Lecturer I Position in Sustainability AND Development - School for Environment and Sustainability - University of Michigan
Pamela Jagger
Please consider joining us in Ann Arbor this fall! We have an thriving community of students and faculty addressing challenging problems related to achieving sustainability and development.
TEACHING FACULTY IN SUSTAINABILITY AND DEVELOPMENT
How to Apply
The School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) at the University of Michigan invites individuals to apply for the position of Lecturer I. Applications are welcomed and encouraged regardless of background and identity. Individuals with a demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion are particularly encouraged to apply. To apply, please complete the application on the U-M Careers site. The following materials must be submitted as part of the application:
1) A cover letter that addresses your specific interest in the position, outlines experience that directly relates to this position, and expresses a statement of teaching philosophy. The cover letter may be up to two single-spaced pages.
2) Curriculum vitae
3) Names of three individuals that can serve as references
This position is subject to the terms of the LEO bargaining agreement.
Mission Statement
SEAS's mission is to contribute to the protection of the Earth's resources and the achievement of a sustainable society. Through research, education, and outreach, the faculty, staff, and students are devoted to generating knowledge and developing policies, techniques, and skills to help practitioners manage and conserve environmental resources to meet the full range of human needs on a sustainable basis.
At SEAS we are committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and equitable environment that respects diverse experiences, promotes generous listening and communications, and discourages and restoratively responds to acts of discrimination, harassment, or injustice. Our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is deeply rooted in our values for a sustainable and just society.
Course Description
The successful applicant will serve a minimum of two years as an instructional faculty for the Sustainability and Development specialization, a graduate-level program.
We are interested in candidates who can teach a broad range of courses on sustainability and development.
During Year 1, the instructor will be expected to teach the following three half semester courses (1.5 credits each):
EAS 501: Grand Challenges in Sustainability and Development (Fall A)
Course overview: Instruction in the course will cover challenges in multiple dimensions rather than only the environmental, the economic, or the social. This course will focus on three grand challenges to the possibility of sustainability and development. 1. Climate change, its impacts, and attempts to mitigate emissions and adapt to climate impacts demand attention and analysis. 2. Unprecedented, rapid biodiversity loss and the erosion of ecosystem services threatens to take the biological systems of the planet into more homogenized directions. 3. Poverty and inequality – interrelated with each other as also with climate change and biodiversity loss have locked hundreds of millions of households into untold misery. For each of these multiplex problem fields, the course will review the scale and nature of issues related to the challenge, examine some of the mechanisms that decision makers at different political and institutional levels have used to address them, and assess their effectiveness. Coursework should involve class participation, short presentations, work on sustainability and development cases, and quizzes.
EAS 501: Cross cutting Themes in Sustainability and Development (Fall B)
Course description: The course will examine key cross-cutting themes for students of sustainability and development through the framework of sustainability science. With its focus on use-inspired, basic, interdisciplinary research, the field of sustainability science has emerged as a foundational means to think through human-environmental relationships and social-ecological systems. Key thrusts in sustainability science – to bridge the gap between science and practice and across social, ecological, and professional sciences – are central to understanding and changing the trajectories of unsustainable development in many regions and countries, societies and communities, sectors and markets. Students taking the course will (1) learn about the core principles of sustainability science and its antecedents, and (2) focus on four cross-cutting themes relevant to sustainability: Equity and justice, adaption to shocks and transformational change, knowledge-action relationships, and governance of complex systems.
EAS 501: Methods and approaches for analyzing sustainability and development problems (Fall 2022 or Winter 2023, TBD)
Course description: Students in the course will learn the key methods through which to undertake analyses of sustainability and development challenges. These methods include cost-benefit analysis, life cycle analysis, institutional analysis, impact analysis, and introductory data analysis and visualization.
EAS 701 Theme-Based Master's Project
In Winter 2023, the instructor will begin to teach a Theme-based Master’s Project Course to a cohort of about 20 students. In this three-semester course series, four teams of interdisciplinary students work on “real worlds” projects within one of five of SEAS’ thematic foci (for this position preferably “Climate & Energy.” The series begins with a three-credit winter course on theme-specific content and skills to develop project plans, followed by a two-credit fall course focusing on analysis and synthesis of the summer’s work, and finally a one-credit course during the second winter to guide completion of the project, reports and presentations.
In Year 2, the instructor will complete the EAS 701 course series, and may be asked to teach the 501 Methods course again as well as to teach new half or full semester courses pending on the instructors’ expertise or SEAS’ needs.
In all cases, instructors will have access to existing syllabi, lecture notes, power point presentations and assessment rubrics used for teaching these courses in prior semesters.
Half semester, 1.5 credit courses will meet for a 1.5 hour session for 7 weeks, full semester courses will meet according to credit requirements between 1.5-3 hours per week
Although in-person instruction is highly preferred, pending circumstances, pending UM’s most recent policies, the position’s responsibilities may be completed remotely or hybrid (mix of in-person and remote) based on curricular needs and individual constraints.
The position is covered by the collective bargaining agreement between the University and the Lecturers’ Employee Organization (LEO). The initial term of the appointment is for 2 years.
Required Qualifications*
- A PhD in environment, sustainability, natural resources, environmental policy or closely related field.
- Applicants who have expertise and professional experience in both domestic and international sustainable development contexts are especially encouraged to apply.
Desired Qualifications*
- Demonstrated commitment to inclusive teaching and promoting and participating in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives
Additional Information
Selected candidates will be contacted and interviewed remotely. The anticipated start date for this position is August 29, 2022 and may last until the end of the Winter 2023 semester. Expected effort level for teaching one course at SEAS is 33% of a full-time equivalent for each month of the course.
Review of applications will continue until the position is filled.
Union Affiliation
This position is covered under the collective bargaining agreement between the U-M and the Lecturers Employee Organization, AFL-CIO, which contains and settles all matters with respect to wages, benefits, hours and other terms and conditions of employment.
Background Screening
The University of Michigan conducts background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer and may use a third party administrator to conduct background checks. Background checks are performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
U-M EEO/AA Statement
The University of Michigan is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.
U-M COVID-19 Vaccination Policy
COVID-19 vaccinations, including boosters when eligible, are required for all University of Michigan students, faculty and staff across all campuses, including Michigan Medicine. This includes those working remotely. More information on this new policy is available on the Campus Blueprint website or the UM-Dearborn and UM-Flint websites.
Pamela Jagger
Associate Professor
SEAS PhD/Postdoc Program Director
440 Church Street, Ann Arbor, 48109-1041
(734) 615-0148
www.seas.umich.edu ◊ fuel.seas.umich.edu ◊ eppsa.cpc.unc.edu