Job description
Company Description:
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a Carnegie R1, Opportunity, and Community-Engaged university at the heart of the U.S.-Mexico border region that is increasing access to excellent higher education. We advance discovery of public value and positively impact the health, culture, education, and economy of the community we serve. UTEP enrolls more than 26,000 students, 84% of whom are Hispanic and half of whom are the first in their families to attend college. UTEP offers 169 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs at the only open-access, top-tier research university in America.
Located at the westernmost tip of Texas, El Paso is set against the backdrop of the Franklin Mountains and the Chihuahuan Desert in one of the largest binational communities in the world. A family-oriented community that is one of the safest large cities in the U.S., the cost of living in El Paso is very reasonable with an average home value of $224,000 in 2025, and Texas has no state income tax. In 2026, U.S. News and World report named El Paso the best big city to live in the nation. The region’s rich culture includes a vibrant street art and mural scene, art galleries, a new children’s museum and science center, the state’s longest-running symphony orchestra, and a full schedule of seasonal events and festivals. Sports fans will enjoy Division I college athletics, Triple-A baseball affiliate El Paso Chihuahuas, and professional soccer team El Paso Locomotive FC, and outdoor enthusiasts will be drawn to year-round hiking, mountain biking and rock climbing in nearby state and national parks.
Job Description:
The Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences (SLHS) at The University of Texas at El Paso is a collaborative, research-engaged unit housed in the College of Health Sciences. The department offers expanding undergraduate and graduate programs and is committed to excellence in clinical education, community engagement, and culturally responsive practice.
SLHS operates a bilingual, pro bono speech-language and hearing clinic serving individuals across the lifespan in the Paso del Norte region. The clinic provides an exceptional applied research environment with direct access to Spanish-English bilingual populations within a dynamic border community. This setting offers unique opportunities for translational research in bilingual language development and disorders.
Faculty maintain active interdisciplinary collaborations across campus, including with colleagues in Linguistics, Psychology, Social Work, and Computer Science, as well as external partnerships. These collaborations position the department to contribute meaningfully to UTEP’s institutional priority of advancing research and education in bilingualism.
The department is experiencing growth in enrollment, research activity, and community partnerships, and seeks to expand its national research profile through strategic senior-level recruitment.
The Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences invites applications for a tenured Associate or Full Professor with expertise in bilingualism and communication sciences and disorders. Areas of scholarship may include, but are not limited to: bilingual language development and disorders, communication equity and linguistic diversity, cognitive and neural dimensions of bilingualism, assessment and intervention of communication disorders in multilingual contexts, or related areas that advance knowledge of speech-language pathology and communication across diverse populations.
This position is supported through the Regents Research Excellence Program (RREP) and represents a strategic institutional investment in expanding UTEP’s national leadership in bilingualism research. UTEP has an un-paralleled, interdisciplinary community of scholars examining issues of bilingualism across colleges and departments such as Psychology, Education, Chicano Studies, and Languages & Linguistics among others. Members of this vibrant scientific community collaborate and engage with the community through UTEP’s chapter of Bilingualism Matters and the Consortium for Bilingual Research (https://www.utep.edu/csrb/csrb-members/faculty1.html). Together, these initiatives connect scholars, students, and community partners engaged in research on bilingualism across the lifespan.
We seek a senior scholar with an established, externally funded research program, preferably including federal funding (e.g., NIH, NIDCD, IES, NSF), whose work advances knowledge related to bilingual language development, disorders, or communication across the lifespan. The successful candidate will provide research leadership within the department and contribute to interdisciplinary initiatives aligned with UTEP’s Strategic Plan Goal 4, Initiative 3 (https://www.utep.edu/csrb/csrb-members/faculty1.html), which calls for establishing UTEP as a national leader in research and education in bilingualism, bilingual education, and second language learning.
The faculty member will:
- Lead a nationally visible, externally funded research program
- Develop and submit major federal grant proposals
- Expand interdisciplinary collaborations across campus
- Mentor graduate students, junior faculty, and postdoctoral scholars
- Contribute to the development of large-scale, collaborative research initiatives
This is a research-intensive appointment with competitive salary and start-up support commensurate with qualifications and experience.
Requirements:
- Earned doctorate (Ph. D.) in Speech-Language Pathology, Communication Sciences and Disorders, or a closely related field
- Current tenure at the rank of Associate Professor or Full Professor, or qualifications commensurate with appointment at a tenured rank
- Established program of scholarship in bilingual language disorders
- Demonstrated record of peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals
- Evidence of sustained external research funding or strong record of competitive grant activity
Preferred Qualifications
- Active or recent federal funding (e.g., NIH, NIDCD, IES, NSF, HRSA)
- Experience leading multi-site or interdisciplinary research initiatives
- Demonstrated success securing major federal awards (e.g., R01 or equivalent)
- Experience directing research centers, training grants, or large-scale collaborative projects
- Record of scholarship addressing linguistically diverse or bilingual populations
- Commitment to community-engaged research and culturally responsive practices
- Experience mentoring postdoctoral scholars and supervising doctoral dissertations
- Eligibility for Texas state licensure in speech-language pathology
Additional Information:
In keeping with its access, excellence, and impact mission, The University of Texas at El Paso is committed to an open, diverse, and inclusive learning and working environment that honors the talents, respects the differences, and nurtures the growth and development of all. We seek to attract faculty and staff who share our commitment.
The University of Texas at El Paso is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or sexual orientation and gender in employment or the provision of services in accordance with state and federal law. Discrimination on the basis of sex includes an employee’s or prospective employee’s right to be free from sexual harassment under Title IX of the Higher Education Amendments of 1972. Inquiries-including the filing of a Formal Complaint or reporting an incident-about the application of Title IX may be referred to the Title IX Coordinator, who can be reached by phone at (915) 747-8358, by email at [email protected], or by mail at 500 W. University Ave., El Paso, TX, Kelly Hall, Room 312.
For accommodation information for employees and applicants with disabilities, please contact UTEP’s Equal Opportunity Office at [email protected].
To the extent that this position involves research, work, or access to critical infrastructure as referenced in Executive Order GA-48, being hired for and continuing to be employed in this position requires the ability to maintain the security or integrity of the infrastructure.
How to apply
Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.
- A letter of interest that addresses qualifications for the position, research agenda, and alignment with bilingual language disorders
- A current curriculum vitae
- Contact information for at least three professional references (references will not be contacted without prior notice to the candidate)
For inquiries regarding the position, please contact:
Dr. Stacy Wagovich Search Committee Chair
Email: [email protected]
