Visiting Assistant Professor of Professional and Technical Writing

The Department of English at Virginia Tech is hiring candidates for two one-year Professional and Technical Writing positions at the rank of Visiting Assistant Professor (VAP), beginning August 2022.

We are especially interested in applicants who specialize in technical and professional communication with research and teaching that focuses in one or more of these areas: scientific writing; the rhetoric of health and medicine; government, non-profit, business or management communication; web design; user-centered design; content management; and media and technology studies. Because this position may be remote, applicants with online teaching experience are strongly encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities for the position include teaching three (3) courses per semester among departmental offerings in our undergraduate Professional and Technical Writing program. More information concerning the department and university can be found at https://liberalarts.vt.edu/departments-and-schools/department-of-english.html and www.vt.edu.

The department fully embraces Virginia Tech’s commitment to increase faculty, staff, and student diversity; to ensure a welcoming, affirming, safe, and accessible campus climate; to advance our research, teaching, and service mission through inclusive excellence; and to promote sustainable transformation through institutionalized structures. We encourage applications from all interested candidates and are particularly interested in applications from persons identifying with underrepresented/underserved groups including but not limited to Black, Indigenous, people of color, underrepresented genders, and veterans. These individuals would include cis women, trans women, trans men, non-binary people, and those who are otherwise marginalized.

The English department is one of the largest at the university with 100 faculty across multiple ranks; 350 majors in English language and literature, creative writing, and professional writing; 200 minors; and six classified staff members. In addition to the B.A., the department offers an M.A. in English language and literature, an M.F.A. in creative writing, and a Ph.D. in rhetoric and writing. There are over 60 graduate students, most of whom are fully funded as Graduate Teaching Assistants. Through first-year writing, service courses in business and technical writing, and the Writing Center, the department additionally serves thousands of students.

Virginia Tech is a public land‐grant university committed to teaching and learning, research, and outreach within the Commonwealth of Virginia, the nation, and the world. Building on its motto of Ut Prosim (that I may serve), the University is dedicated to serving in the spirit of community, diversity, and excellence — InclusiveVT. We seek candidates who adopt and practice efforts to increase access and inclusion to create a community that nurtures learning and growth for all.

• PhD in Technical Communication, Rhetoric and Composition, or a closely related field by the time of appointment (August 2022).
• Demonstrated evidence of excellence in teaching.
• Demonstrated potential of significant future research and publication.
• Demonstrated commitment to the principles and practices of nurturing a diverse and inclusive community.

We seek colleagues whose work advocates for justice-oriented approaches to professional and technical writing theory and practice.
• We seek colleagues with scholarly interests in critical & cultural rhetorics and disability studies.

Restricted

June 20, 2022

The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check.

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a hands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be leaders and problem-solvers. A comprehensive land-grant institution that enhances the quality of life in Virginia and throughout the world, Virginia Tech is an inclusive community dedicated to knowledge, discovery, and creativity. The university offers more than 280 majors to a diverse enrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in eight undergraduate colleges, a school of medicine, a veterinary medicine college, Graduate School, and Honors College. The university has a significant presence across Virginia, including the Innovation Campus in Northern Virginia; the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke; sites in Newport News and Richmond; and numerous Extension offices and research centers. A leading global research institution, Virginia Tech conducts more than $500 million in research annually.