Assistant Professor of Law and Advocacy with Children, Youth and Families
 Santa Clara University | |
 United States, California, Santa Clara | |
 Jul 24, 2025 | |
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Position Type: Assistant Professor of Law and Advocacy with Children, Youth and Families Position Type: Regular Salary Range: The salary range for this position is $85,947 to $95,410, depending on the successful candidate's years of teaching experience at the college level. The position comes with generous benefits (scu.edu/hr/benefits), including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, and University contributions toward retirement. Recognizing the high cost of housing in the local area, there are two University housing assistance programs: Rental assistance to ease the transition into the local housing market, and housing purchase assistance for tenure-stream faculty. Purpose: The Department of Child Studies (CHST) at Santa Clara University (SCU), a Jesuit, Catholic university, seeks applicants for a full-time, tenure-track position for Assistant Professor of Law and Advocacy with Children, Youth, and Families. SCU is a welcoming and inclusive community of teaching scholars whose work is grounded in the universitys fundamental values. Those values, which include academic excellence, social justice and community engagement, are infused with a culture of care that defines our communityupholding the dignity of all. The university draws on the many resources of the greater Bay Area, including Silicon Valley, where we are located. Applicants may hold expertise in a range of substantive areas of research, which must be relevant to children, youth, and families. For instance, scholarship may include and/or be at the intersections of a) Immigration, migration, and citizenship, b) Tribal sovereignty and relations, c) LGBTQ+ rights and regulation, d) Health and medical care, e) Civil rights and liberties. Law and advocacy for children, youth, and families is a broad area that invites scholars with generalist and specific expertise, which will complement the existing research and teaching capacity within the Department of Child Studies. This is especially crucial as Child Studies is embedded in the most socially and economically diverse county in Northern California. We seek a faculty member who can plant scholarship roots while forging collaborative relationships with legal advocacy and clinical community partners throughout Silicon Valley who serve children, youth, and families of varied backgrounds and experiences. Further, we seek a faculty member who can prepare students through coursework and applied projects in preparation for their future work as advocates and professionals who work with communities representing a broad demographic spectrum. Because we desire a scholar who is aligned with Santa Clara Universitys values and strategic priorities in mind, we seek applicants who recognize systems of power and critically examine interactions between the legal system and children, youth, and families. The successful candidate will start on September 1, 2026 and be expected to teach, engage in scholarship, and do service for the department, college, and university. SCU is on the quarter system and tenure-stream faculty are expected to teach six courses per year (two each quarter), assuming they are actively engaged in scholarship. The College of Arts and Sciences is currently conducting a cluster hire in the area of Inequality & Social Justice. If the person hired for this position has research and teaching interests that are aligned with this program, they may be included in the Fall 2026 cohort. Participants in the cluster hiring program will receive mentoring, frequent group sessions that offer peer support, and access to an interdisciplinary intellectual community to help them with their scholarly and creative work. Required Qualifications
Responsibilities Tenure-track faculty at SCU are teaching scholars who are expected to balance teaching, research, and service. This is an in-person position. More specifically, duties include but are not limited to the following: Teaching Teach lower- and upper-division courses in the major and university core curriculum, as assigned by the chair, including courses such as child advocacy, advanced writing, research methods, as well as additional courses in their area of expertise. SCU is on the quarter system and a typical load is two courses per quarter assuming active engagement with research. High-quality teaching is prioritized at SCU; therefore significant faculty-student interaction is expected. The university offers many different opportunities to develop teaching skills through Faculty Development, including regular lunchtime workshops on pedagogy, teaching and technology grants, communities of practice, teaching mentors, and a scholarship of teaching and learning faculty group. Teaching will be evaluated according to the Teaching Effectiveness Standards and Evaluation (TESE) document developed by each department. Ignatian pedagogy, a hallmark of Jesuit, Catholic universities, is based on the principle of cura personalis, that is, teaching the whole person. At Santa Clara University we define effectiveness in teaching as respectful, challenging, inclusive, engaging, and evidence based. Teaching Expectations and Academic Policies at SCU can be found here. Research Develop a program of research at SCU that will result in meeting the Child Studies Departments established scholarship standards. Each department has collectively created a document that outlines the standards for scholarship that lead to tenure and promotion in that department. The Department of Child Studies strongly values the involvement of undergraduate students in faculty research. SCU offers significant support to early career faculty in the development of their program of research. All new faculty will be assigned mentors, placed into a cohort learning community with other new faculty, and offered faculty retreats, workshops and numerous professional development opportunities to build their programs of research. Service Provide effective service to the Department of Child Studies, the College of Arts and Sciences, the University and the profession through contributions other than teaching and scholarship, such as service on committees, participation in professional organizations and activities, leadership, and community service performed by virtue of professional expertise or association with the university, as appropriate to rank and experience. Application Deadline: October 1, 2025 Application Procedure: Applicants should submit (1) curriculum vitae, (2) graduate transcripts (unofficial transcripts are acceptable at this stage) (3) sample syllabi, if available (4) teaching evaluations, if available (5) personal statement(s) covering teaching philosophy, research plan, and experience working with people of diverse cultures and identities, (6) at least one example of representative scholarship, e.g., published article or book chapter, dissertation chapter, and (7), a statement of how the candidates research plans might foster intradepartmental and interdepartmental connections. All materials should be submitted online in electronic form via the hiring portal. If invited for a Zoom interview, we will request three letters of recommendation. Telecommute Santa Clara University is registered to do business in the following states: California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, and Illinois. Employees approved to telecommute are required to perform their work within one of these states. Work Authorization: A foreign national who is appointed to a tenured or tenure-track faculty position is eligible for visa sponsorship assessment by Santa Clara University together with its legal counsel. EEO Statement Equal Opportunity/Notice of Nondiscrimination Santa Clara University is an equal opportunity employer.For a complete copy of Santa Clara Universitys equal opportunity and nondiscrimination policies, see https://www.scu.edu/title-ix/policies-reports/ Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 Santa Clara University does not discriminate in its employment practices or in its educational programs or activities on the basis of sex/gender, and prohibits retaliation against any person opposing discrimination or participating in any discrimination investigation or complaint process internally or externally. Information about Title IX can be found at www.scu.edu/title-ix. Information about Section 504 and the ADA Coordinator can be found at https://www.scu.edu/oae/, (408) 554-4109, oae@scu.edu. Inquiries can also be made to the Assistant Secretary of Education within the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Clery Notice of Availability Santa Clara University annually collects information about campus crimes and other reportable incidents in accordance with the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. To view the Santa Clara University report, please go to the Campus Safety Serviceswebsite. To request a paper copy please call Campus Safety at (408) 554-4441. The report includes the type of crime, venue, and number of occurrences. Americans with Disabilities Act Santa Clara University affirms its' commitment to employ qualified individuals with disabilities within the workplace and to comply with the Americans with Disability Act. All applicants desiring an accommodation should contact the Department of Human Resources, and 408-554-5750 and request to speak to Indu Ahluwalia by phone at 408-554-5750 or by email at iahluwalia@scu.edu. recblid 65wmsa5ia61p95euiuhyx22gn2kfkb | |