Open Rank Professor - Urban and Regional Planning

  • Cal State University (CSU) San Jose
  • San Jose, California
  • Mar 07, 2024
Education and Training Planning and Development

Job Description

Position Rank and Title: Assistant or Associate Professor (tenure track/tenured)

School/Department Name: Department of Urban and Regional Planning

Compensation: Commensurate with qualifications, experience, and rank as established by the CSU Salary Schedule . Anticipated hiring academic year annual salary range:
$83,000 - $100,000. See Benefits Summary for details about the CSU’s excellent employment benefits.

Target Start Date: August, 2024

Application Deadline: The first review will begin on January 16, 2024 ( new date ), but applications will be accepted until the position is filled or closed.


Position Description


The Master of Public Administration (MPA) program at San José State University seeks qualified candidates for an open-rank hire (tenure-track Assistant Professor or tenured Associate Professor) with an expected start in Fall 2024. The position is open in terms of specialization, but potential areas of focus may include local and/or regional governance, public policy, non-profit management, community development, organization theory, spatial information management, and related fields. The Department values scholarship from a diverse set of methodological backgrounds, including qualitative and quantitative approaches, and candidates with experience using Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

The Master of Public Administration (MPA) program is housed in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning and is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA). The program includes core courses, advanced seminars, and elective courses from within the program and also from related fields such as communication studies, political science, and urban planning. MPA graduates become the leaders, managers and analysts in public and non-profit agencies that serve the Silicon Valley and the Bay area.

The Department of Urban and Regional Planning at San José State University (SJSU), founded in 1970, is home to an interdisciplinary and highly research-active community of scholars, and engaged practitioners. In addition to the master’s degree in Public Administration, the department offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Geography, a bachelor’s degree in Geographic Information Science, a GIS Minor, a Geography Minor, an Urban Studies Minor, and a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning (accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board). A Master’s degree in Geographic Information Science is under development. The department also offers several advanced graduate certificates .

This position is an excellent opportunity for scholars interested in developing a successful academic career at an institution that values both teaching and research and is a national leader in graduating historically underserved students.

The Department of Urban and Regional Planning 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.

The department and San José 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 José 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.

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 Public Administration, Public Policy, Public Affairs, or Urban Planning at the time of appointment. Applicants with a Ph.D. in Urban Planning or a closely related field-but with teaching and research primarily focused on public administration-may also apply.
  • Demonstrated teaching experience, or strong potential to teach classes in public administration, public policy, and/or urban affairs.
  • A record of publication, or strong potential for publications, appropriate to the public administration and/or urban planning disciplines.
  • For consideration of appointment at the rank of tenured associate professor, demonstrated administrative experience or evidence of strong potential to lead the MPA program.
  • Demonstrated 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
  • Knowledge of complex social issues, including but not limited to homelessness, racial and social justice, immigration, environmental impacts and/or health disparities.
  • Experience working in a public or non-profit agency.
  • Teaching and research experience in public administration, government, and/or non-profit financial management.
  • Experience working with Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and other racially minoritized students in the classroom, and an understanding of how historical patterns of exclusion of these groups within higher education and the field of public administration 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.

Priority will be given to candidates who possess one or more of the following:
  • Demonstrated ability to teach both undergraduate and graduate courses
  • Demonstrated ability to teach across two or more of our programs - geography, urban planning, and public administration


Key Responsibilities

  • Teach core undergraduate courses and advanced graduate public administration courses commensurate with the successful applicant’s area of expertise and department needs. Teaching of undergraduate courses may also be required.
  • Faculty are expected to organize all their classes within the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS).
  • Develop and sustain an ongoing record of research, scholarship, and/or creative activities, as well as other professional engagement.
  • Participate in shared governance, typically in department, college, university, and other committee assignments.
  • Supervise graduate research projects and provide graduate student mentoring.
  • Display a willingness and ability to work collaboratively with faculty members in related fields in Urban Planning, Geography, Global Studies, or Environmental Studies on interdisciplinary projects and curricula.
  • 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.


Other Duties

Note that all San José State University employees are considered mandated reporters under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and are required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment. Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act) and CSU systemwide policy, some faculty duties may lead to designation as a Campus Security Authority (CSA). CSAs are required to complete Clery Act training and to immediately report Clery incidents to the institution.

