Assistant or Associate Professor – Department of Social Justice & Community Studies

Saint Mary's University

Tenure Track Appointment, Assistant or Associate Professor – Department of Social Justice & Community Studies (SJCS)

Date Posted: June 13, 2025
Posting Deadline: August 25, 2025
Department: Faculty of Arts, Department of Social Justice & Community Studies (SJCS)
Type of Employment: Tenure Track Appointment, Full-time
Group Affiliation: SMUFU

Saint Mary’s University is currently looking to fill Tenure Track Assistant or Associate Professor to join our Department of Social Justice & Community Studies (SJCS), commencing January 1, 2026.

Job Information and Responsibilities

The Department of Social Justice & Community Studies (SJCS) at Saint Mary’s University, on the unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq people, invites applications for a tenure-track appointment at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor, with a start date of January 1, 2026. We seek a critically engaged racialized and/or Indigenous scholar who will enhance SJCS’ community-engaged teaching and research. We particularly encourage applications from Mi’kmaw scholars grounded in a Mi’kmaw worldview and community, African Nova Scotian scholars doing Afri-centric, anti-racist work grounded in community, and racialized scholars doing critical, transnational, community-engaged work.

The successful candidate will clearly demonstrate strong skills and/or experience with anti-racist / anti-colonial / decolonizing research and work with communities as outlined above, and an ability to teach the Department’s 2nd year Community Organizing and 4th year Transnational Community Organizing courses (SJCS 2100 & 4739), and add to SJCS courses in pressing areas of community (and student) concern.

Position duties involve teaching at the undergraduate (and potentially graduate) level, mentoring and supervising students, conducting critical research, and service to the department, University, and community, including importantly building department capacity in areas such as community-engaged relationship building, curriculum revisioning, and program promotion and recruitment. The Department of SJCS is committed to equity and diversity as essential to academic excellence. This is a targeted search for candidates as outlined above, with relevant demonstrated lived experience and expertise.

The Department of SJCS houses a range of scholarly interests in Social Justice & Community Studies, and collaborative relations with Indigenous, Black and migrant communities locally and beyond. Central to the Department’s work is an emphasis on social justice and community engagement, a commitment to advancing rigorous scholarly understandings of how local and global social realities are shaped by unequal power relations, and the aim of building stronger relations with and between diverse Indigenous peoples (including importantly the L'nu'k), African Nova Scotians, im/migrant peoples, and historically settled white Nova Scotians and Canadians. The successful candidate for this position will play a key role in building capacity in this work, including through community engagement and teaching in the Department’s Major and Honours programs. SJCS welcomes innovative, collaborative, and non-dominant approaches to knowledges and methodologies in teaching, research, and service.

Experience and Education Requirements

• A PhD in a relevant field (if ABD, with clear documentation this will be completed before appointment), plus university teaching experience, ideally as outlined above.

Application Details

Applicants should submit an application package consisting of the following seven items only, merged into one file:
1. a letter of application carefully addressing all the criteria above, including how the applicant’s qualifications, expertise, and lived experience will enrich a) the Department’s teaching, b) the intellectual culture of the Department, c) student training and mentoring, d) the wider community (including relevant community engagement), and the University;
2. a curriculum vitae;
3. a teaching dossier including evidence of teaching effectiveness and mentoring (e.g. peer and/or student course evaluations, teaching letters of reference), and proposed draft course syllabi for SJCS 2100 Community Organizing and SJCS 4739 Transnational Community Organizing. Other relevant courses taught and/or proposed that directly address the criteria above may also be included;
4. relevant examples of recent scholarly writing, community research, reports;
5. a detailed and specific statement of the candidate’s lived experience and community grounding, relations and engagement (SJCS is abreast of current issues around self-Indigenization, in consultation with Indigenous communities and scholars);
6. graduate school transcripts (unofficial can be used to apply; official are required for hiring);
7. the names and contact information for three referees (who can be asked for reference letters).
Applications with one merged file should be emailed to sjcs@smu.ca but addressed to the Chairperson, Department of Social Justice & Community Studies. The deadline to submit the full application is August 25, 2025. Only complete applications with merged files will be considered. We thank all applicants for their interest, but only those being considered for an interview will be contacted.

About Saint Mary’s University

Saint Mary’s University is one of Canada’s top primary undergraduate universities--known for its international collaborations, leadership in entrepreneurship, and research that benefits local and global communities. Our programs in Arts, Science, Graduate Studies and the Sobey School of Business are among Canada’s best and feature professors who are committed to the success of their students. Saint Mary’s provides our 7,000 students with a place that fosters possibility, excellent research opportunities, and distinguished graduate and professional programs combined with a caring community. Nestled in the heart of Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Canada’s east coast, Saint Mary’s University is marked by iconic buildings, green spaces and fresh ocean air. The Saint Mary’s University community is committed to a prosperous future for the world—a world without limits.

At Saint Mary’s University, you will be surrounded by a talented and dedicated team of professionals committed to accessibility, diversity, and the provision of a positive and supportive learning environment. We recognize the importance of the contribution and growth of each individual in the University’s success. At Saint Mary’s, equity and diversity are integral to excellence and enrich our community. If you require accommodations during the recruitment process, please contact hr@smu.ca.

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