DIRECTOR OF THE UMASS ALLIANCE FOR COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION
The Department of Anthropology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst seeks a Director for the UMass Alliance for Community Transformation (UACT), the University’s curricular alternative spring break program. The position is a 9-month lectureship, three-year appointment, possibility for renewal.
UACT is a 15-year-old collaboration of faculty, students, and community partners that serves to promote social justice and cross cultural collaboration through alternative curricular breaks and other experiential learning opportunities that focus on grassroots community development and grassroots community organizing (www.umass.edu/uact).  UACT employs peer teaching and critical and experiential pedagogies to promote civic leadership skills among its students.
The Director is responsible for the oversight of all components of UACT including teaching or supervising a minimum of 4 academic courses/year, oversight of student thesis research, planning UACT’S 5 annual leadership retreats, oversight and training of UACT’s student staff, facilitation of community partnerships including their associated alternative spring break trips and advising students within the Department and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences on experiential learning opportunities.
Requirements: PhD in anthropology or related field, demonstrated record of teaching excellence, demonstrated experience in critical or engaged pedagogy, and previous experience with community organizing are essential.  Previous experience with community service learning, alternative spring breaks, and grantsmanship are desirable.  We seek candidates who will complement departmental strengths in issues of power and structural inequality and help us expand our curricular commitment to experiential learning. The Department of Anthropology at UMass Amherst is committed to developing a more diverse faculty, student body, and curriculum.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is the flagship campus of the 5-campus publicly funded UMass system. It is located in the Connecticut River Valley, 90 miles west of Boston and 180 miles northeast of New York City. UMass Amherst hosts nearly 19,000 undergraduate students and 5,600 graduate students, and nearly 900 tenure system faculty. The Department of Anthropology has 21 faculty, 175 majors in the BA program and 82 graduate students working on MA and/or PhD programs.
UMass Amherst anthropology faculty work closely with their counterparts in the area private colleges (Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith) in curricular planning. The faculty is unionized, and the University of Massachusetts offers an excellent benefits package. UMass Amherst prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and other protected categories.
We strongly prefer that applications be submitted online at https://academicjobsonline.
The University of Massachusetts is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.  Women and members of minority groups are encouraged to apply.
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Prof. Mari Castañeda / Dept of Communication / UMass Amherst / 413-545-1307