Assistant Professor - Career Track (Teaching) | Comparative Ethnic Studies (Pullman, WA)

Online applications must be received before 11:59pm on:

November 30, 2026

If a date is not listed above, review the Applicant Instructions below for more details.

Available Title(s):

158-NN_FACULTY - Teaching Assistant Professor - Career, 396-NN_FACULTY - New Teaching Track - Pre-Academic Year

Business Title:

Assistant Professor - Career Track (Teaching) | Comparative Ethnic Studies (Pullman, WA)

Employee Type:

Faculty (+) (Fixed Term)9 Month - Summer

The Opportunity:

The School of Languages, Cultures, and Race (SLCR) at Washington State University invites applications for an Assistant Professor, Career track (Teaching subtrack) faculty position in Pullman, WA, with a specialty in Comparative Ethnic Studies (CES). This position is a fixed-term, nine-month, three-year appointment with possibility of renewal. We seek applicants who have the educational qualifications and experience to teach a broad variety of foundational and general courses in Ethnic Studies as well as courses in Black Studies. The workload distribution of this position is 80% teaching and 20% service.

We are excited to welcome a colleague who is passionate about student success and committed to excellence in teaching. In this role, the new colleague will have the opportunity to teach and mentor students from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. We also value faculty who actively contribute to the life of the academic unit through service, collaboration, and shared governance.

Duties & Responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

• Teaching 12 in-person undergraduate credits per semester. Courses may include, but are not limited to: a) Hip Hop as a cultural movement; b) social, cultural, and institutional processes that attach meaning to notions of race and racial differences, especially in U.S.-based corporations; c) race, ethnicity, and racism within social, cultural, and historical structures and systems in the United States; d) critical examination of the history, methodology and theoretical concepts of Ethnic Studies; e) political and cultural practices that define whiteness through history, popular culture and everyday life; f) global cultural practices rooted in nationalism, colonization, empire-building, racism, ethnic conflict, and class inequality; h) racial and ethnic diversity of the Pacific Northwest; g) Black resistance and popular culture; i) African American literature and film
• Developing undergraduate curriculum
• Working on committees, including recruitment and retention efforts
• Participating in CES program meetings
• Participating in the SLCR faculty meetings

It is anticipated that the successful candidate will begin the appointment on August 16, 2027.

9-month Academic Year Salary: $47,000.00 to $52,000.00 | Commensurate with experience and qualifications

In accordance with RCW 49.58.110, the above salary reflects the full salary range for this position. Individual placement within the range is based on the candidate’s current experience, education, skills, and abilities related to the position. Successful candidates typically begin up to mid-point of the salary range.

Benefits: WSU offers a comprehensive benefits package which includes paid sick and vacation leave; paid holidays; medical, dental, life and disability insurance package for employees and dependents; retirement; deferred compensation, optional supplemental retirement accounts. For additional information, please review the detailed Summary of Benefits offered by WSU for Faculty and Total Compensation.

Required Qualifications:

• Completed PhD. in Comparative Ethnic Studies or a similar field of studies by appointment date
• Native or near-native fluency in English
• Demonstrated record of successful teaching at a college or university level in foundational and/or introductory courses to Ethnic Studies, Black Studies, and/or related fields
• Demonstrated commitment to student recruitment initiatives
• Demonstrated commitment to student retention and success initiatives
• Demonstrated commitment to, or potential to support, access and opportunity in teaching and service in alignment with WSU’s land grant mission
  

Position Sponsorship Eligibility: This position is not eligible for work visa sponsorship

Area/College: College of Arts and Sciences
Department Name: School of Languages, Cultures and Race
Location: Pullman, WA

Application Instructions: Applicants must upload the following required documents to their online application. Application materials should clearly communicate how the applicant meets all required qualifications and additional requirements:

• A cover letter addressing qualifications for this position as well as a response to the following prompt: As a land-grant university, we have a commitment to ensure access and opportunity in all aspects of our work. The successful candidate for this faculty position will have the experiences, knowledge, and skills to build their pedagogy, curriculum, and service in ways that reflect and enhance this commitment. Using the job announcement for this position, please list and explain up to three areas of responsibility you see as related to fulfilling this mission.
• Curriculum vitae
• Teaching statement that describes your teaching experience and philosophy, which may incorporate experience from formal or informal teaching and mentoring opportunities.

Inquiries should be directed to Dr. Vilma Navarro-Daniels (navarrod@wsu.edu), Director of the School of Languages, Cultures, and Race.

External candidates, upload all documents in the “Application Document” section of your application.

