University looking to hire media scholar specializing in 'critical race studies'

A Louisiana university is currently looking to onboard a new media scholar with prior experience in social justice and diversity.

The scholar’s work will also include gender studies and queer theory.

Tulane University’s Department of Communication is currently looking to hire a scholar of “activist media” at the rank of Assistant Professor. According to the job description, the university is especially interested in applicants who have prior experience in researching “BIPOC or marginalized communities” and those that can explore “the relationships between media and politics or social justice.”

It also states that the new professor’s “work may draw on a variety of disciplines and methodologies related to media and communication studies.” These include critical race studies, disability studies, gender studies, and queer theory. 

The job posting also includes a link to the Louisiana university’s Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and a list of initiatives it takes to exemplify its commitment to antiracism. 

[RELATED: WATCH: Emily Sturge on Racial Diversity hiring at College Campuses]

Areas of focus include sustaining racial equity, diversifying the university staff, and developing “equity-minded” research environments.

The job opening was posted on Dec. 13 and review of applications began on Feb. 20.  

This follows a trend Campus Reform has tracked of universities around the country intentionally hiring faculty for diversity positions in compliance with DEI priorities.

For example, Campus Reform reported in December on a story at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) in which candidates for an administrative position must have demonstrated experience with diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice (DEIBJ). 

[RELATED: Another Texas university system bans DEI in hiring] 

Similarly, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Syracuse University in New York held a forum in February during which it planned to hire four new faculty members with the purpose of enforcing DEI initiatives. 

Finally, back in August of 2022, the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) posted a job opening searching for an Assistant Professor of Education to help UCSD grow its “Latinx Cluster Hire Initiative” which aimed to increase faculty diversity. 

The ideal applicant for this position would have “Expertise in Quantitative Methodologies in Service of Latina/o/x Communities.”

Campus Reform contacted every university, organization, and individual mentioned. This article will be updated accordingly. 

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