Sweetland Center for Writing LEO Lecturer III

Apply Now

How to Apply

Please create one pdf containing:

  1. your letter of application;
  2. a current CV;
  3. a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access, and Justice (DEIAJ) statement;
  4. a statement of teaching philosophy that elaborates your experience with and commitment to multimodal teaching and public-facing writing; and
  5. the names of three (3) references, in lieu of letters of recommendation.

Please include your last name in the title of all documents, and upload the pdf at the "Apply Now" button above.

Please do not send quantitative or qualitative teaching evaluations, student testimonials, or other supplemental materials at this time; we may request additional materials at a later stage.

Job Summary

A comprehensive writing center and an independent academic unit in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA), the Sweetland Center for Writing is guided by commitments to equity, anti-racism, and linguistic justice in its support of student writing at all levels and in all forms and modes. Please visit the Sweetland Center for Writing website for more information about the programs and services offered, and to read our DEI statement.

Sweetland seeks to hire a LEO Lecturer III with expertise in public-facing writing and teaching as social justice practices, and experience in multimodal composition and/or digital rhetoric. We are looking for a candidate who can make novel contributions to the Center's robust multimodal and multimedia curricula and programs.

Teaching load is 3/3 per academic year. Typically, one class each term consists of 10 hours per week consulting in Sweetland's Writing Workshop.

Core courses for this position will include: Writing 220: Introduction to the Minor in Writing, Writing 420: Minor in Writing Capstone, and Writing Workshop (10 hr/week). Additional courses may include: Writing 160: Multimodal Writing (fulfills the First-Year Writing Requirement) and/or Writing 200 and Writing 201: Writing in Digital and Social Media (cross-listed with U-M's Digital Studies minor).

Administrative duties for this position include serving on two of Sweetland's standing committees, curricular development and administration for the Minor in Writing, advising Minor in Writing students, and curricular development for Writing 200/201 courses. Faculty in the Minor in Writing also regularly collaborate on special projects with Minor in Writing students.

About this Position

Sweetland's Minor in Writing (MiW) serves undergraduates who seek to develop as multimodal writers with a robust research background to produce sustained, self-directed multimodal writing projects within and beyond academic disciplinary writing that address and are shaped by community perspectives. Minors represent multiple departments, schools, and colleges across the university and encompass diverse backgrounds, interests, and talents to form a vibrant cohort of peers.

Sweetland is committed to providing mentorship and professional development opportunities for faculty. Sweetland/MiW faculty offer mentorship for MiW students and other faculty within and beyond the unit; create opportunities for composition experimentation, such as in the spirit of maker spaces; lead workshops on teaching and writing for faculty and graduate students across campus; and facilitate community engagements centered on writing. Candidates are invited to speak about their experiences with these kinds of collaborative practices.

This position also offers the opportunity for a range of cross-campus collaborations in media/digital studies and digital rhetoric. Sweetland hosts the Digital Rhetoric Collaborative, a community webspace and book series with the University of Michigan Press; several Sweetland faculty have dry appointments in U-M's Digital Studies Institute (DSI) and Sweetland courses are cross-listed in the DSI minor in Digital Studies; and the U-M campus is home to excellent resources for multimodal and multimedia designing, making, and playing, including the Shapiro Design Lab, the Digital Media Commons, and the Computer and Video Game Archive.

Mission Statement

The mission of the University of Michigan is to serve the people of Michigan and the world through preeminence in creating, communicating, preserving and applying knowledge, art, and academic values, and in developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future.

Required Qualifications*

Ph.D. or terminal degree in writing studies, media/digital studies, technical communication, or related field; demonstrated excellence in and commitment to teaching writing; expertise in the areas of public-facing writing and multimodal composition/digital rhetoric; capacity to teach writing using theoretically grounded research-based practices at a range of levels. Successful candidates will demonstrate a cross-culturally informed praxis and a commitment to fostering an equitable environment that promotes the success and participation of all students, staff, and faculty.

Collaborative potential and excellence in both teaching and instructional service, as well as evidence of reflective teaching practices and attention to iterative improvement, will be the principal criteria used to select the successful candidate.

Modes of Work

Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes.

Union Affiliation

This position is covered under the collective bargaining agreement between the U-M and the Lecturers Employee Organization, AFL-CIO, which contains and settles all matters with respect to wages, benefits, hours and other terms and conditions of employment.

Background Screening

The University of Michigan conducts background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer and may use a third party administrator to conduct background checks.  Background checks are performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Application Deadline

The deadline for applications is January 8, 2025, and we anticipate notifying the successful candidate by early April, 2025. Please direct questions to: [email protected].

U-M EEO/AA Statement

The University of Michigan is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.