Faculty employees must complete CSU employee training as assigned and required based on their role (e.g., Data Security, FERPA, Preventing Discrimination and Harassment, Title IX, Health and Safety). The President may recommend or require compliance with safety measures that decrease the likelihood of COVID-19 transmission or illness and allows the core mission and activities of the campus to continue.

Application Procedure

Click Apply Now to complete the SJSU Online Employment Application and attach the following documents:
  • Letter of interest. For those who wish to be appointed as tenured associate professor, describe your administrative experience or demonstrate strong potential to lead the MPA program.
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Statement of teaching interests/philosophy that describes the role that faculty play in student success (suggested length about 500-1000 words)
  • Statement of research. This statement should include a discussion of the applicant’s on-going and proposed research activities (suggested length about 500-1000 words)
  • Diversity statement following guidelines here (suggested length about 500-1000 words)
  • Evidence of teaching effectiveness such as peer observations or student evaluations in the past three to five years
  • Contact information only for three academic or professional references


Inquiries may be directed to the Department Chair, Dr. Laxmi Ramsubramanian, AICP, at laxmi.ramasubramanian@sjsu.edu


Conditional Offer


The work for this faculty position is located in the State of California and requires commuting to the campus. [For positions pre-approved for exemption from CA residency requirements only, replace the prior sentence with: This is a position for which work may be conducted remotely or out of state. Employees are expected to perform their duties during regular business hours in the Pacific Standard Time zone.] Employment is contingent upon US residence and proof of eligibility to work in the United States. Satisfactory completion of a background check (including a criminal records check) is required for employment. SJSU will make a conditional offer of employment, which may be rescinded if the background check reveals disqualifying information, and/or it is discovered that the candidate knowingly withheld or falsified information. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the continued employment of a current employee who was conditionally offered the position.

San José State University: Silicon Valley's Public University

Located in the heart of Silicon Valley - one of the most innovative regions in the world - San José State University is the founding campus of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system and the first public university in the West. Recognized as a leading transformative educational institution, San José State is an essential partner in the technological, economic, cultural, and social development of Silicon Valley, the Bay Area, and California. SJSU is a top-200 school nationally in research funding and second highest in research productivity in the CSU system. Cutting-edge research, world-class scholarship, student-centered learning, diverse communities, and commitment to social justice, allow SJSU to provide life-changing opportunities and advance the public good locally and globally.


Equal Employment Statement


San José State University prohibits discrimination on the basis of Age, Ancestry, Caste, Color, Disability, Ethnicity, Gender, Gender Expression, Gender Identity, Genetic Information, Marital Status, Medical Condition, Military Status, Nationality, Race, Religion, Religious Creed, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Sex Stereotype, and Veteran Status. This policy applies to all San José State University students, faculty, and staff as well as University programs and activities. Reasonable accommodations are made for applicants with disabilities who self-disclose.


Campus Security and Fire Safety Notification


Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, the Annual Security Report (ASR) is also now available for viewing at https://www.sjsu.edu/clery/docs/SJSU-Annual-Security-Report.pdf . The ASR contains the current security and safety-related policy statements, emergency preparedness and evacuation information, crime prevention and Sexual Assault prevention information, and information about drug and alcohol prevention programming. The ASR also contains statistics of Clery crimes for San José State University locations for the three most recent calendar years. A paper copy of the ASR is available upon request by contacting the Office of the Clery Director by phone at 408-924-1501 or by email at clerycompliance@sjsu.edu.

Pursuant to the Higher Education Opportunity Act, the Annual Fire Safety Report (AFSR) is available at https://www.sjsu.edu/clery/docs/SJSU-Annual-Fire-Safety-Report.pdf . The purpose of this report is to disclose statistics for fires that occurred within SJSU on-campus housing facilities for the three most recent calendar years, and to distribute fire safety policies and procedures intended to promote safety on Campus. A paper copy of the AFSR is available upon request by contacting the Housing Office by phone at 408-795-5600 or by email at uhs-frontdesk@sjsu.edu.

Advertised: Jan 02 2024 Pacific Standard Time
Applications close:

Closing Date/Time:

Job Address

San Jose, California United States View Map