Faculty Position Request Form

(Used for requesting a new faculty position or filling a vacant position)

Department: ______Communication Studies______

Submitted by: ____Lesa Stern, Chair______

Date: __Sept 1 2015______

Nature of request:

______This is a request for a new faculty position (addition) in the department.

___X___This is a request to fill a vacancy.

Who is the faculty member leaving or retiring? ____Ochieng___

Rationale: On a separate page, please briefly describe the curricular need for this faculty position, including benefit to the department if the position is filled and the negative impact if it is not.

Additional documents needed:

(a)  Please complete the table on the next page listing courses the person will teach and the enrollment in these courses for the past 3 years. Also, identify any new courses the department hopes to offer if this position is filled.

(b)  Position job description

Please submit materials to the Provost’s Office.

Faculty Position Supporting Documentation
Enrollment in course during the past 3 years
(enter course enrollment with year and term)
Dept/Cr Num. / Course Title / Fa 2016__ / Sp 20_17_ / Fa 20_17_ / Sp 2018__ / Fa 20_18_ / Sp 20_19_
Com 015 / Public speaking / x / x / x / x / x / x
Com 103 / COM criticism / x / x / x
Com 138 / International Rhetoric / x / x / x
Com 130 / Argumentation / x / x / x
Com 135 / Public Discourse / x / x / x
New Course Offerings (if any):
Proposed Title / Proposed audience (GE, majors)
We hope the new faculty would be able to create one course in his/her specialty area / major

Justification for replacement:

Omedi Ochieng fulfilled a critical role in the COM studies department. With only 4 faculty (and with one of the larger majors on campus), we need every member of the department to cover his/her courses in order for students to graduate the program in four years. Ochieng covered our communication criticism, public discourse, argumentation, public speaking, and international rhetoric offerings. We need to hire someone to fill his courses. Other than public speaking, we do not have faculty who teach these courses. Additionally, Spencer, Dunn, and Stern each teach an entirely different set/rotation of courses for our majors. Without replacing Ochieng, we would not be able to offer the courses needed for students to graduate. That would result in a major overhaul of our program—a program that is working well and with which the faculty, students, and alumni are satisfied. Eliminating this position and therefore the core courses that Ochieng teaches, would severely and negatively impact our program.

THE POSITION: Communication Criticism / Generalist

We are looking for a creative scholar who can teach some combination of courses that involve criticism, analysis, and argument. We welcome a variety of areas of research specialization. Potential courses may include communication criticism, mass communication, argumentation, new communication technologies, international approaches to the study of communication and rhetoric, and the representation of marginalized groups in public discourse and media.

We are looking for a colleague who is interested in developing mentoring relationships with students, desires conversation about teaching and scholarship, and has a deep appreciation for good humor.

Applicants must have a Ph.D. in Communication Studies in hand at the time a contract is offered. Final appointment is dependent on a confirmed terminal degree status. Applicants who have not yet completed their doctorate must demonstrate progress verifiable by evidence and substantive enough to ensure completion of their degree at the time of appointment.

Our new faculty member will join three other full-time colleagues who embrace a range of humanistic and social scientific perspectives. Our department mission is to help students improve in both “wisdom and eloquence,” a centuries-old but still contemporary ideal. Students develop facility in communication, gain an understanding of rhetoric as part of the human experience, and bring Christian values to bear on communication as a moral act. Topics include the difficulty of interpersonal faithfulness in a transient culture, the increasing power of the media, and the role of persuasion and propaganda in social movements.

Class sizes range from 12 (in writing intensive courses and seminars) to 25 (for most lecture courses). A full-time teaching load is 24 units (three four-unit courses per semester). All faculty have advising and committee responsibilities, and actively engage in scholarship.

THE COLLEGE

Westmont College is a highly ranked liberal arts college in the Protestant evangelical tradition. With a limited enrollment of 1200 students, the College is selective in admissions and emphasizes excellence in undergraduate teaching and scholarship. We are committed to diversity in personnel and perspective, so women and minorities are encouraged to apply. Faculty members are expected to embrace the College mission and faith statements wholeheartedly, and to relate Christian faith to their teaching and scholarship. Please examine our website at http://www.westmont.edu.

THE PROCESS - Initial letters of inquiry should include a statement as to why you are interested in teaching at a Christian liberal arts college such as Westmont. Please visit our website to learn more about the college and our department in particular: http://www.westmont.edu/_academics/departments/communication_studies/

With your letter of inquiry, please also submit your C.V. and names of three references. Candidates advanced to the next stage will also submit a Full-Time Faculty Application and complete three personal statements (short essays). Send all materials to:

Lesa Stern, Ph.D., Professor

Communication Studies

Westmont College

955 La Paz Road

Santa Barbara, CA 93108

(or )

Review of inquiries will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.