Call for Applications:

Tenure-Track Assistant Professor – Specialization in Digital & New Media
Department of Communication
Villanova University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
https://jobs.villanova.edu/postings/32204

Review of applications will begin September 15, 2025

The Department of Communication at Villanova University seeks applicants for a tenure-track position in Digital and New Media Studies at the rank of Assistant Professor to begin Fall 2026.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

• Successful applicants will have a terminal degree in Communication (Ph.D., MFA), or allied discipline with unequivocal connection to the field, as demonstrated by professional association, research, and teaching (ABD will be considered with completion by start of appointment);
• Successful applicants will demonstrate both their ability to address systemic inequities through their research, teaching, and service, and their desire to embrace our commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, as demonstrated by the Department’s focus on communication as essential to the pursuit of social justice.
• Successful applications will have college-level teaching experience and show evidence of a viable research program focused on the area of specialization as articulated below.

SPECIALIZATION IN DIGITAL AND NEW MEDIA STUDIES:

We seek candidates who will contribute to the Communication Department’s existing undergraduate and graduate programs while helping us imagine the future of Communication. While we are open in terms of methodological and theoretical orientation, we are particularly interested in applicants whose academic training, experiences, and skills have prepared them to become future leaders in the study of digital and new media from a Communication perspective. Potential research and teaching foci may include but should not be viewed as limited by the following:

• AI and Algorithmic Culture
• Digital Cultures and Futurisms
• New Media and Media Archeology
• Mobility Studies
• Social Media, Platform Studies, and Creator Culture
• Surveillance, Identity, and Privacy
• Visual Design and Digital Storytelling
• (AR/VR) Immersive Media
• Interactive/Gaming Media
• Media Activism

We particularly welcome applicants whose research and teaching in these and other related areas of Digital and New Media Studies intersect with and have potential to expand on the Department’s existing degree programs and concentrations.

POSITION DETAILS:

Our new colleague will teach undergraduate and graduate courses on a 2-2 teaching load the first year of their appointment and transition to a 3-2 teaching load beginning in their second year. Candidates will be expected to pursue an active program of research in one or more of the areas indicated above, and to facilitate this the Department offers the opportunity to apply for a semester-long sabbatical in the fourth year. Service responsibilities include student advising and mentoring, curriculum development and assessment, and other service meaningfully related to the candidate’s specialization and research interests. After a successful application for tenure and promotion, research-productive faculty are awarded a 2-2 teaching load.

With one of the largest undergraduate majors in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, the Department of Communication offers course work leading to the B.A. in Communication with opportunities to specialize in eight different areas of the discipline. In addition, the Department supports both a Master’s and graduate certificate programs in Communication. Our faculty prides itself on excellence in teaching and research and seeks applicants who can help cultivate a supportive, collegial work environment.

Villanova University, a Catholic university sponsored by the Augustinian order, is located in the ethnically, racially, and culturally diverse Philadelphia metropolitan region. Diversity and inclusion are essential hallmarks of the Department and form the spiritual core of Villanova University’s mission. Candidates must be willing, therefore, to support the University’s Strategic Plan of Inclusive Community. An AA/EEO employer, the Department of Communication values dynamic and diverse faculty members who can contribute to the University’s conversation regarding truth, community, values, and social justice.

All application materials will be collected online at https://jobs.villanova.edu. We will begin reviewing and will favor completed applications received on or before September 15, 2025. After a preliminary round of review of abbreviated applications, we will request full applications from qualifying candidates. To apply, please send a cover letter outlining your connection to this position description and a current curriculum vita via the link above.

For more details about the Communication Department’s undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as our faculty and staff, please consult our department webpage. Please direct all questions regarding the position to: Dr. Gordon Coonfield, Search Chair, at gordon.coonfield@villanova.edu.

To apply:  https://jobs.villanova.edu/postings/32204

This institution does not offer benefits to domestic partners.

This institution offers spousal benefits.

This institution’s healthcare plan provides the following trans-affirming care:

• Transgender and gender expansive competent mental health support.

This institution provides the following support:

• Transgender and gender expansive (TGE) competent mental health support for non-TGE parents.