Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies; Black Studies

Position: Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies (Black Studies)
Position Title Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies (Black Studies) About the University

Western Washington University, with over 16,000 students in seven colleges and the graduate school, is nationally recognized for its educational programs, students and faculty. The campus is located in Bellingham, Washington, a coastal community of 90,000 overlooking Bellingham Bay, the San Juan Islands and the North Cascades Mountain range. The city lies 90 miles north of Seattle and 60 miles south of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Western has additional sites in Anacortes, Bremerton, Everett, Port Angeles, and Poulsbo. Western is recognized nationally for its successes, such as being named one of the top public master's-granting institutions in the Pacific Northwest for 25 years in a row by U.S. News & World Report.

Western Washington University is committed to achieving excellence through advancing inclusive success, increasing our Washington impact, and focusing on transformational education grounded in the liberal arts and sciences and based on innovative scholarship, research, and creative activity. Western's greatest strength is the outstanding students, faculty, staff, and alumni/ae who make up its community. Western supports an inclusive governance structure for all and provides a learning and working environment in which everyone can thrive.

In pursuit of this excellence, individual employees are expected to establish and maintain productive and effective inclusive working relationships amongst diverse populations including staff, faculty, administration, student, and external constituents. Further, individual employees are expected to have the ability to operationalize sustainability concepts (economic, societal, environmental) into all aspects of performing their job duties.

About the Department The College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Department of Ethnic Studies support Western's mission, which states that together with our students, staff, and faculty, we are committed to making a positive impact in the state and the world with a shared focus on academic excellence and inclusive achievement. We encourage applications from women, people of color, people with disabilities, veterans, and other candidates from underrepresented backgrounds and with diverse experiences interested in this opportunity.

The Ethnic Studies Department at Western Washington University centers the histories, epistemologies and lived experiences of minoritized peoples and Indigenous Nations. Our approach is intersectional and transnational while highlighting the unique perspectives, contributions, and knowledges of Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and other minoritized communities. Our courses challenge systems of power and oppression, and advance liberation, emancipation, and self-determining future.

For more information about the department, see the website at (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..

About the Position

The Department of Ethnic Studies at Western Washington University is inviting applications for an Assistant Professor in Black Studies, beginning Fall 2026. We seek a community-engaged scholar whose teaching, research, and scholarship in Black Studies engage one or more of the following:
Black transnational and diasporic studies; comparative race, ethnicity, social movements; well-being; and/or critical race theory. We are open to any discipline.

The successful applicant will be well qualified to teach introductory and advanced undergraduate courses in Black Studies and Ethnic Studies and will participate in the collaborative building of our new department. Additional responsibilities include standard quarter-system teaching assignment (2-2-2); exemplary teaching; active program of scholarly activity; service to the department, college, university, and profession through a range of activities. The successful candidate will be expected to fulfill teaching and mentoring responsibilities in ways that provide equitable and inclusive learning environments for all students and will offer a strong record of community-engaged scholarship and research ethics.

Required Qualifications

* PhD in Black Studies,…