Assistant Professor - Composition​/Rhetoric

Assistant Professor - Composition/Rhetoric - #000482 Please see Special Instructions for more details.

Application materials must be submitted online. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until a candidate has been selected for hire. Preliminary interviews will be conducted via Zoom; finalist interviews will be on campus.

Please include the following: letter of application, current CV, list of 3 professional references with complete contact information, and unofficial transcripts showing degree conferral dates for all degrees at the master’s degree level and higher.

For questions or additional information please contact Dr. Travis Rountree, Assistant Department Head and Search Committee Chair, trountree

* All applicants are required to submit an unofficial transcript of their highest attained degree, showing all completed coursework and the date the degree was conferred. The transcript must state Degree Awarded, Degree Conferred or a similar phrase. For candidates who are ABD, please submit your most recent doctoral program transcript along with your master’s degree transcript, if you hold such a degree.

The master’s degree transcript must have a notation such as Degree Awarded, Degree Conferred or similar phrase, to verify it as your highest completed degree.

Working Title Assistant Professor - Composition/Rhetoric - #000482

Department

About WCU

• 2025 – Ranked 1st in the top 100 employers in North Carolina in Forbes ‘America’s Best Employers by State’ list.
• 2024 – Ranking in the top 8.5% on Forbes ‘America’s Best Midsize Employers’ list, WCU was ranked 34 out of the top 400 employers across all industries.
• 2023 – Ranked in the top 20% on Forbes ‘America’s Best Midsize Employers’ list, WCU was ranked 97 out of the top 500 employers across all industries.
• 2022 – Ranked 14th in the top 100 employers in North Carolina in Forbes ‘America’s Best Employers by State’ list.

Western Carolina University is the UNC system’s westernmost campus and has been consistently ranked as one of the top 15 public regional institutions in the South. Employees of WCU are provided a comprehensive benefits package as well as other resources, policies and programs to ensure a happy and healthy work/life balance. Benefit eligible employees have access to dental, vision and health insurance plans – eligibility begins on the first of the month following date of hire.

Retirement plan contributions begin on the eligibility date following election and include employer contributions for either a defined contribution or a defined benefit plan. Optional disability plans are also available. Eligible employees have access to tuition waivers for up to three courses per academic year; employee may enroll at any of the constituent UNC System campuses. Also offered are free group exercise classes multiple times per week, a discounted membership to the campus recreation center, free vaccine and booster shots offered on campus, pretax flexible spending accounts, 12 paid holidays and 24 hours of paid community service leave each year.

Leave earning employees (staff and 12-month faculty) who work at least half of the working days of their first month of employment will begin accruing vacation and sick leave immediately. Paid parental leave after 12 months of continuous service. WCU offers an abundance of training and development programs, certifications, workshops and conferences – many of which are offered free of charge.

The primary location of this position is the main Cullowhee, NC campus.

The English Studies Department at Western Carolina University is seeking candidates for a nine-month, tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor, to begin August 2026.

Candidates should have an established record of teaching composition (with a focus on Writing across the Curriculum particularly encouraged) with an interest in directing our Writing, Rhetoric & Critical Studies ( WRCS ) program. They should also have an ability to contribute to undergraduate courses in our Public Writing and Rhetoric concentration for English Studies majors, and Rhetorical Theory and Pedagogy courses in our Professional…