Month: October 2013

College of Education at the University of Arizona Announces an Open Rank Position in Indigenous Education

On By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn Announcements, Native faculty positionsLeave a comment

College of Education

The University of Arizona

The Department of Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies

College of Education, University of Arizona

Announces an Open Rank Position in Indigenous Education

The internationally recognized Language, Reading and Culture (LRC) program in the department of Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies (TLS) at the University of Arizona (UA) announces an open position in Indigenous Education effective August 2014. The UA not only lies in a dynamic transnational border region, but in close proximity to rich Native American cultures, including 22 federally recognized tribes in the state of Arizona. Native American students on the UA campus represent over 75 Native American tribes with the majority coming from Arizona tribes and reservations.  As a land grant institution, the UA has an important responsibility to Native American students and Nations. With the current open position, the College of Education at the UA seeks to further strengthen our undergraduate and graduate programs with the integration of Indigenous knowledge systems, epistemologies, and decolonizing research methodologies.

This position offers an opportunity to join a department comprised of two outstanding programs: Language Reading and Culture (LRC) and Teaching and Teacher Education (TTE). TLS faculty engage in interdisciplinary research and teaching, and demonstrate a deep commitment to social justice. TLS provides a collaborative work environment for faculty research and grant development and encourages cross-program and cross-departmental research initiatives, along with opportunities of collaboration across the college and the university. Existing faculty research and teaching interests in the area of Indigenous education include Indigenous youth language learning and practice; maintenance and revitalization of Indigenous language and culture; transnational Indigenous teacher education efforts; and Indigenous knowledge systems, including Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) systems. Additional faculty areas of expertise and interest across the department include multicultural, multilingual and multiliteracy education; anthropology and education; immigrant education; applied linguistics; language policy and planning; literacy processes and pedagogy; early childhood education; world children’s and adolescent literature; STEM education; technology and literacy; teacher education; and environmental learning and sustainability education.

LRC attracts diverse and highly qualified students, including Native American students and Indigenous students from Latin America, to our master’s and doctoral programs. LRC is also engaged in transnational inter-university collaborations in Indigenous education, providing opportunities for faculty and students through courses, conferences, etc. with a global network of Indigenous scholars and students across Arizona and in Hawaii, Alaska, New Zealand, Canada, and Mexico. Faculty across the department are additionally working on incorporating Native American education-related offerings into our department’s early childhood, elementary and secondary teacher preparation programs and our undergraduate education non-teaching degree programs. Thus, LRC is committed to creating and supporting a community of Indigenous scholars engaged in critical exploration and redefinition of how research in Indigenous education gets done and how it is engaged in community, university, and other academic disciplines.

Our location in the southwestern United States and our long history of involvement with the education of Native American and minority youth throughout the state and in the border region offer many opportunities to conduct field-based research with diverse urban and rural populations. The position will provide opportunities to work with the UA’s distinguished American Indian Language Development Institute (AILDI), widely-recognized for its influential efforts in Indigenous language teaching, language revitalization and documentation. Teaching, research and outreach activities are also possible with SEED (Scholarships for Education and Economic Development), a vibrant, international Indigenous education exchange program that annually brings diverse Indigenous teachers and curriculum developers from Mexico for a year-long program in collaboration with institutions in Mexico. The College of Education offers additional opportunities for collaboration with Project SOAR, a service-learning experience that connects Native American undergraduate mentors with Native American middle school students in the Tucson area. The University of Arizona further provides opportunities for collaboration with renowned Native American faculty and programs in Linguistics, Indigenous Law and Policy, and American Indian Studies.

Qualifications:

Earned doctorate in education or in a closely related field.  Strong commitment to and experience in Indigenous and equity education, and a clear research and teaching agenda in Native American and Indigenous education, including one or more of areas such as the following:

*  Indigenous language maintenance, revitalization, planning and policy

*  Indigenous teacher preparation

*  Indigenous children’s/young adult literature

*  Indigenous education and new technologies

*  Indigenous knowledge systems including Traditional Ecological Knowledge, STEM education, and place-based education

Responsibilities:

*  Faculty load includes teaching, research and service

*  Develop a strong program of research, publication, and grant support

*  Teach graduate and undergraduate courses in areas of specialization

*  Advise masters and doctoral students, and participate on graduate student committees

Indigenous scholars are strongly encouraged to apply. Applicants with proficiency in one or more Indigenous languages and/or experience working with Indigenous populations in schools and/or communities are especially encouraged to apply.

Compensation:

Competitive salary plus opportunities for summer teaching and research support.

Application Process:  Please complete the electronic application form (Job 53712) and attach a letter of interest, a statement of research and teaching interests, your curriculum vitae, three representative publications/papers, and names and contact information for three professional references on-line at: http://www.hr.arizona.edu

Applications are now being accepted and will be reviewed starting on November 15, 2013. Review will continue until the position is filled.

For further information please call (520) 621-2928, or contact:

Dr. Leisy Wyman (lwyman@email.arizona.edu) Committee Chair

Department of Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies

P. O. Box 210069

College of Education, University of Arizona

Tucson, AZ 85721-0069

Click here for the official job announcement.

Job shadowing my father, and my path to tenure

On By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn Hopi education, Hopi faculty, Willard Sakiestewa Gilbert6 Comments

Earlier this summer the University of Illinois granted me promotion to associate professor with indefinite tenure in American Indian Studies & history. Since then, I’ve been thinking a lot about my path to tenure, and the road I took to get where I am now.

Thirty years ago I wanted to grow up to be an astronaut, a veterinarian, or a professional musician. I did not imagine that I would become a university professor or a “scholar.” But when I was a senior in high school, my perspective and desire changed.

At this time, I had a rare opportunity to “job shadow” my father* who was (and still is) a professor of education at Northern Arizona University (NAU).Picture 8

I clearly remember sitting in the back of the classroom as he taught his students from the front.

I had never seen my father in this type of setting, and I was amazed at his ability to communicate to his students, present his topic with much enthusiasm, and provide his students with a safe place to learn, disagree with each other, and to think analytically.

But there was more. My father also exemplified for me how powerful a skilled Native American instructor could be, both as someone who could offer unique insights into course material, and as someone who could be a model for others.

When he lectured on the integration of western science and Navajo and Hopi cultures, he did so with authority and confidence. His teaching was grounded in who he was as an indigenous person. His students understood this, and they benefited from the unique and personal perspective he brought to his lecture.

Although the class period lasted for only an hour, my experience observing my father had a major influence on my life.

In this brief moment, my father demonstrated to me the characteristics of a successful teacher. And he showed me how to excel as an American Indian faculty in a classroom of Native and non-Native students.

My observation job shadowing my father in the College of Education at NAU set in motion my eventual career as an academic.

It launched me on a path toward college and graduate school, and a tenure track faculty position at the University of Illinois.

As an assistant professor, I worked hard to fulfill my obligations  and responsibilities to the academy and my Hopi community. But I did not do it alone.

I had the support of my wife and children, my parents and other extended family members, colleagues and friends at Illinois and beyond, and many people back home.

Now on sabbatical, and on the other side of tenure, I find myself thinking a lot about the past seven years at Illinois.

But I also keep recalling the time when I job shadowed my father, and the significance this experience had, and continues to have, on my career and life.

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*My father, Willard Sakiestewa Gilbert, is professor of Bilingual and Multicultural Education at Northern Arizona University (NAU). He grew up on the Hopi and Navajo Indian reservations in Arizona, and he received his Ed.D. (Doctor of Education) at the University of New Mexico. He has published a number of articles and book chapters, and once served as President of the National Indian Education Association (NIEA).