Assistant Professor of Environmental Justice – UVA

Department of Environmental Sciences

Assistant Professor of Environmental Justice

The College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Virginia has launched a multiyear faculty hiring initiative devoted to Race, Justice and Equity, building on a broad range of recent commitments, including an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation funded project to hire 10 Tenure/Tenure Track faculty working on the Global South; an expansion and University endowment commitment to the Carter Woodson Institute and Department of African and African-American Studies; the establishment of the Dean’s Doctoral Fellowships to enhance our recruitment of  underrepresented graduate students; and a parallel project in collaboration with the Mellon Foundation to appoint 30 Race, Justice, and Equity Postdoctoral and Arts fellows across the University (20 in Arts & Sciences). 

These commitments further our mission as a public university, dedicated to the promise of democratic life, and consistently engaged with the unfinished struggles for democracy, freedom, and justice with which our national and institutional histories are so deeply entangled. The present historical moment—and the deep histories that have produced it—call us to engage with renewed urgency the particular histories of inequality affecting Black communities in the United States and across the globe. Our hiring, research, teaching, and institutional practices and commitments must respond to that call.

As part of this initiative, UVA Arts & Sciences has launched a cluster of 10 tenured/tenure track searches for faculty members working in Black studies in national and global contexts, with intersecting fields of interest across disciplinary domains. Appointments will span multiple fields: Music and Sound Studies, Black Political Thought and Philosophy; Sociology of Race; Black Feminist Theory; Studio and Digital Art; Race, Media and Technology; Black Diaspora and Latinx studies; Environmental Justice; Race and Health, Black Youth studies. Four of these searches were completed last year with the next six occurring this Fall.

These new faculty members will join a community of colleagues at UVA already working in and across disciplines on the social, cultural, political, historical, and environmental questions that are central to African, African-American, and Diaspora communities across the US and around the world. The University of Virginia’s location and history necessitates that we sustain and expand research and teaching in these areas.

The Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia seeks a tenure-track assistant professor to begin August 2022. We invite applications from rising scholars in any field in the environmental sciences or a related field in the natural sciences or engineering. The successful candidate will be expected to develop a nationally recognized research program focused on environmental justice and/or climate equity as related to any aspect of the Earth system and to develop courses along those lines. The scholar should work on issues at the intersection of race, equity, justice, and the environment, defined broadly, including climate change, environmental pollution, biodiversity, severe weather and natural hazards, natural resource extraction and distribution, and/or the built environment and infrastructure. We welcome applications from scholars working at local to global scales with a focus on issues facing Black and intersectional Black communities, including, but not limited to, those conducting community-engaged scholarship and incorporating local and traditional knowledge. We are particularly interested in scholars with a track record of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within their research, teaching, and service, who bring their lived experiences to their scholarly activities, and who are open to collaborating across disciplines.

The position will be 100% within the Department of Environmental Sciences. Faculty and students in the Department of Environmental Sciences focus on the physical, chemical, and ecological processes that shape our land, waters, and atmosphere and determine their interactions at scales from the microcosm to the earth system around the globe. We work to discover, integrate, and communicate new knowledge and generate wisdom about environmental systems, to educate and mentor students, citizens, and fellow scientists, and to provide actionable information for management, policymaking, and environmental justice. We are committed to improving diversity and inclusivity within our department and our disciplines.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to collaborate with scholars across the University of Virginia in programs such as Environmental Thought and Practice, the Environmental Resilience Institute, the Equity Center, the Carter G. Woodson Institute, and the Repair Lab: Racial Justice and Environmental Policy Project.

Applicants must have a Ph.D. or D. Phil. in environmental sciences, engineering, or a related science or engineering field by August 1, 2022. For full consideration, applications should be received by Nov 15.

TO APPLY:

Apply online at https://uva.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/UVAJobs: and complete the application, and attach the following:

1. A cover letter that addresses (1) area(s) of research; (2) potential collaborations at UVa; (3) demonstrated past experience working on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion and/or working with diverse populations and/or cultivating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture in your work (1-2 pages)
2. Summary of your research experience and plans, with specific reference to environmental or climate justice (3 pages)
3. Statement of teaching experience and interests (1 page)

In each of the above, please address how you have contributed to a departmental, university or community culture of diversity, equity and inclusion.

4. CV and contact information for three references (combined into one pdf)

***Please note all required documents must be uploaded in the Resume box.***

***Only applications that contain all required documents will receive consideration.***

Questions about this position should be directed to Deborah Lawrence, Professor, at dl3c@virginia.edu.

Questions regarding the application process should be directed to: Rich Haverstrom, Faculty Search Advisor at rkh6j@virginia.edu.

The University will perform background checks on all new faculty hires prior to making a final offer of employment.

UVA assists faculty spouses and partners seeking employment in the Charlottesville area.  To learn more please visit https://dualcareer.virginia.edu. For more information about UVA and the Charlottesville community please see http://www.virginia.edu/life/charlottesville and https://embarkcva.com/.

Learn more and apply: https://uva.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/UVAJobs/job/Charlottesville-VA/Assistant-Professor-of-Environmental-Justice_R0029447