Career Center

The Department of Anthropology at Washington State University (WSU) seeks to hire an archaeological scholar with an active, North American research program and the experience necessary to simultaneously serve as the Director of our Museum of Anthropology. This is a permanent, nine-month, full-time, tenure-track position at the Assistant or Associate Professor level. It is anticipated that the successful candidate will begin the appointment on August 16, 2023.

Given the needs of the department, the Museum of Anthropology, the institution, and its constituencies, the research profile for our ideal candidate is a theoretically-driven scholar of North American archaeology (focus on western North America preferred) who engages, or has the potential to engage, meaningfully with Indigenous communities and a variety of other stakeholders. The ideal candidate will have regional, methodological and/or ideological foci that complement and expand those of existing faculty members within the Department of Anthropology. The successful candidate will serve also as the Director of the Museum of Anthropology. The initial administrative appointment as director will be for three (3) years and is renewable upon successful performance. The appointment distribution for the position is 40% research, 30% museum administration, 20% teaching, 10% service, with a typical course load of 1 course per semester.

Responsibilities include: (1) maintaining an active, grant-supported program of archaeological scholarship in North America (western North America preferred); (2) overseeing regular museum operations and developing a vision and direction of the Museum of Anthropology that ensures robust and proactive compliance with federal and state regulations related to collections, including communication and engagement with regional tribes and communities with ties to the collections curated at WSU and the agencies whose collections we curate; (3) teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in anthropology; (4) recruiting, advising and mentoring graduate and undergraduate students including those who identify with systemically excluded, historically underserved and/or minoritized groups; (5) and providing service to the department, institution, and profession, including outreach to broader communities.

WSU is committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive university community. The university recognizes that fostering an inclusive environment for all, with particular attention to the needs of historically marginalized populations, is vital to the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of our institutional mission. Towards continually strengthening this commitment, we seek candidates whose research, teaching, and/or service has prepared them to be an integral contributor to the continued advancement of inclusion, diversity, equity, and access here at WSU.

Required Qualifications for All Candidates: 

• Earned doctorate in anthropological archaeology or an appropriate, related discipline by the time of hire with desired areas of expertise including, but are not limited to, CRM/heritage management, GIS, remote sensing, geophysical methods, spatial analysis, and digital archaeology.
• Demonstration of or potential to maintain and manage the operations of the Museum of Anthropology, including engagement with stakeholders, Indigenous tribes and communities; management of curatorial personnel; and ensuring robust compliance with NAGPRA and other relevant federal and state regulations.
• Experience with and/or understanding of federal curation guidelines (36CFR Part 79) and relevant federal and state regulations governing heritage resources (e.g., NAGPRA, Sections 106 and 110).
• Demonstration of or potential to achieve a record of research accomplishment.
• A commitment to an ongoing and sustained research program in North America that includes field research.
• Demonstration of or potential to establish and maintain an externally funded research program.
• Demonstration of or potential to successfully teach and mentor students at the graduate and undergraduate level.
• Demonstrated ability and/or potential to support, mentor, and educate individuals identifying with systemically excluded, historically underserved and/or minoritized groups and to contribute to WSU’s diversity, equity, and inclusion goals in research, teaching, mentoring, and/or service (https://www.wsu.edu/drive-to-25/diversity-recruitment-plans).

Preferred Qualifications for All Candidates:

• A commitment to an ongoing and sustained research program in western North America that includes field research.
• Fieldwork that is substantively and meaningfully collaborative, which demonstrates significant partnership and engagement with, and attention to the goals/needs of focal Native American and Indigenous communities.
• Capacity to complement and expand (rather than duplicate) existing faculty strengths.

Additional Required Qualifications for Associate Professor Rank:

• Currently serving in the rank of an Associate Professor or equivalent and has a record of accomplishments in research, teaching commensurate with department and college standards for tenure at the level of associate professor.
  • CAS T&P Guidelines: https://cas.wsu.edu/faculty-staff/documents/2020/12/cas-tenure-and-promotion-policy.pdf/

Salary/Benefits:  Assistant Professor: $68,000-75,000; Associate Professor: $74,000-80,000

The above salary reflects the full salary range for this position. Individual placement within the range is based on the candidate’s current experience, education, skills, assigned rank and abilities related to the position.

