Working Title: Tenure-Track Assistant Professor, Technical and Professional Communication

State Role Title: N/A

Position Type: Instructional / Teaching Faculty

Position Status: Full-Time

FLSA Status: Exempt: Not Eligible for Overtime

College/Division: College of Arts and Letters

Department: 100361 - Writing, Rhetoric and Tech Comm

Pay Rate: Commensurate with Experience

Specify Range or Amount:

Is this a JMU only position? No

Is this a grant-funded position? No

Is this a Conflict of Interest designated position? No

Beginning Review Date: 10/16/2025

About JMU:

Mission
We are a community committed to preparing students to be educated and enlightened citizens who lead productive and meaningful lives.

Vision
To be the national model for the engaged university: engaged with ideas and the world.

Who We Are
Located in the heart of Virginia’s beautiful Shenandoah Valley, the city of Harrisonburg is approximately 120 miles from Washington, D.C. and Richmond, VA. With a population of just over 53,000, Harrisonburg is one of the most diverse communities in the Commonwealth of Virginia. JMU is a selective, public institution with a growing national reputation for offering experiences that lead to an outstanding education and inclusive environment for students, faculty and staff. The student body includes approximately 20,000 undergraduate and 1,900 graduate students, with over 1,000 full-time instructional faculty.

JMU offers thriving programs in the liberal arts, science and technology, and professional disciplines at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels. JMU has achieved national recognition for the high quality of its academic programs, focus on maintaining strong student/faculty interaction, and innovative faculty research.

General Information:

The School of Writing, Rhetoric & Technical Communication (www.jmu.edu/wrtc) at James Madison University invites applications for a tenure-track position in technical and professional communication at the rank of Assistant Professor to begin August 2026.

The College of Arts and Letters, in which the School of Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication is housed, enrolls over 3,100 undergraduate majors and about 150 graduate students across ten academic units in the humanities, social sciences, and communication studies. Home to several interdisciplinary centers and institutes, the College employs 270 full-time faculty. We embrace the teacher-scholar model and encourage excellent applicants within our particular disciplines, as well as scholars and teachers eager to work across them.

Duties and Responsibilities:

We are excited to work alongside a new colleague who brings innovative approaches to environmental rhetorics and rhetorics of science and technology. Accompanying interests might include AI/LLMs and emerging technologies, risk/crisis communication, and legal/regulatory writing. There are opportunities to teach across all levels of our graduate, undergraduate, and general education offerings. A traditional teaching load is 3-3, and there are opportunities for financial support of scholarship via college- and university-level grants.

Qualifications:

A Ph.D. in technical or professional communication or a closely related field is required by time of appointment. Late assistant professors are also encouraged to apply.

Additional Posting Information:

Applicants will complete the faculty profile and submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and contact details for three references. The cover letter should include a discussion of the candidate’s research interests as well as teaching experience and philosophy. Candidates might later be asked to submit evidence of teaching effectiveness, examples of scholarly or professional work, and letters of recommendation.

Review of completed applications will begin October 16, 2025. For more information, please contact Dr. Angela Crow, search committee co-chair, at crowad@jmu.edu.

JMU’s Dual Career and Community Resources Program is available for candidates that will be relocating to the area. For more information, please visit https://bit.ly/2OTF1NG.

Conditions of Employment:  

Employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a criminal background check.

E-Verify Notice: After accepting employment, new hires are required to complete an I-9 form and present documentation of their identity and eligibility to work in the United States. James Madison University uses the E-Verify system to confirm identity and work authorization.

EEO Statement:

James Madison University is committed to creating and supporting a diverse and inclusive work and educational community that is free of all forms of discrimination. This institution does not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, parental status, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran status.

We promote access, inclusion and diversity for all students, faculty, staff, constituents and programs, believing that these qualities are foundational components of an outstanding education in keeping with our mission. The university is interested in candidates whose experience and qualifications support an ongoing commitment to this core quality.

Anyone having questions concerning discrimination should contact the Office for Equal Opportunity: (540) 568-6991.

Reasonable Accommodation:

If you are an individual with a disability and need assistance searching or applying for jobs please contact us at (540) 568-3597 or jobs@jmu.edu. You may also visit the JMU Human Resource Office, located at 752 Ott Street, Harrisonburg, VA 22807 and we will be happy to assist you.