School of Music
College of the Arts
Assistant Professor
Fall 2025

The School of Music at California State University, Fullerton, invites applications for a tenure‐track position as Artist/Teacher of Percussion at the Assistant Professor rank to begin Fall 2025. 

California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) is a minority-serving institution, affirmative action, and equal opportunity employer. CSUF is firmly committed to increasing the diversity of the campus community and the curriculum and fostering an inclusive environment within which students, staff, administrators, and faculty thrive. Candidates who can contribute to this goal through their teaching, research, advising, and other activities are encouraged to identify their strengths and experiences. Individuals advancing the University’s strategic diversity goals and those from groups whose underrepresentation in the American professoriate has been severe and longstanding are particularly encouraged to apply.

CSUF is committed to retaining all faculty and has established affinity groups you can join to support your success. 

Position
The School of Music invites applications for a tenure track position as Artist/Teacher of Percussion at the rank of Assistant Professor beginning Fall 2025. Primary responsibilities include teaching applied percussion to both undergraduate and graduate students, recruiting and maintaining a quality percussion studio, overseeing and maintaining percussion inventory, and serving as coordinator of the percussion area (including organizing events and assisting with outreach and recruitment of percussion students). Other responsibilities include coaching chamber music, participating in faculty ensembles, and teaching other courses in accordance with individual areas of expertise and School of Music needs. The position also requires working closely with other applied faculty, ensemble directors, and music education faculty to promote positive relationships with regional high school and community college music programs.

CSUF faculty are committed teacher/scholars who bring research and creative discovery to life for students in classrooms, labs, studios, and individually mentored projects. They teach broadly in the curricula of their departments, advise students, and serve on departmental and university-wide committees. The primary responsibilities of the person in this position will include the development and teaching of introductory and core courses in the discipline and the development of courses in their area(s) of specialization. Specific courses that this person will teach include Applied Percussion, Percussion Methods, Percussion Ensemble, and Percussion Workshop. This person will also be responsible for producing or engaging in active peer-reviewed creative/scholarly activities, maintain office hours, and work collaboratively and productively with colleagues commensurate with the requirements for tenure. The successful candidate will also be expected to contribute to and participate in the life and development of the School of Music, advise students, serve on committees, and participate in the broader university and disciplinary communities.

Required Qualifications

• Terminal degree (DMA, PhD, or MM with commensurate experience) by the time of appointment. 
• Evidence of successful college-level percussion teaching.
• Evidence of successful chamber ensemble coaching. 
• Demonstrated excellence in musicianship and performance skills, befitting a professional percussionist
• Evidence of a distinguished record of achievement and national or international reputation as a percussion soloist, and/or orchestral musician, and/or chamber musician.
• Evidence of strong leadership, communication, organizational, and management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work and interact effectively with a wide and culturally diverse range of students, faculty, and staff.
• A strong record of creative activity and/or scholarly accomplishments appropriate to the level of appointment.
• Experience in working collaboratively with colleagues.
• Ability to balance excellent teaching, scholarship, and service.
• Demonstrated commitment to working effectively with students from intersecting marginalized social groups.

Preferred Qualifications

• Interest in non-Western percussion traditions and practices.

Application
A complete online application must be received by electronic submission to be considered. To apply, please visit http://hr.fullerton.edu/careers/Faculty.php, choose full-time faculty, search for the position #543470, and provide the following required materials:

1. Cover letter relating your experience to the required qualifications.
2. Current Curriculum vitae
3. Unofficial transcripts of all graduate study
4. List of three professional references (names, telephone numbers, email addresses)
5. Teaching Philosophy Statement
6. Candidate Statement on Commitment to Inclusive Excellence. 
   • This statement provides the candidate’s unique perspective on their past and present contributions to and future aspirations for promoting diversity, inclusion, and social justice in their professional careers. This statement aims to help the department identify candidates with professional experience, intellectual commitments, and/or willingness to engage in activities that could help CSUF contribute to its mission in these areas. The statement shall address one or more of the following criteria:
     1. The candidate has acquired knowledge of barriers for underrepresented students and faculty in higher education.
     2. The candidate has experience in and is committed to serving underrepresented populations in higher education.
     3. The candidate has experience in and is committed to teaching and/or mentoring underrepresented students in a higher education environment.
     4. The candidate has experience integrating underrepresented populations and communities into scholarly and creative activities.
7. Recent live or studio recordings (all files should be submitted as links to external sites; physical copies of recordings will not be accepted nor reviewed) of the applicant performing the following repertoire listed below. Video recordings are highly preferred.
   • Two contrasting selections by Bach performed on a mallet instrument, AND
   • A twentieth or twenty-first-century major solo work or concerto for multi-percussion, AND
   • A third selection of the candidate's choice. This may be another work or a chamber work that features percussion prominently. This selection may be utilized to highlight a candidate’s unique specializations.

