Faculty- School For Jewish Education And Leadership

American Jewish University invites nominations and applications for a full-time, non-tenure-eligible, multi-year contracted (withpossibility of renewal) lecturer appointment in its School for Jewish Education and Leadership (SJEL) to begin in the fall 2024semester.

University Mission Statement: American Jewish University advances and elevates the Jewish journeyof individuals, organizations, and our community through excellence in scholarship, teaching, engaged conversation, andoutreach.

SJEL, AJU’s education school, with its suite of online BA, MAEd, and EdD degree and certificateprograms in Early Childhood Education (ECE), has experienced student enrollment growth. For the first time in its history, the SJEL hasenrolled over 100 students in its programs during the fall 2023 semester, including approximately 70 degree-seeking students. Its recentlylaunched EdD in Early Childhood Education Leadership, has an inaugural cohort this year of 11 students, and is projected to continue to growin the 24-25 academic year.

This full-time lecturer should be a specialist in the field of ECE, who is able to teach doctoral-levelstudents, including chairing EdD dissertations. This individual will also be expected to contribute significantly to SJEL’s BA andMAEd in ECE programs, while supporting new programmatic growth opportunities in the areas of Jewish Education and Leadership. Since the SJELhas transitioned to offering almost exclusively online programs, this lecturer does not need to be Los Angeles-based; rather, this personwill serve as a full-time, year-round professor who teaches classes and mentors students in our fall, spring, and summer terms. They willwork primarily in online environs (via Zoom/Teams), and occasionally at in-person gatherings or retreats for our students on ourcampuses.

The School seeks, first and foremost, an excellent student-centered instructor and educator. Applicants should possess adoctorate-level degree and, ideally, an academic publishing record in Jewish education. They should likewise be passionate about earlychildhood education, Jewish education, and AJU and SJEL’s missions!

Primary Responsibilities 

The successful candidate will fulfill the duties of full-time faculty to include:

• Teach courses in Early Childhood Education(ECE) at the BA, MA, and EdD level.
• Mentor students, especially EdD students.
• Chair and serve on EdD student dissertationcommittees.
• Able to conduct research and publish in academic journals in Jewish education (preferably possesses a publishing recordin peer-reviewed journals).
• Contribute to student recruitment and outreach activities.
• Contribute toprogramming/professional development for SJEL’s part-time lecturers.
• Attend and participate in SJEL administrativemeetings.
• Contribute to innovation and new programmatic ideas for SJEL.
• Serve on AJU’s Academic Faculty Senate andon its subcommittees.
• Items listed may not be all inclusive and responsibilities may change over time.  

Minimum Requirements/Qualifications:

• Doctorate degree in Early Childhood Education, ChildDevelopment (or related field); ABD candidates will be considered.
• At least three years of successful early childhood teachingexperience.
• Experience teaching undergraduate and/or graduate level classes, ideally in hybrid and online formats.
• Commitment to student-centered learning, teacher preparation, and excellence in teaching.
• Commitment to inclusivecommunities.
• A robust understanding of Jewish holidays, traditions, values, Torah, and Jewish communities.

Preferred Qualifications:

• An established record of collaboration and research, with potential forobtaining external funding.

Supervisory Responsibilities:  

• The person in thisposition will not have any employees reporting to them.

Application Procedure: 

Submitresume/curriculum vitae letter of application (cover letter) describing your teaching, scholarship, and service experience/interests and howthese will support the distinctive mission and institutional learning outcomes of the American Jewish University. 

To ensurefull consideration for the position, the application must be received by March 1, 2024, but the search committee will continue to acceptapplications until the position is filled. The committee will notify applicants of its employment decisions after the position is filled.Hiring is contingent upon the satisfactory completion of a background check.

Contract Length and Renewal Process

The contract duration for this position is 3 years, with the possibility of renewal. The candidate will be notified atleast 12 months prior to the end of the 3-year contract termination if the position has the possibility of being renewed. Such determinationis made by the University’s President, CAO, CFO, and Dean(s) in consideration of the University’s needs and finances. If theposition is eligible for renewal, the lecturer (if they wish to continue in the role) will then have 3-months from when they are notifiedthat the position can be renewed to submit a portfolio to be considered for another 3-year term. The portfolio will consist of materialsrelated to the Lecturer’s teaching, service, and research. Since the position is in the full-time Lecturer category, the candidatewill be reviewed primarily based on their contributions to teaching and service. Scholarship will be given secondary weight in the review.No external reviewers will be used. The candidate’s renewal is determined upon recommendation by the Committee of Academic Personnel(CAP) of the Academic Faculty Senate to the University’s Chief Academic Officer (CAO) and the CAO in turn to the President.

Job Title: Faculty

Status: Full-time / remote (with occasional in-person events atAJU’s Los Angeles and Ventura County locations)

Hours: 35+ 

Salary Range: $80,000- $115,000

Department: SJEL

Supervisor: Dean of the School for the Jewish Education andLeadership: Dr. Bruce Powell