Tenure Track Faculty Position in Urban Design and Environmental Planning

Department of Urban and Regional Planning

College of Environmental Design

Salary Range: $80,820-$82,212 Annual

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona invites applications for a tenure track faculty ASSISTANT PROFESSOR position in the Urban and Regional Planning Department in an area related to the study and/or promotion of Urban Design and Environmental Planning.

Cal Poly Pomona is one of three polytechnic universities in the 23-campus California State University system and among 12 such institutions nationwide. Since its founding in 1938, Cal Poly Pomona students have participated in an integrative experiential learning education that is inclusive, relevant, and values diverse perspectives and experiences. With a variety of degree programs in the arts, humanities, sciences, engineering, and professional disciplines, the university is well known for its learn-by-doing approach and Teacher Scholar Model. 

The university is noted for its scenic and historic 1,400-acre campus, which was once the winter ranch of cereal magnate W.K. Kellogg. We acknowledge that Cal Poly Pomona resides on the territorial and homelands of the Tongva and Tataavium people who are the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar. The university’s nearly 30,000 students are taught and mentored by the campus’s more than 1,400 faculty as part of 54 Baccalaureate and 29 Master’s degree programs, 11 credential and certificate programs, and a doctorate in educational leadership. 

Highly regarded among its peer institutions, Cal Poly Pomona is No. 3 in the U.S. News and World Report rankings of top public regional universities in the west and was named the No. 28 best value college in the nation by Money Magazine. Cal Poly Pomona, a Hispanic-Serving Institution and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution, stands as a national leader in promoting social mobility, and was placed among the 25 top institutions in the country in awarding bachelor’s degrees to minoritized students by Diverse Issues in Higher Education.  

The Cal Poly Pomona campus is located less than 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles at the intersection of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. It is within an hour’s drive of beaches, mountains and deserts. For additional information about the university, please visit www.cpp.edu, and for more about faculty life, please see YourLife@CPP.

Student Population.  California residents comprise the majority (96%) of applicants to undergraduate programs at Cal Poly Pomona – nearly half (49%) of new students were transfers in Fall 2020.  58% of Cal Poly Pomona students are first generation, 70% receive financial aid, and 44% qualify as Pell-eligible.  The university enrolls a diverse student body that identifies as 49% Latinx, 21% Asian, 15% White, 3% Black, 5% International, 3% two or more races, 3% unknown, and less than 1% Native Hawaiian or Native Pacific Islander and less than 1% Native American Indigenous. 39% of the student body were STEM majors with the top enrolled programs including psychology, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, biology and computer science.

Inclusive Excellence Criteria.  We aspire to be the model inclusive polytechnic university in the nation. We have a strong commitment to inclusive excellence and to educational experiences that leverage the diverse perspectives and experiences needed to succeed and thrive in a diverse society. 

Tenure track faculty hires will demonstrate a commitment and record of contributions through their teaching, scholarship, or service to these inclusive excellence criteria (a minimum of two must be addressed in the Student Success Statement):

1. Integrates the values of equity and inclusivity into their teaching, scholarship and/or service contributions with diverse student populations;

2. Incorporates the contributions and struggles of historic ethnic minority groups and communities into their teaching, scholarly work, and/or service contributions;

3. Adopts teaching strategies that support the learning and success of students from diverse student populations;

4. Mentors and engages diverse student populations in discovery, scholarship, and creative activities;

5. Engages students in problem-based projects and learning that address the needs of diverse communities;

6. Possesses knowledge of challenges and barriers for underrepresented students and faculty within the discipline;

7. Mentors and assists diverse student populations interested in pursuing graduate education;

8. Engages in community-responsive action research or service with diverse student populations and communities;

9. Has experience in or demonstrates a commitment to adopting experiential learning activities and pedagogy with diverse student populations and communities; and

10. Has expertise in or demonstrated commitment to teaching, scholarship and/or service that contributes to access, diversity, and equal opportunity in higher education.

College of Environmental Design (ENV): ENV’s mission is to provide an outstanding academic and professional learning experience within a multidisciplinary structure. Creative excellence, environmental sustainability, and social responsibility guide ENV's programs. ENV was established in 1970. Our award-winning programs offer professional degrees at the undergraduate and graduate levels in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban and Regional Planning; at the undergraduate level in Art History and Visual Communication Design; and at the graduate level in Regenerative Studies. Faculty research and professional and creative activities are brought into the classroom through the Teacher-Scholar Model. Support and recognition for faculty efforts facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration and promote their rich talent, expertise, and influence. We seek opportunities for engagement with practice in California, nationally, and internationally. We are educating the future leaders of the design professions and therefore have an obligation to ensure that all constituencies of those professions represent the diversity of California's population. Diversity represents our strength.

