Job description

Tenure Track, Assistant Professor of Digital Communication/Emerging Technologies

Join Our Mission at Augustana College

At Augustana College, we don’t just educate students – we empower them. As a nationally recognized college of the liberal arts and sciences, we invest in engaged learning, maximizing student potential, and building strong community partnerships-the driving forces of our Bold & Boundless Strategic Plan (2024-29).

For our 2,500 students, Augustana offers a collaborative and student-focused environment, in which faculty and staff play an active role in shaping futures through hands-on learning, mentorship and leadership development. Located on a scenic, wooded campus in Rock Island, Illinois, Augustana is part of the vibrant Quad-Cities metropolitan area (pop. 470,000), about a 3-hour drive from Chicago.

We seek mission-driven professionals who are passionate about student success, innovation and making an impact. If you thrive in an environment that values curiosity, collaboration and the power of transformative education, we invite you to bring your talents to Augustana.

Employees at Augustana enjoy an excellent benefit package including medical, retirement, generous paid time off, tuition benefits for employees and their family members, and much more.

Job Description

The Department of Communication Studies at Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois, invites applications for a tenure-track position in digital communication/emerging technologies at the rank of Assistant Professor beginning in August of the 2027-2028 academic year.

As Augustana students navigate an environment shaped by algorithms, artificial intelligence, and platform-based communication, they need both analytical understanding of these systems and practical skills for engaging them effectively and ethically in professional, civic, and interpersonal contexts. We welcome applicants working across critical/cultural, rhetorical, social scientific, or humanistic traditions to join our Department, which includes both the Communication Studies major and the Multimedia Journalism and Mass Communication major.

We are looking for colleagues who are broadly educated in the field and appreciative of the role of communication in a liberal arts setting, including an emphasis on social responsibility and community engagement. The department participates actively in the college’s interdisciplinary General Education program, and we will encourage our new colleague to design and teach courses there. The department’s current curriculum is richly diverse, and we are open to adding courses that reflect our new colleague’s strengths and passions. Our new colleague will have the opportunity to work across disciplines, create engaged learning opportunities, and/or participate in Augustana’s Prison Education Program.

Responsibilities

• Teaching load of 24 credits per 10-month academic year (standard courses are 2 or 4 credits)
• Teaching foundational Communication Studies courses at both the lower and upper undergraduate level as well as the college’s required first-year liberal arts course
• Serving as the department’s lead instructor in digital communication and emerging technology (teaching existing courses in that area and developing new courses)
• Advising major and minors in the program (not required during the first year)
• Participating in course and departmental program development
• Performing college and professional service

What we are looking for

Applicants must have a Ph. D. or ABD in Communication Studies or a closely related field.

Successful applicants will also demonstrate:

• Potential for excellence in teaching foundational Communication Studies and emerging technology courses at both the lower and upper undergraduate level
• Expertise in digital communication and emerging technologies from a communication perspective
• Ability to examine digital communication from a variety of perspectives, including use as an ethical citizen in an intercultural world
• Commitment to a welcoming and learning-centered student experience
• Commitment to an interdisciplinary environment and the value of a broadly educated person
• Ability to maintain an active research agenda that informs one’s teaching
• Ability to recruit, work with, and motivate students

Additional Information

The budgeted compensation for this position ranges from $60,000 to $63,000 per year based upon minimum and preferred qualifications, education, experience, skills, and abilities. Actual placement within the range will depend upon experience, education, research, and other relevant factors.

Augustana College offers a competitive and comprehensive benefit package to its employees to ensure our team is well cared for. Benefits include:

• Medical, dental and vision insurance
• Retirement plan including eligibility to receive up to 7% contribution from the College.
• Company sponsored short-term and long-term disability benefits as use of college facilities including a wellness center, gym and recreation center.
• Tuition benefits for employees and their family members.

You can learn more about our benefits program at our Benefits Website.

Augustana College is an Equal Opportunity Employer. It is Augustana College’s policy to provide equal opportunity to all qualified employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, age, national origin, disability and any other category protected by federal, state or local law.

How to apply

A complete application will include:

• Cover letter
• CV
• Statement of teaching philosophy
• Sample syllabus of an introductory-level Communication course related to technology and media/emerging technologies
• Copy of graduate transcripts
• Contact information for three references

Please describe your background in scholarship and/or teaching for the current courses offered by our Department in your cover letter or teaching philosophy, as well as any new courses you’d be excited to develop.

Questions about the position may be directed to the search chair, Dr. Meg Kunde, at [email protected]. To guarantee full consideration, please submit all application materials by January 15, 2027. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.