University of Puget Sound Hiring for Assistant Professor – School of Occupational Therapy – Tenure Line at Occupational Therapy Full Time

Job Title: Assistant Professor – School of Occupational Therapy – Tenure Line
Location: Occupational Therapy
Regular/Temporary: Regular
Full/Part Time: Full-Time
Job ID: 7223
Faculty Posting Details

Appointment:

The University of Puget Sound School of Occupational Therapy invites applications for a full-time, tenure track faculty position; rank appointment at assistant professor; or earned academic rank considered.

Description:

The mission of the School of Occupational Therapy is to prepare culturally sensitive graduates who provide client-centered, evidence- and theory-informed occupational therapy to diverse individuals, groups, and populations, enhancing clients’ participation in meaningful, everyday activities. Graduates use critical analysis of theory and multiple sources of evidence to make sound professional judgments resulting in science-based and creative solutions to the challenges of professional practice.

As such, we are seeking a doctorally-prepared occupational therapist who values experiential learning, has a strong grounding in the use of occupation-based theory to guide clinical reasoning, and is experienced with implementing the occupational therapy process, utilizing evidence to inform clinical decision making, and translating research and evidence into practice. Experience as a practicing occupational therapist and previous experience teaching in an established entry-level OTD program, including mentoring doctoral capstone projects, are highly valued. The School of Occupational Therapy uses a co-teaching model, thus a strong value for collaboration, teamwork, collegiality and communication are essential.

Responsibilities:

The primary responsibility of this position is teaching in our entry level MSOT and OTD programs. Standard teaching assignment is six units per year. Primary teaching responsibility will involve some combination of the following: research methods, job analysis and work hardening, ergonomics, biomechanics, evidence-based practice and theory, and guiding students through critical appraisal of published literature. Other duties include student advising; supervision of student evidence projects, doctoral capstone projects, and post-professional doctoral research projects (on the years we have a DrOT cohort); participation in the admissions process; participation in departmental and university service and governance; engaging in curriculum evaluation and development as well as other teaching administration activities; participating in continuous and periodic self-study activities to maintain program accreditation; and implementing an agenda of productive scholarly work.

Other Essential functions:

• Prepare, teach, review and revise assigned courses
• Pursue excellence in teaching, service, and scholarship
• Commitment to enacting culturally responsive and antiracist teaching practices
• Demonstrate agreement with the missions of the University of Puget Sound and the School of Occupational Therapy
• Display professionalism and fulfill responsibilities in a manner consistent with the expectations of UPS

Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Demonstrated excellence in at least two areas: research, teaching, and/or clinical experience;
• PhD (or equivalent research doctorate), OR post-professional doctorate in OT or a related field;
• Three or more years of professional clinical experience;
• A record of peer-reviewed scholarly work;
• Commitment to liberal arts education; and
• Have, or qualify for, a Washington State Occupational Therapist license.
• Candidates who are near completion of a research or post-professional doctorate, will be considered.

Application Deadline: Interested individuals are encouraged to submit application materials no later than July 15 to ensure full consideration. To apply, please submit the required documents via the online job portal.

Required Documents:

Please submit curriculum vitae (CV) when prompted to submit resume. Additional documents can be attached within the application before submission. Applications submitted without the required attachments will not be considered.

• Letter of interest
• Curriculum vitae
• Teaching statement
• Research statement
• Diversity statement
• Three (3) Letters of Reference. You will be asked to specify the email addresses of reference providers at the time of application and the system will email these providers on the next business day.

Note: In the online application system, please submit curriculum vitae when prompted to submit resume. Additional documents can be attached within the application.

Applicant’s Diversity Statement:

As a department and university, we are strongly committed to creating an inclusive and effective teaching, learning, and working environment for all. In the applicant’s diversity statement, applicants should comment on their ability to contribute meaningfully to our on-going commitment to be informed and competent with regard to issues of diversity, equity, and individual differences. We encourage applicants to reference the University of Puget Sound’s current Diversity Strategic Plan (DSP) at https://pugetsound.edu/about-puget-sound-0/mission-core-values/institutional-equity-diversity prior to writing this statement. While not an exhaustive list, the following are some ways applicant’s can express their qualification:

• Your lived experiences and/or identities that speak to the department and university’s commitment to inclusion and diversity;
• Demonstration of your awareness of inequities for underrepresented student populations in education, research experience, and other opportunities;
• Brief insights on why diversity is important at institutions like the University of Puget Sound;
• Infusion of diversity and diversity-related issues into your research, pedagogy, and/or service;
• Previous and/or current activities involving mentoring underrepresented student populations;
• Creative ideas or strategies you could enact as a member of the University of Puget Sound campus community to support the university’s DSP;
• Brief insights on how cultural competency increases one’s effectiveness as an educator and department/university colleague.

For assistance with the online application portal, please contact [email protected] or 253.879.3369.

Compensation and Benefits:

Rank: Assistant Professor

Salary is commensurate with education and experience. Faculty salaries at the University of Puget Sound are based on a common salary scale based on experience. Assistant Professor salaries begin at $71,492 for an assistant professor in their first year of full-time post-doctorate teaching. This position is currently offering an overscale payment of $10,000 annually at the level of assistant professor.