Current WSU Employees (internal candidates), before starting your Workday application, please use these instructions to update your education and experience in your worker profile in Workday. Internal candidates, upload all documents in the “Resume/Cover Letter” section of your application.

Documents may be submitted as one file or separate files. Applicants are encouraged to upload as a PDF, if possible.

Reference contact information will be requested later in the recruitment process through Workday.

Background Check: This position has been designated by the department to require a background check because it requires access to children or vulnerable adults as defined by RCW 74.34, engages in law enforcement, requires security clearance, interacts with WSU students in a counseling or advising capacity, has access to personal identifying and/or financial information, unsupervised access to university buildings/property, or other business-related need. A background check will not be completed until an initial determination of qualification for employment has been made.

About WSU, Pullman, CAS, and School of Languages, Cultures, and Race:

Washington State University is a land grant, multiple-campus Research 1 institution. This position will serve on the Pullman campus, which has an enrollment of around 20,000 students and is located in Southeastern Washington on the homelands of the Nimíipuu (Nez Perce) Tribe and Palus people. Located 80 miles south of metropolitan Spokane, Pullman is also a quick drive away from the scenic Idaho panhandle and Moscow Mountain. The rolling hills of the Palouse offer a wide range of activities and a true four-season climate. The area provides ample opportunity to enjoy the cultural and academic hub of both Washington State University and the University of Idaho, in the neighboring town of Moscow, Idaho. For more information about the region, please visit

Encompassing more than 19 departments, schools, and programs, and 19 centers, institutes, museums, and research stations across five campuses statewide, the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) is the heart of WSU. Together over 700 CAS faculty and staff deliver more than 50% of WSU’s total undergraduate and graduate instruction, including the vast majority of WSU’s core curriculum. We drive disciplinary and transdisciplinary research, scholarship, and creative activities across the arts, humanities, social sciences, sciences and mathematics. The College of Arts & Sciences seeks to lead a reimagining of WSU’s land-grant mission for the 21st century, expanding the boundaries of creativity and discovery while simultaneously recognizing more completely our obligations to the State and the communities we serve. For more about the College of Arts & Sciences at WSU, please visit

The selected candidate will join an inclusive academic unit formed in 2018 by the merging of the Department of Foreign Languages and Cultures and the Department of Comparative Ethnic Studies. The SLCR offers the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Humanities, Social Sciences, and Foreign Languages and Cultures (in French, Japanese, and Spanish). Also, Professional Second Majors in French, German, Japanese, and Spanish. In addition, we have a variety of minors such as a minor in Film Studies, Popular Culture, and Global Studies, among others, and certificates in core competencies in Chinese, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish, and in Latinx Studies and Race and Ethnicity in the Corporate World ()

WSU acknowledges that its locations statewide are on the homelands of Native American peoples, who have lived in this region and have been caretakers of the land from time immemorial. The Morrill Act of 1862 established our land-grant institution by providing public and federal lands that are traced back to the dispossession of Indigenous lands, often taken by coercive and violent acts, and the disregard of treaties. For that, we extend our deepest apologies. We owe our deepest gratitude to the Native peoples of this region and maintain our commitment towards reconciliation. And as a land-grant institution, WSU is deeply committed to the land-grant mission, its Memorandums of Understanding with Native tribes in the region, and a tradition of service to society. To read the full WSU land acknowledgement, please visit

Full time

Washington State University encourages all qualified candidates to apply, including members of the military and veterans, and persons with disabilities.

WSU employs only U.S. citizens and lawfully authorized non-U.S. citizens. All new employees must show employment eligibility verification as required by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

WSU is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation in its services, programs, activities, education and employment for individuals with disabilities. To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact Human Resource Services: 509-335-4521 (v), Washington State TDD Relay Service: Voice Callers: 1-800-833-6384; TDD Callers: 1-800-833-6388, 509-335-1259(f), or hrs@wsu.edu.

Notice of Non-Discrimination

In matters of admission, employment, housing or services, or in the educational programs or activities it operates, WSU does not discriminate or permit discrimination by any member of its community against any individual on the basis of sex, race, color, national or ethnic origin, physical disability, mental disability, sensory disability, use of a trained service animal, age, religion, creed, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status, honorably discharged veteran, member of the military, or immigration or citizenship status except as authorized by federal or state law, regulation, or government contract.

Inquiries about the application of federal and state laws and regulations (including inquiries regarding the application of Title IX, ADA/Section 504, and implementing regulations), as well as reports and complaints of discrimination and harassment, can be made verbally or in writing to WSU’s Compliance and Civil Rights, the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, or both.

More information, resources, and contact information are available here: https://ccr.wsu.edu/notice-of-nondiscrimination/