Finalists only:  Submit three letters of recommendation. Please have these ready for the referees to submit. On the References page of the online application, enter information and email addresses for three referees who will provide a confidential letter of reference for your application. At the appropriate time in the search process, they will receive an email requesting the submission of a letter. You can confirm receipt of each letter by logging back into your applicant portal.

Please direct all questions about the position to both Dr. Dustin Barr and Professor Sycil Mathai at dbarr@fullerton.edu and smathai@fullerton.edu with the subject line “Percussion Search” or call 657-278-7624. 

Application Deadline
To be assured full consideration, all application materials must be received by December 9, 2024. The anticipated appointment date is August 2025.

The College and Department
The College of the Arts is a destination of choice for students seeking the highest quality training in the visual and performing arts. We take great pride in our role as a college of regional focus with national impact. Locally, the College serves as an academic and cultural resource for the community. Nationally, our alumni contribute to the thriving creative economy as artists, educators, performers, and professionals. We are leaders in arts education, marked by our continuous national accreditation in all four areas – Dance, Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts. At Cal State Fullerton, our motto is “Titans reach higher.” In the College of the Arts, not only do we reach higher, we reach forward to shape the future of the arts in new and innovative ways. For more information about the College of the Arts, please visit http://www.fullerton.edu/arts/

The School of Music in the College of the Arts is a school of artistry, community, and distinction. Our mission is to provide a vibrant learning environment that encourages individual achievement and artistic expression. Music is key to what makes us human—an expression of our creative beings. We daily and collectively engage our creative humanity as performers, composers, researchers, teachers, and students. Together, we collaborate, inspire, discover, reflect, mentor, innovate, and create. The curriculum provides preparation for careers in music, music education, or further graduate study. We offer a variety of degree programs and concentrations that balance theoretic and applied learning. Artist-teachers offer instruction in all aspects of performance; practicing composers and theorists teach courses in theory and composition; active musicologists provide instruction in history and literature; and specialists in music education teach courses in that field. Our goal is to develop each student’s musical and intellectual potential to the highest level of individual capability. Our school has been fully and continuously accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music since 1966. For more information about the School of Music, please visit: http://www.fullerton.edu/arts/music/

Compensation
The Assistant Professor (Academic Year) classification salary range is $6,221 to $13,224 monthly (12 monthly payments per academic year). The anticipated hiring range is $6,884 to $7,022 per month. 

Salary offered is commensurate with experience and qualifications. In addition, the California Equal Pay Act prohibits employers from paying its employees less than those of the opposite sex and/or another race or ethnicity for substantially similar work (https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/california_equal_pay_act.htm). 

Summer research grants, moving expenses, start‐up funds, and a reduced teaching load may be available.

CSUF Benefits
An excellent comprehensive benefits package includes health/vision/dental plans; spouse, domestic partner, and dependent fee‐waiver; access to campus child‐care; and a defined‐benefit retirement through the state system and optional tax sheltering opportunities. For a detailed description of benefits, please visit https://hr.fullerton.edu/total-wellness/.

Additional Information
Multiple positions may be hired from this recruitment based on the strength of the applicant pool.

CSU Policies
The person holding this position is considered a ‘mandated reporter’ under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and must comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083, revised July 21, 2017, as a condition of employment.

A background check (including a criminal records check) must be completed satisfactorily before any candidate can be formally offered a position with the CSU. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the application status of applicants or the continued employment of current CSU employees who apply for the position.

Reasonable accommodations will be provided for qualified applicants with disabilities who self‐disclose.

Notice of Non-Discrimination based on Gender or Sex and Contact Information for Title IX Coordinator (http://www.fullerton.edu/titleix/about/notice.php).

In accordance with the California State University (CSU) Out-of-State Employment Policy, the CSU is a state entity whose business operations reside within the State of California. It requires hiring employees to perform CSU-related work within the State of California.