WSU offers a comprehensive benefits package which includes paid sick leave; paid holidays; medical, dental, life and disability insurance package for employees and dependents; retirement; deferred compensation and optional supplemental retirement accounts. For a more detailed summary of benefits offered by WSU for Faculty visit: https://hrs.wsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2023-Benefit-Overview-for-Faculty-and-AP.pdf

Find total compensation information here: https://hrs.wsu.edu/managers/recruitment-toolkit/total-compensation/.

To Apply:  Visit https://wsu.edu/jobs, select your appropriate employment status, and search for R-8958. Please be prepared to upload the following documents to your online application: 

• A cover letter addressing how your experience, training and approach meet the qualifications for this position.
• Curriculum vitae.
• Research/Scholarship Statement. Describe your research experience and your proposed research program at WSU. If applicable, describe the degree to which, and how it is collaborative.
• Director Statement. Describe how you would approach serving as Director of the Museum of Anthropology, including thoughts on a vision and plans for meaningfully engaging with Indigenous communities and other stakeholders.
• Teaching and Mentoring Statement. Detail teaching and mentoring experience and discuss existing and new courses that you would be interested in and willing to teach.
• Contributions to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement. Statement addressing past activities as well as future plans to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion through research, teaching, professional activity, outreach and/or service. Please provide examples from your own experience.
  • Names, addresses, and contact information of at least three references who can address your history of and/or potential for excellence in research, museum management, teaching, and service (letters will be requested at a later time).

For information regarding this position, contact Search Committee Chair Dr. Erin Thornton at erin.thornton@wsu.edu.

Screening begin date

Formal screening of applications will begin March 28, 2023 and will continue until the position is filled. 

Land Acknowledgment

Washington State University acknowledges that its locations statewide are on the homelands of Native peoples, who have lived in this region from time immemorial. Currently, there are 42 tribes, 35 of which are federally recognized that share traditional homelands and waterways in what is now Washington State. Some of these are nations and confederacies that represents multiple tribes and bands. The University expresses its deepest respect for and gratitude towards these original and current caretakers of the region. As an academic community, we acknowledge our responsibility to establish and maintain relationships with these tribes and Native peoples, in support of tribal sovereignty and the inclusion of their voices in teaching, research and programming. Washington State University established the Office of Tribal Relations and Native American Programs to guide us in our relationship with tribes and service to Native American students and communities. We also pledge that these relationships will consist of mutual trust, respect, and reciprocity.

As a land grant institution, we also recognize that the Morrill Act of 1862 established land-grant institutions by providing each state with “public” and federal lands, which are traced back to the disposition of Indigenous lands. In 1890, Washington State received 90,081 acres of Indigenous Lands designated to establish Washington State University (see data). Washington State University retains the majority of these lands to this day. We acknowledge that the disposition of Indigenous lands was often taken by coercive and violent acts, and the disregard of treaties. For that, we extend our deepest apologies. We owe our deepest gratitude to the Native peoples of this region and maintain our commitment towards reconciliation.

For a listing of Tribes and Nations whose Homelands are in Washington State, please see https://wsu.edu/about/wsu-land-acknowledgement/.

About WSU, Pullman, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Department and Museum of Anthropology

Washington State University is a land grant, multiple-campus, Research 1 institution. This position will serve on the Pullman campus, which has an enrollment of around 20,000 students,  about 30% of whom are multicultural (see https://wsu.edu/about/facts/) and about 30% are first-generation to College (see https://first.wsu.edu/). Pullman is located in southeastern Washington on the homelands of the Nimíipuu (Nez Perce) Tribe and Palus people. Located 80 miles south of metropolitan Spokane, Pullman is also a quick drive away from the scenic Idaho panhandle and Moscow Mountain. The rolling hills of the Palouse offer a wide range of activities and a true four-season climate. The area provides ample opportunity to enjoy the cultural and academic hub of both Washington State University and the University of Idaho, in the neighboring town of Moscow, Idaho. For more information about the region, please see https://pullmanchamber.com.