Puget Sound offers a generous benefits package for eligible faculty members, including:

Medical, dental, and visionLife insurance and long-term disabilityEmployee Assistance ProgramRetirement plan options and 403(b) contributionsEducation benefits, such as full tuition for eligible employees and their familiesAccess to university facilities and entertainment (fitness center, pool, library, concerts, lectures) and more!

For more information on Puget Sound’s faculty benefits package, visit: https://www.pugetsound.edu/sites/default/files/2023-02/2023%20Benefits%20for%20Faculty%20Members.docx.pdfFor the Campus Holiday and Bonus Day Schedule, visit: www.pugetsound.edu/human-resources

About Puget Sound and the School of Occupational Therapy:

The University of Puget Sound is located in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and known for its mild climate and easy access to the water as well as to mountains. The area is popular for many summer and winter sports. Puget Sound is a residential, primarily undergraduate liberal arts college, with select graduation programs and draws students from virtually every state and several countries. With a value of providing students with personal attention from faculty members who have a strong commitment to teaching, Puget Sound is among only 40 institutions included in Colleges That Change Lives. The mission of the University of Puget Sound is to develop in its students the capacities for critical analysis, aesthetic appreciation, sound judgment, and apt expression that will sustain a lifetime of intellectual curiosity, active inquiry, and reasoned independence.

The School of Occupational Therapy has a legacy of more than 75 years of excellence in producing graduates who are exceptionally prepared to enter practice. We are proud to have the only fully accredited OTD program in Washington state and to have celebrated our first graduates of the program in 2023. The US News and World Report ranks Puget Sound in the top 30% of Best Occupational Therapy Schools. We believe that the liberal arts emphasis at the university serves to enhance the study of occupational therapy. Nurtured in a collaborative and academically rigorous environment, our students learn to think critically and analytically, develop professional values and goals, and become intellectually autonomous. Students benefit from innovative project opportunities, comprehensive fieldwork experiences, and a curriculum designed to develop professional reasoning skills, build exceptional documentation skills, and exceed the minimum requirements for entry-level practice. Community partnerships and experiential learning are hallmarks of the program. Occupational therapy students participate in unique Fieldwork I experiences through community and onsite clinical experiences in mental health, adult physical disabilities and pediatrics. Occupational therapy faculty work as part of a supportive community and have the advantage of working collaboratively both within the School of Occupational Therapy as well as with other departments across campus. Occupational therapy faculty have had the opportunity to provide input and expertise as Puget Sound seeks to prepare for future challenges in higher education and strategically add new graduate programs.

Teaching load is 6 units per academic year with primary teaching scheduled August through May. Faculty also provide a small amount of summer teaching which is mainly focused on advising and grading student projects. A majority of the summer is generally open for research, course preparation and professional development. Puget Sound provides a range of opportunities for faculty support including the ability to apply for research funds, release units, conference participation support, and sabbaticals as well as opportunities to support development as a teacher/scholar. Puget Sound has a well-established Shared Faculty Appointments Policy,

https://www.pugetsound.edu/gateways/faculty-staff/faculty-policies/shared-faculty-appointments/. Puget Sound is a member of the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC), Greater Washington State. See the following link:https://www.hercjobs.org/greater_washington_state/.

About Puget Sound:

The mission of the University of Puget Sound is to develop in its students the capacities for critical analysis, aesthetic appreciation, sound judgment, and apt expression that will sustain a lifetime of intellectual curiosity, active inquiry, and reasoned independence. Puget Sound is a 2,600-student, residential, national undergraduate liberal arts college in Tacoma, Washington, drawing students from virtually every state and several countries. 65% of students live on the 97 acre campus and the remainder typically live within a mile in the surrounding neighborhood. A low student-faculty ratio provides students with personal attention from faculty members who have a strong commitment to teaching. The university offers 1,200 courses in more than 50 areas of study, numerous experiential learning opportunities, 23 D-III varsity sports, and extensive co-curricular and leadership opportunities. Puget Sound graduates include Rhodes and Fulbright scholars, notables in the arts and culture, entrepreneurs and elected officials, and leaders in business and finance locally and throughout the world. In 2012, Puget Sound was named as one of 40 schools in Colleges that Change Lives.

Puget Sound has a well-established Shared Faculty Appointments Policy. More information on faculty resources can be found here: https://pugetsound.edu/resources-faculty

University Diversity Statement

• We acknowledge the richness of commonalities and differences we share as a university community; the intrinsic worth of all who work and study here; that education is enhanced by investigation of and reflection upon multiple perspectives.
• We aspire to create respect for and appreciation of all persons as a key characteristic of our campus community; to increase the diversity of all parts of our University community through commitment to diversity in our recruitment and retention efforts; to foster a spirit of openness to active engagement among all members of our campus community.
• We act to achieve an environment that welcomes and supports diversity; to ensure full educational opportunity for all who teach and learn here; to prepare effectively citizen-leaders for a pluralistic world.

All offers of employment are contingent on successful completion of all required background checks.

The University of Puget Sound is an equal opportunity employer.