Assistant/Associate Professor - School of Environment, Geography and Sustainability - Tenure Track

Western Michigan University:We would like to recognize that Western Michigan University is located on lands historically occupied by Ojibwe, Odawa, and Bodewadmi nations. Please take a moment to acknowledge and honor this ancestral land of the Three Fires Confederacy, the sacred lands of all indigenous peoples and their continued presence.

Located in Kalamazoo in Southwest Michigan, Western Michigan University (WMU), is a vibrant, nationally recognized student-centered research institution with an enrollment of approximately 18,000. WMU delivers high-quality undergraduate instruction, has a strong graduate division, and fosters significant research activities. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classifies WMU as a doctoral university and one of just 185 public universities in the nation conducting research at a high level.

This hiring coincides with the university’s ongoing anti-racism efforts focused on creating an inclusive environment and equitable structures for hiring, teaching, learning and research. These efforts include the Racial Justice Advisory Committee, which is charged with making recommendations to address systemic racism on campus, and the president’s Mountaintop Initiative, a $2 million fund to advance these recommendations, as well as other proposals from the WMU community. Western Michigan University also recently received a $550 million endowed, multi-year Empowering Futures Gift, which will fund many projects and initiatives that aim to break down the barriers created by historic inequities. The Empowering Futures Gift is the largest gift for a public institution of higher education in U.S. history.

INSIGHT into Diversity consistently honors WMU for its outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Kalamazoo is a cultural hub midway between Chicago and Detroit, and just 45 minutes south of Grand Rapids. With 263,000 people in the greater Kalamazoo area, the community offers an array of cultural events, entertainment, and all-season recreation. The city supports a nationally recognized symphony and has earned a reputation for a vibrant community theatre and visual arts scene. Kalamazoo is environmentally- conscious and active community. It has programs in place to protect the local natural resources and it is exploring new programs to make essential public services more sustainable. It has an Environmental Concerns Committee that monitors environmental concerns for the city as well as other programs that promote a culture of environmental stewardship that is a vital part of the community. The Kalamazoo community is also committed to social justice, community development and the elimination of generational poverty through its Shared Prosperity Kalamazoo initiative, with structural budgetary support provided by the City of Kalamazoo’s Foundation for Excellence program. Kalamazoo also is the home of the Kalamazoo Promise, a scholarship program offered to all Kalamazoo Public School students that covers up to 100% of tuition and mandatory fees to any Michigan public (and many private) institution of higher learning.

The College: The College of Arts and Sciences represents the academic heart and liberal arts core of Western Michigan University and provides a broad range of academic programs for students. As the largest college at WMU, the employs more than 275 full-time faculty members; has an 11:1 faculty student ratio; enrolls more than 3,000 undergraduate majors and approximately 750 graduate students. It offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors, 21 master’s programs and 14 doctoral programs. It consists of 23 departments and interdisciplinary programs.

The School: The School of Environment, Geography, and Sustainability (SEGS) is the newest academic unit in the College of Arts and Sciences which came into full operation in Fall 2024. The School includes the former Department of Geography, Environment, and Tourism (GET), the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability (IES), and the Global and International Studies (GIST) program. The school continues to offer all the previous undergraduate and graduate programs of the two academic units. The undergraduate programs include baccalaureate majors and minors in Environmental Studies and Sustainability, