Job Description

The Department of Urban Planning and Community Development (UPCD) in the School for the Environment at the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMB) seeks candidates for a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor position to begin September 1, 2025. We invite scholars specializing in workforce development who use environmental sustainability, equity, and community engagement frameworks in their scholarship, teaching, and service. We are especially interested in candidates whose planning scholarship and practice focuses on (but not limited to) the following areas:

• Transformations in urban and regional labor markets to expand workforce development, especially in the green and blue economic sectors, by tapping into underserved and economically distressed communities.
• Resident-led and community-based economic development planning initiatives include small business incubators, cooperative businesses, micro-lending, and credit unions/community development finance institutions.
• Community/university development partnerships advancing applied scholarship in workforce and community development to expand job and economic development opportunities for distressed communities.

SFE’s mission is to examine and explore diverse challenges in the natural, built, and social environments and their intersections. Using transdisciplinary and equity-informed approaches to research, teaching, and action, we expand environmental knowledge and understanding and create cutting-edge transdisciplinary solutions to environmental and social problems in Boston and beyond. SFE pursues its environmental health and justice research, teaching, and outreach agenda through a transdisciplinary approach designed to enhance the problem-solving capacity of local communities and institutions. Therefore, the preferred candidate should be able to work within and complement the activities and interests of the core and affiliate faculty. We particularly welcome community-based participatory research approaches as well as candidates that use methodologies for transdisciplinary problem-solving approaches. SFE faculty support undergraduate (environmental science, environmental studies), master’s, and PhD programs (environmental science, marine science, and technology). We expect the successful candidate to interact strongly with SFE faculty and students.   

Candidates must have a doctorate in urban planning (ABD will be considered), a publication record in planning journals, evidence of procurement and/or external funding activity, and a clear pedagogical philosophy. The ideal candidate should be able to and/or interested in collaborating in transdisciplinary teams, engaging with diverse stakeholders, and integrating multiple disciplines to study complex urban planning, community development, and environmental issues. This collaborative approach is integral to our mission, and we value each team member's unique perspectives and expertise.

The ideal candidate should be capable of instructing core and specialized courses for our Bachelor of Arts program in Community Development and our Master of Science program in Urban Planning and Community Development. They will be expected to establish an active, collaborative, and influential research program and seek external funding to implement an agenda to increase job opportunities for residents of underserved communities in the Boston area and beyond. Ideally, the candidate will have experience collaborating with various organizations and agencies to advance innovative forms of workforce development. They will be expected to build partnerships with local businesses and organizations to create programs that expand employment opportunities for residents of distressed communities while providing internship and career pathways for students.

UMB is an urban public research university with a teaching soul that has an impact both locally and globally. We are the third most diverse university in the country - more than 60% of our undergraduate students come from minoritized communities and groups, and more than half of our students are the first in their families to attend a college or university. Thus, our students come to us from richly diverse life experiences and backgrounds; they bring to our classrooms and research settings the robust range of perspectives growing out of the socio-cultural, economic, and historical contexts in which they have lived, along with the challenges they encounter, engage, and strive to overcome. We invite applications from candidates who engage the diverse life experiences of our student body, who appreciate that students bring their holistic selves into the academic setting, and who recognize and articulate how their own life experiences and backgrounds have shaped their journeys, practices, and commitments as researchers, scholars, and educators.

Application instructions:

Interested individuals can initiate the application process by visiting the UMB’s Career Portal at https://employmentopportunities.umb.edu/boston/en-us/listing/. After completing the University’s basic employment application, candidates can upload the following documents:

• Cover letter (2 page maximum)
• Research and Teaching Statement
• CV
• Complete contact information of three academic references

Application Deadline

Materials should be submitted via the UMB Employment Portal beginning on December 15, 2024, for maximum consideration by the UPCD Search Committee.

For More Informatikon:

Contact Lorena M. Estrada-Martínez, Search Committee Chair, Department of Urban Planning and Community Development, School for the Environment, The University of Massachusetts Boston, at lorena.estrada@umb.edu.

UMass Boston is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, we will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations for the hiring process. If reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact HRDirect@umb.edu or 617-287-5150.