Western Washington University, with over 15,000 students in seven colleges and the graduate school, is nationally recognized for its educational programs, students and faculty. The campus is located in Bellingham, Washington, a coastal community of 90,000 overlooking Bellingham Bay, the San Juan Islands and the North Cascades Mountain range. The city lies 90 miles north of Seattle and 60 miles south of Vancouver, British Columbia. Western has additional sites in Anacortes, Bremerton, Everett, Port Angeles, and Poulsbo. Western is recognized nationally for its successes, such as being named one of the top public master's-granting institutions in the Pacific Northwest for 25 years in a row by U.S. News & World Report.

Western Washington University is committed to achieving excellence through advancing inclusive success, increasing our Washington impact, and focusing on transformational education grounded in the liberal arts and sciences and based on innovative scholarship, research, and creative activity. Western's greatest strength is the outstanding students, faculty, staff, and alumni/ae who make up its community. Western supports an inclusive governance structure for all and provides a learning and working environment in which everyone can thrive. In pursuit of this excellence, individual employees are expected to establish and maintain productive and effective inclusive working relationships amongst diverse populations including staff, faculty, administration, student, and external constituents. Further, individual employees are expected to have the ability to operationalize sustainability concepts (economic, societal, environmental) into all aspects of performing their job duties.

The College of Fine and Performing Arts and the Departments of Music support Western’s mission, which states that together with our students, staff, and faculty, we are committed to making a positive impact in the state and the world with a shared focus on academic excellence and inclusive achievement. The College of Fine and Performing Arts comprises the departments of Art/Art History, Design, Music, and Theatre and Dance, housed in eight buildings with five performance spaces, including a Performing Arts Center overlooking Bellingham Bay. The College also is home to the Music Library and Western Gallery and Public Art Collection, one of the top ten outdoor sculpture collections in the country.

The Department of Music advances artistry, creativity, pedagogy, and scholarship as modeled and guided by faculty and realized by the undergraduate and graduate population. We are a collaborative community where the love of music is acted upon with vibrancy and unity.

The Department of Music serves over 200 undergraduate majors and 16 graduate students annually, and offers BA, BMus and MMus degrees in multiple concentration areas, as well as minors in Music and Jazz Studies. The Department is comprised of twenty full-time faculty and approximately thirty-six part-time faculty, and serves as a focal point for the campus and the regional community through collaboration, participation and leadership in music performance and instruction. Visit the Music Department’s website at https://cfpa.wwu.edu/music for more information.

The Department of Music at Western Washington University seeks a dynamic, student-centered artist/scholar to serve as Assistant Professor of Musicology. This is a full-time, tenure-track position, anticipated to begin on September 16, 2026.  Duties will include teaching graduate and undergraduate academic courses in musicology—including survey courses for non-majors—as well as committee service and substantive research and/or creative activity. The ideal candidate will be experienced in fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive learning environment, and will be proactive in seeking collaborative opportunities with peers. They will nurture and sustain the Musicology program in its various facets, including pedagogy and curriculum, thesis advising, curating guest artists and presenters, and scholarship. For further inquiries, contact Ryan Dudenbostel, Search Committee Chair, at ryan.dudenbostel@wwu.edu or 360-650-7712.

Position Responsibilities

Teaching - Courses covering both historical musicology and ethnomusicology including:

• Undergraduate Series in Musicology (incorporating topics and case studies in historical musicology, ethnomusicology, and popular music)
• Survey of World Music Cultures (a General University Requirement course serving students of all majors)
• Undergraduate and Graduate Topical Seminars in Musicology

The successful candidate will be expected to fulfill teaching and mentoring responsibilities that provide equitable and inclusive learning environments for all students.

Service:

• Manage all aspects of the Musicology Program
• Mentor/supervise theses and related independent studies for undergraduate and graduate students in the Musicology Program
• Participate in service activities within the Department, College, and University as assigned
• Recruit and retain students in the undergraduate Musicology Major and graduate Musicology MMus Concentration
• Coordinate the Musicultural Concert Series (one performance per year)
• Maintain a presence in relevant professional associations

Scholarship:

• Engage in relevant creative/scholarly activity in the field of Musicology
• Maintain an active creative/scholarly profile in the community, state, and region

• Earned PhD at time of application in Historical Musicology, Musicology, or Ethnomusicology
• Evidence of effective teaching at the university level
• Evidence of strong communication and interpersonal skills

• Evidence of experience engaging with both historical and ethnomusicological topics and practices in the classroom
• Demonstrated leadership, service, and/or administrative experience
• Demonstrated record of scholarship, ideally highlighting BIPOC, LGBTQ+, women, and/or other underrepresented areas of musicological research and inquiry
• Experience with creative thinking and integrating technologies in pedagogical environments
• Evidence of upper-division and/or graduate topical course development
• Participation in relevant professional associations

Salary

The starting salary range for assistant professor appointment, tenure-track is generally between $68,000-$73,000, with placement within the position’s salary range being based on qualifications and professional experience. The entire salary range for the assistant professor position is $68,000-$81,000, with the upper end of the salary range typically being achieved through collectively bargained salary adjustments.

Relocation assistance may be available per University guidelines. Salary and Start-up funds are to be determined upon being offered the position.

Bargaining Unit

 United Faculty of Western Washington

Application Instructions

A cover letter and curriculum vitae are required and should address your experience related to the position responsibilities, how you meet the required and preferred qualifications, and your teaching philosophy and interest.

You will be asked to provide contact information of three references.

Required Supplemental Materials

1) Statement (one-page) discussing your ability and commitment to work effectively with underrepresented students and to foster and promote an environment of accessibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI); you may draw upon your personal as well as professional experience. For more information about Western's commitment to and work on ADEI, see https://www.wwu.edu/diversity.

2) Sample of recent scholarship.

Review of applications will begin December 1, 2025. Position finalists will be contacted for in-person or remote interviews and may be asked to demonstrate teaching either in person or via video. Position will remain open until filled.

Western Washington University (WWU) is an equal opportunity employer. In compliance with applicable laws, WWU does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, national origin, age, citizenship or immigration status, pregnancy, use of protective leave, genetic status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, creed, religion, veteran or military status, disability or the use of a trained guide dog or service animal (including a service animal in training) by a person with a disability, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law, in its programs or activities, including employment, admissions, and educational programs. See WWU’s Policies on Prohibiting Discrimination Based on A Protected Class and Prohibiting Discrimination Based on Sex. Inquiries may be directed to the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance, Title IX and ADA Coordinator, Western Washington University, Old Main 126 (MS 9021), 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225; 360.650.3307 (voice) or 711 (Washington Relay); crtc@wwu.edu

WWU is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. To request this document in an alternate format or to request an accommodation, please contact Human Resources Disability Services, 360.650.3751 or 711 (Washington Relay).

Annual Security and Fire Safety Report: This report is provided pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act ("The Clery Act"). It includes statistics for the previous three calendar years concerning reported crimes that occurred on Western's campus; in certain off-campus buildings or property owned or controlled by Western; and on public property within, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from, the campus. The report also includes institutional policies concerning campus security, such as policies concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. You can obtain a copy of this report in printed or alternate formats by contacting the Office of Student Life at student.life@wwu.edu. The report can be found at: Annual Security and Fire Safety Report.

All new employees must comply with the immunization policy and show employment eligibility verification as required by the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service before beginning work at WWU. A thorough background check will be conducted on all new hires and rehires, which includes a sexual misconduct background check.