Position Rank and Title: Assistant Professor- Tenure Track

School/Department Name: Occupational Therapy

Compensation: Commensurate with qualifications, experience, and rank as established by the CSU Salary Schedule. See Benefits Summary for details about the CSU’s excellent employment benefits.

Target Start Date: August 17, 2023

Application Deadline: Extended date - March 13, 2023 (Applications accepted until filled or closed)

Position Description

The Department of Occupational Therapy at San José State University seeks qualified applicants for a full-time Assistant Professor, tenure-track position in the Occupational Therapy Program. Recognizing that inclusive practices begin in the classroom, we highly encourage applicants with experience in any of the following areas to apply: cross-cultural service, health care in underserved and non-traditional settings, mental health, or gerontology across the continuum of care.

San José State University offers the oldest public occupational therapy program within California with over 75 years of success. The SJSU OT program has significant experience with graduate education and has offered a MS in OT since 1959. SJSU will offer the first Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) program in the CSU system, beginning in Spring 2023. The program is known for excellence in preparing entry-level occupational therapists. Faculty-led clinics and community programs provides students with the opportunity for many direct, hands-on experiences with occupational therapy clinicians and clients. The faculty are recognized for their research and publications in textbooks, journals and professional documents. Faculty is active in state, national, and international professional organizations, having an ongoing impact on the profession.

The Occupational Therapy Department and San José State University value diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Our excellence in research, teaching, and service can only be fully realized by faculty, students, and staff who share our commitment to these values. SJSU enrolls more than 36,000 students, many of whom are historically underserved, and around 45% are first-generation and 38% are Pell-recipients. SJSU is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander (AANAPISI) Serving Institution. The university’s commitment to social justice extends from its vibrant, inclusive campus to an international network of over 275,000 alumni. As such, San José State is committed to increasing the diversity of its faculty so our disciplines, students, and the community can benefit from multiple ethnic and gender perspectives.

Successful candidates will demonstrate evidence of a commitment to equity and inclusion through their research, teaching, and/or service. We ask that all applicants include a Diversity Statement with their application package. A guide to writing this statement can be found at SJSU Diversity Statement Guidelines, along with information about how these statements will be evaluated.

Required Qualifications

• Occupational therapist with earned doctorate in Occupational Therapy, Occupational Science or related field and a minimum of two years of clinical practice
• Demonstrated ability or potential to conduct impactful interdisciplinary research/scholarship with a record of academic or scholarly publications or strong potential for publications.
• Demonstrate ability or potential for teaching excellence for entry-level graduate occupational therapy students.
• Possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and exhibit a commitment to establish and interact effectively with community partnerships.
• Demonstrate awareness of and sensitivity to educational goals of a multicultural population as might have been gained in cross-cultural study, training, teaching and other comparable experience
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

Priority will be given to candidates who possess one or more of the following:

• Experience working in the field of cross-cultural research, health care in underserved and non-traditional settings, technology, ergonomics, mental health, work readiness/vocational rehabilitation, or gerontology.
• Will have at least two years of university teaching experience and five years of clinical practice.
• Knowledge of disciplinary trends in the profession of Occupational Therapy regarding issues that center race, gender, sexual orientation, immigration, and work with underserved communities.
• An active and well-articulated research agenda, coupled with interest and ability to secure external grant funding.
• Experience working with racially diverse students in the classroom, and an understanding of how historical patterns of exclusion of groups within higher education, and the profession, shape patterns of participation and outcomes.
• Willingness to examine and re-mediate one’s instructional, relational, and classroom practices.
• Demonstrated ability or potential to conduct graduate mentoring
  
  

Key Responsibilities

• Key responsibilities include teaching, scholarship, and service to the university and profession.
• Candidate will participate in shared governance, usually in department, college, and university committees and other service assignments.
• Primary instructional responsibility will include: courses related to area of expertise, research courses and courses related to current and emerging practice areas-in both didactic and clinical practice courses.
• The successful candidate is expected to participate in program and curriculum development including contributing to accreditation self-study and outcome reports.
• Develop and sustain an ongoing record of research, scholarship, and/or creative activities, as well as other professional engagement.
• Demonstrate awareness and experience understanding the needs of a student population of great diversity – in age, abilities, cultural background, ethnicity, religion, economic background, primary language, sexual orientation, gender identity, and academic preparation – through inclusive course materials, teaching strategies and advisement.
• The candidate will participate in shared governance, usually in department, college, and university committees and other service assignments.
• Faculty shall organize all their classes within the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS).
  