Department of Urban and Regional Planning (URP):  URP’s programs emphasize interdisciplinary learning and linkages between practice and theory, taking advantage of connections with the architecture, landscape architecture, regenerative studies, and art programs that are also housed in the College of Environmental Design. The faculty emphasizes teaching, enriched by research activities, professional involvement, and community service. The undergraduate program provides a diverse student body with an entry into professional planning practice. The graduate program, offered primarily in the evening, provides a professionally oriented program. According to Planetizen’s ranking system (2019), the graduate program was ranked in ninth place among the best suburban programs and best programs without Ph.D., as well as in fourth place for the largest percentage of minority representation.  The department has 7 tenured and tenure track faculty and serves about 50 graduate and 200 undergraduate students. URP is one of the largest and the most diverse planning programs in the U.S. About 56 percent of the students are Hispanic/Latino. Asian students (19%) are the second-largest ethnic group, followed by White (14%) and Black/African American (2%). The student body also represents college students from socially and economically underrepresented populations. A large group of URP students are first-generation college students and transfer students.

Position description: We seek a candidate with demonstrated strength in urban design, physical planning, and/or environmental design, with secondary emphases in land use and/or environmental planning. The successful candidate should be capable of leading instruction and research in urban design and in one or more of the following areas: land use, planning law, sustainable community design, and environmental planning. We prefer candidates who are interested in teaching designed-focused studies. Lectures and seminars will vary based on the syllabus. The position requires teaching, advising, scholarly activities, and service to the profession, the department, college, and university. This faculty member will contribute to instruction and research in the areas of specialization and curriculum development for the department’s accredited undergraduate and master’s programs in planning. We are especially interested in candidates who will thrive in an inclusive environment and who can contribute to our department’s diversity through their teaching, scholarship, and/or service to the institution. We seek candidates who will further the department’s commitment to diversifying the urban planning profession.

Minimum requirements include:

• Ph.D. in urban planning, urban design, and/or related fields or two master’s degrees (one in urban planning or related field and one in design disciplines such as architecture, landscape architecture, or urban design.) (Degree must be conferred by the start date of the position)
• A commitment and a record of contributions to student success through the applicant’s teaching, scholarship, or service.  This will be described in the Student Success Statement, which must address at least two of the inclusive excellence criteria listed above.
• Demonstrated expertise in urban design with interests in one or both of the following: land use planning and environmental planning.
• Demonstrated ability or potential to actively engage in the diversity and inclusive excellence of the academic community through teaching, advising, research, scholarly activities, creative activities, and service.

Preferred/Desired Qualifications:

• Enthusiasm for teaching and a commitment to taking an active role in shaping the department’s curriculum
• Record of professional planning and urban design experience
• Record of mentoring & advising students, especially first-generation & students from historically underrepresented groups

Conditions of Employment:

The person offered this position is required to pass a background check.

The CSU requires faculty, staff, and students who are accessing campus facilities to be immunized against COVID-19 or declare a medical or religious exemption from doing so. Any candidates advanced in a currently open search process should be prepared to comply with this requirement. The systemwide policy can be found at https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/9779821/latest/ . Questions regarding the policy may be sent to avpfa@cpp.edu.

Application Process:

A completed application will consist of

• Cover letter in which you describe your interest in the position, relevant experience, and how you meet the minimum and preferred qualifications;
• A Student Success Statement (up to 2 pages, single-spaced) about your teaching or other experiences, successes, and challenges in working with a diverse student population.  (Please address at least two of the inclusive excellence criteria listed above);
• Curriculum vitae;
• Design-based work samples (3-5);
• Teaching Philosophy statement (1 page);
• Research Statement (1 page);
• 3-5 references (names & titles with contact information, i.e., email, telephone)
• Unofficial transcripts of undergraduate and graduate studies.

Finalists for the position will:

• Be prepared to provide three letters of recommendation;
• Be required to provide official transcripts for highest degree before the on-campus interview;
• Final candidates being interviewed are expected to make a presentation of creative work and a teaching demonstration to students and faculty;
• Final candidates will engage with students.

The position is open until filled. First consideration will be given to completed applications received no later than Friday, November 11, 2022.

Please direct inquiries to: Dr. Álvaro Huerta, Search Committee Chair, at amhuerta@cpp.edu.

Applications accepted only via PageUp – online application portal - for University hires.

Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer. The university seeks to recruit and retain a diverse workforce as a reflection of our commitment to serve the people of California, to maintain the excellence of the university, and to offer our students richly varied disciplines, perspectives, and ways of knowing. Cal Poly Pomona subscribes to all state and federal regulations and prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity/gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, age, disability, genetic information, medical condition, and covered veteran status. The university hires only individuals lawfully authorized to work in the United States. As required by the Clery Disclosure Act, the university prepares a public annual security report.