-track position at the Assistant Professor level in comparative or American politics with a specialization in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and technology policy.

• We highly encourage candidates whose research specializes in any of the following areas including, but not limited to, the role of AI and misinformation, disinformation or manipulation in elections;
• comparative public policy investigating different government approaches and regulatory systems with respect to AI research and deployment in the public and private sectors;
• human oversight including the need for international collaboration and standards around AI; examining how the adoption of AI technologies affects employment, inequality, and privacy across different national contexts;

and implicit bias within Large Language Models (LLMs), ethics, social justice, and AI.

The Political Science Department at SJSU was founded in 1962 and currently has 25 full and part time faculty and approximately 400 majors and minors.

The undergraduate program offers a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and three minors : Political Science, Public Administration and Public Policy, and Applied Research Methods.

The Political Science major provides students with an understanding of politics and government, prepares them to be active, engaged, and informed citizens, and further develops skills in critical analysis and communication.

The degree in Political Science prepares students for a wide variety of professional careers, including public service, the law, public policy, teaching, and business.

The Political Science Department and San Jose State University value diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Our excellence in research, teaching, and service can only be fully realized by faculty, students, and staff who share our commitment to these values.

SJSU enrolls more than 36,000 students, many of whom are historically underserved, and around 45% are first-generation and 38% are Pell-recipients.

SJSU is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander (AANAPISI) Serving Institution.

The university's commitment to social justice extends from its vibrant, inclusive campus to an international network of over 275,000 alumni.

As such, San Jose State is committed to increasing the diversity of its faculty so our disciplines, students, and the community can benefit from multiple ethnic and gender perspectives.

The Political Science department is part of the College of Social Sciences, which is committed to equitable and inclusive teaching and learning.

The College sees faculty and student success as inextricably linked, and strives to provide culturally-sustaining, and academically-affirming approaches to supporting and engaging students and faculty.

We provide opportunities for faculty development around asset-based, holistic student success, and support scholarship of engagement that addresses issues that affect our campus and community.

In all of our endeavors, we strive to build leadership capacity and foster a culture of support and belonging for faculty, staff, and students.

Successful candidates will demonstrate evidence of a commitment to equity and inclusion through their research, teaching, and / or service.

We ask that all applicants include a Diversity Statement with their application package. A guide to writing this statement can be found at SJSU Diversity Statement Guidelines, along with information about how these statements will be evaluated.

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in political science at the time of appointment.
• Demonstrated teaching experience or potential to teach effectively in comparative politics, technology policy, and political science.
• Demonstrated ability or strong potential to develop and maintain an active research agenda with publications appropriate to the political science discipline.
• Applicants should demonstrate an awareness of and sensitivity to the educational goals of a socially and economically diverse student population as might have been gained in cross-cultural study, training, teaching, and other comparable experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Broad knowledge and preparation in comparative politics (especially African and / or Middle Eastern politics) or American politics (with an emphasis in American public policy).
• Experience working with Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and other historically underserved students in the classroom, and an understanding of how historical patterns of exclusion of these groups within higher education and the field of political science shape patterns of participation and outcomes.
• Willingness to examine and re-mediate one's instructional, relational, and classroom practices to more effectively engage and support historically underserved students.

Key Responsibilities

• The candidate will support enrollment growth through new curriculum development in AI and comparative and / or American politics, while also teaching political science courses commensurate with the successful applicant's area of expertise and department needs.
• The candidate will develop and sustain an ongoing record of research, scholarship, and / or creative activities, as well as other professional engagement.
• The candidate will participate in shared governance, usually in department, college, and university committees and other service assignments.
• The candidate must demonstrate awareness and experience understanding the needs of a student population of great diversity - in age, abilities, cultural background, ethnicity, religion, economic background, primary language, sexual orientation, gender identity, and academic preparation - through inclusive course materials, teaching strategies and advisement.
• Faculty shall organize all their classes within the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS).

Application Procedure

Click Apply Now to complete the SJSU Online Employment Application and attach the following documents.

• Letter of interest
• Curriculum Vitae
• Diversity statement
• Statement of research outlining current and future research plans
• Statement of teaching interests / philosophy and evidence of teaching effectiveness (e.g. teaching evaluations and / or sample syllabi)
• Three reference letters

Inquiries may be directed to the Search Committee Chair, Dr. Garrick Percival ([email protected]).

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