Job: TT Assistant Professor in Digital Rhetorics at Ohio University

Ohio University is searching for a new TT colleague in digital rhetorics, multimodal composing, and/or AI. This new colleague will teach undergraduate majors, students in general education courses, and students in our Rhet/Comp graduate program (MA and PhD). We’ve just refreshed our graduate curriculum and the whole department is very excited to have a new tenure-track colleague joining us in the fall.

Ohio University is the oldest institution of higher education in the Northwest Territory. We have a gorgeous campus in a welcoming, vibrant college town that regularly appears in national lists of best small and college towns. Our campus home, Ellis Hall, received a complete renovation just before the pandemic.

I’ll just note that the position description mentions that this is a joint hire with our College of Communication; however, the tenure home is English. We have multiple faculty members in the department (all who were successfully tenured!) who have similar joint positions and are currently searching for a fiction writer who will have a joint appointment as well, so this is not new territory for our department. We’ve recently revised our P&T and annual merit guidelines to ensure that folks with these joint appointments are treated fairly.

The position will close on January 8 and the full position description is available at https://www.ohiouniversityjobs.com/postings/48305 . Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about the position, department, or life in Athens.

Best,
Talinn Phillips

Job Title Assistant Professor of English (Tenure-track)
Applications Accepted From University Wide, Public: Open to the Public
Special Instructions to Applicants Please upload and submit the following documents when prompted:

  1. Cover Letter
  2. Curriculum Vitae
  3. Teaching Philosophy Statement that includes discussion of how the applicant reaches a wide variety of student populations
  4. Research Statement
  5. A 25-page sample of academic writing. This document must be uploaded using the document type “Other”.

Additionally, you will be asked to provide contact information for 3 professional references. Applicants will be prompted to key-in contact information of their letter providers. These referees will receive an email and link inviting them to upload a recommendation letter.

Review of application materials will begin immediately. The position will remain open until filled. For full consideration, please apply by January 8, 2024.

This position is eligible for the following benefits: medical, vision, dental, basic and supplemental life, paid holidays, educational benefits for you and eligible dependents, sick leave, and retirement.
Posting Number 20162337F
Job Description The Ohio University Department of English seeks an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Composition to join a cross-disciplinary community of scholars in digital media, digital rhetorics, AI-assisted tools for composition, and 21st-century pedagogy. The successful candidate will be a committed teacher and scholar of writing with a focus on one or more of the following: theory and scholarship of digital pedagogies and rhetorics; multimodal composition using digital forms; AI-augmented composition, including prompt engineering; or natural language processing.

This tenure-track position is on a full-time, nine-month contract with benefits year-round for the duration of the appointment. The teaching load is typically five courses per academic year on a semester schedule, with the potential to count graduate student and honors advising as equivalent to one course. This Assistant Professor will be expected to teach courses in digital media at the undergraduate and graduate level in the English Department. The course load may also include FYW, advanced writing, upper-division courses in writing and rhetoric, and/or other graduate courses, both in-person and online. Depending on qualifications and specific area of research, some portion of the position’s workload may be shared with one or more programs in the Scripps College of Communication, including graduate and/or undergraduate teaching and mentorship.

English Department: The Department of English has 32 full-time faculty across the main campus and seven regional campuses and centers in Southern and Central Ohio. Situated within the College of Arts & Sciences, the Department is committed to excellence in teaching, research, and service to the students it serves in the undergraduate major, M.A. and Ph.D. degree programs, and across the university in writing and humanities general education courses. To learn more about the successes of our English Department and student programs, visit; https://www.ohio.edu/cas/english.

College of Arts & Sciences: This college is central to Ohio University’s transformative learning experience. The foundational instruction for the entire university, delivered through the general education and liberal arts curriculum, is provided by the College of Arts and Sciences. The college provides the primary instruction for approximately one-third of the undergraduate majors on campus, as well as half of the undergraduate credit hours on the Athens campus. In addition, the college offers a number of master’s programs, and eight departments offer doctoral degrees. A&S faculty are at the heart of Ohio University’s research activity. For more information, visit this website.

Ohio University. Established in 1804, Ohio Universityis an R1 institution and the oldest public university in the state of Ohio. Our total enrollment is over 28,000 students across the state and online. About 20,000 of those students are undergraduates studying at our residential campus in Athens, a quintessential college town. The campus is located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains amidst scenic state and national parks, and is 75 minutes southeast of Columbus, Ohio.

Minimum Qualifications
  • PhD in Rhetoric, Composition, or closely related field by the start date of the position.
  • Minimum of two years of experience in teaching writing at the college level.
  • Experience working with at least some AI tools coupled with an understanding of generative AI and machine learning.
Preferred Qualifications
  • Scholarly agenda in digital rhetorics, social media, digital media, multimodal composing, AI, or related area.
  • At least 5 years of experience in teaching writing at the college level.
  • Experience in coding, natural language processing, or LLMs.
  • Experience teaching or mentoring graduate students.
  • Experience providing faculty development.
Department English
Pay Rate Salary is commensurate with experience and credentials and is accompanied by our generous university benefits such as tuition for self and dependents, a comprehensive insurance package (including but not limited to health, prescription, vision, dental, and life insurance), an excellent retirement plan including company contributions, parental leave, adoption reimbursement, and more. OHIO is also proud to offer wellness programs, on-site wellness facilities, and a generous employee assistance program. Additional Information is available at https://www.ohio.edu/hr/benefits/.
Job Open Date 11/22/2023
Posting Close Date 01/08/2024
Employment Type full-time regular
Job Category Tenure Track Faculty
Months 9 month
Planning Unit College of Arts & Sciences
Work Schedule
Campus Athens
Applicants may contact this person if they have questions about this position. Julie Masterson, Employment Coordinator, masterso
Diversity Statement Ohio University is proud of its rich history, diverse campuses, international communities, and beautiful Appalachian settings. As part of our ongoing efforts to provide and support a transformative learning experience, we affirm our commitment to fostering a welcoming, respectful, diverse, and inclusive workforce and community. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, age, ethnicity, national origin, national ancestry, sex, pregnancy, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, military service or veteran status, mental or physical disability, or genetic information. Ohio University is an equal access/equal opportunity and affirmative action employer.

Talinn Phillips, PhD (she)
Professor of English Rhetoric & Composition

Co-Chair, Writing Through the Lifespan Collaboration
Series Co-Editor, Lifespan Writing Research | WAC Clearinghouse
Series Co-Editor, Practice, Pedagogy, and Programming for Graduate Communication | University of Michigan Press
Ellis Hall 351
Ohio University
Athens, OH 45701
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