1855 Assistant Professor-Tenure System

Position Summary

The Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures, in partnership with the College of Arts & Letters, invites applications for a tenure-track faculty colleague at the rank of assistant or advanced assistant professor for an 1855 Professorship in Technical Writing and Health Communications in a Context of Compassion and Equity. This is a nine-month, academic-year position beginning August 16, 2025. We are interested in a colleague with a proven research focus and evidenced participation in healthcare communications. We seek a colleague with a commitment to technical communication and focused on health communications in our contemporary global context, attentive to humanistic values and issues of ethics, healthcare, disparities, underrepresented communities, and with a commitment to experiential learning.

Research responsibilities: The successful candidate will join a vibrant research community internationally recognized for collaborative, multi-disciplinary research. MSU provides a tremendous opportunity to advance a scholarly trajectory that addresses inequities regarding health communications. 

Teaching Responsibilities: The successful candidate will have opportunities to develop undergraduate and graduate courses in technical writing, medical rhetoric, and health communication and to teach in the forthcoming BA in Arts & Humanities Health and wellbeing degree program, which reimagines and resets the arts and humanities for the 21st century as a human-centric, humanistic response to changes in healthcare evident in health disparities, social justice, civil unrest, unprecedented rates of clinician burnout and suicide, and unforeseen public health crises. 

Service Responsibilities: The successful candidate will contribute to the department, college (specifically to a new Arts and Humanities Health and Well-being initiative), university, and profession with demonstrable service activities.

About 1855 Professorships: https://provost.msu.edu/priorities-and-initiatives/1855-professorships  

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age, disability or protected veteran status.

Required Degree

Doctorate

Minimum Requirements

• Minimum degree requirement is a PhD.

Desired Qualifications

• Two or more years of postdoctoral research experience in a health-related area in academic, research, government, and/or industry setting is preferred. 

Required Application Materials

1. letter expressing interest in this position and describing qualifications and relevant experience 

1. a current curriculum vitae 

1. a summary of your experience with diversity in the classroom, which should address your experience mentoring diverse students, and/or how your past or planned research endeavors support diversity, equity, and inclusion. In your diversity statement, please include an explanation of how you will help advance inclusive excellence in our department; and 

1. the names and email addresses of three potential referees. 

Special Instructions

Review of applications will begin on January 13, 2024.  Applications will be accepted until a suitable candidate is identified. 

Applications must be submitted electronically to the Michigan State University Human Resources website http://careers.msu.edu. Posting number 1010523. 

Interested individuals wishing for more information are invited and encouraged to contact the search committee chair: Trixie Smith (smit1254@msu.edu).

Persons with disabilities have the right to request and receive reasonable accommodation.

Review of Applications Begins On

01/13/2025

Website

wrac.msu.edu

Department Statement

The College of Arts & Letters—and the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures—recognizes that only an academic and organizational culture that actively seeks out and strengthens diverse voices and perspectives among its members results in true excellence. The College of Arts & Letters is particularly interested in candidates of all backgrounds who are committed to the principle that intellectual leadership is achieved through open access and pro-active inclusion. 

MSU Statement

Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.