  

Other Duties

Note that all San José State University employees are considered mandated reporters under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and are required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment.

Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act) and CSU systemwide policy, some faculty duties may lead to designation as a Campus Security Authority (CSA). CSAs are required to complete Clery Act training and to immediately report Clery incidents to the institution.

Application Procedure

Click Apply Now to complete the SJSU Online Employment Application and attach the following documents:

• letter of interest
• curriculum vitae
• diversity statement
• statement of teaching interests/philosophy
• research plans
• three references with contact information

Inquiries may be directed to the Department Chair or Search Committee Chair: Jerilyn Smith, Associate Professor and Chair of Occupational Therapy at gigi.smith@sjsu.edu

Conditional Offer

The work for this faculty position is located in the State of California. Employment is contingent upon proof of eligibility to work in the United States. Proof of immunization and booster shots against COVID-19 or proof of a medical or religious exemption and compliance with testing protocols is required for employment. Satisfactory completion of a background check (including a criminal records check) is required for employment. SJSU will make a conditional offer of employment, which may be rescinded if the background check reveals disqualifying information, and/or it is discovered that the candidate knowingly withheld or falsified information. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the continued employment of a current employee who was conditionally offered the position.

San José State University: Silicon Valley's Public University

Located in the heart of Silicon Valley — one of the most innovative regions in the world — San José State University is the founding campus of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system and the first public university in the West. Recognized as a leading transformative educational institution, San José State is an essential partner in the technological, economic, cultural, and social development of Silicon Valley, the Bay Area, and California. SJSU is a top-200 school nationally in research funding and second highest in research productivity in the CSU system. Cutting-edge research, world-class scholarship, student-centered learning, diverse communities, and commitment to social justice, allow SJSU to provide life-changing opportunities and advance the public good locally and globally.

Equal Employment Statement

San José State University prohibits discrimination on the basis of Age, Ancestry, Caste, Color, Disability, Ethnicity, Gender, Gender Expression, Gender Identity, Genetic Information, Marital Status, Medical Condition, Military Status, Nationality, Race, Religion, Religious Creed, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Sex Stereotype, and Veteran Status. This policy applies to all San José State University students, faculty, and staff as well as University programs and activities. Reasonable accommodations are made for applicants with disabilities who self-disclose. 

Campus Security and Fire Safety Notification

Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, the Annual Security Report (ASR) is also now available for viewing at https://www.sjsu.edu/clery/docs/SJSU-Annual-Security-Report.pdf. The ASR contains the current security and safety-related policy statements, emergency preparedness and evacuation information, crime prevention and Sexual Assault prevention information, and information about drug and alcohol prevention programming. The ASR also contains statistics of Clery crimes for San José State University locations for the three most recent calendar years. A paper copy of the ASR is available upon request by contacting the Office of the Clery Director by phone at 408-924-1501 or by email at clerycompliance@sjsu.edu.

Pursuant to the Higher Education Opportunity Act, the Annual Fire Safety Report (AFSR) is available at https://www.sjsu.edu/clery/docs/SJSU-Annual-Fire-Safety-Report.pdf. The purpose of this report is to disclose statistics for fires that occurred within SJSU on-campus housing facilities for the three most recent calendar years, and to distribute fire safety policies and procedures intended to promote safety on Campus. A paper copy of the AFSR is available upon request by contacting the Housing Office by phone at 408-795-5600 or by email at uhs-frontdesk@sjsu.edu.