Encompassing more than 30 departments, schools, and research institutes on five campuses statewide, the College of Arts & Sciences is the heart of WSU. Together our 730+ faculty and staff deliver more than 50% of WSU’s total undergraduate and graduate instruction, including the vast majority of WSU’s core curriculum. We also drive annual research expenditures of more than $26 million, with wide interdisciplinary strengths in public and community health, environmental change, equity and social justice, and data and technology at the boundaries. As Arts & Sciences begins its 10^th anniversary as a unified college, we seek to lead a reimagining of WSU’s land-grant mission for the 21^st century, expanding the boundaries of creativity and discovery while simultaneously recognizing more completely our obligations to Native and Indigenous peoples. For more about the College of Arts & Sciences at WSU, please see https://cas.wsu.edu.

The Department of Anthropology is an academic unit located in the College of Arts and Sciences. Anthropology’s twenty-three faculty conduct research, support courses and mentorship, and provide service at WSU’s campuses in Pullman, Vancouver, and the Tri-Cities. The department offers the BA at WSU’s Pullman and Vancouver campuses, and to its Global campus, and teaches courses in support of a minor and certificate in American Indian Studies. Partnering with the School of Biological Sciences, we also offer a BA in Human Biology at Pullman and Vancouver. With faculty and specialties and graduate degree tracks in cultural anthropology, biological anthropology and archaeology, the department offers the M.A. and Ph.D. in anthropology in each of these areas of emphasis, supporting a graduate program with approximately sixty students. For more about the Department of Anthropology, its faculty, graduate students and programs, please see https://anthro.wsu.edu/.

The Museum of Anthropology at Washington State University engages in a broad mission of promoting understanding of human cultures through research, education, and stewardship of substantial archaeological and ethnographic materials from the northwest. The Museum is an official repository for archaeological collections and associated archival materials that meets the curation standards published in 36 CFR pt. 79 in compliance with federal and state mandates. Currently, the Museum stewards (curates materials) from more than 1,600 archaeological sites. Pacific Northwest collections are primarily from sites in the Columbia Plateau in eastern Washington State, a reflection of the WSU Department of Anthropology’s role as a center for scholarship and interdisciplinary archaeological science in the region. The Museum also houses significant collections from outside of Washington State, including extensive collections from Utah associated with the Cedar Mesa Archaeological Project. The Museum also houses a collection of objects representative of global cultures, with a primary emphasis on materials from western North America. For more information about the Museum of Anthropology, please see https://archaeology.wsu.edu/.

Washington State University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Educator and Employer. Members of ethnic minorities, women, special disabled veterans, veterans of the Vietnam-era, recently separated veterans, and other protected veteran, persons of disability and/or persons age 40 and over are encouraged to apply.

WSU is committed to excellence through diversity and faculty-friendly policy action, including partner accommodation and NSF ADVANCE Institutional Transformation programs (https://www.advance.wsu.edu/). WSU employs only U.S. citizens and lawfully authorized non-U.S. citizens. All new employees must show employment eligibility verification as required by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

WSU is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation in its services, programs, activities, education and employment for individuals with disabilities. To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact Human Resource Services: 509-335-4521 (v), Washington State TDD Relay Service: Voice Callers: 1-800-833-6384; TDD Callers: 1-800-833-6388, 509-335-1259(f), or hrs@wsu.edu.

About Department of Anthropology, Washington State University

Washington State University is a land grant, multiple-campus, Research 1 institution. This position will serve on the Pullman campus, which has an enrollment of around 20,000 students, about 30% of whom are multicultural (see https://wsu.edu/about/facts/) and about 30% are first-generation to College (see https://first.wsu.edu/). Pullman is located in southeastern Washington on the homelands of the Nimíipuu (Nez Perce) Tribe and Palus people.

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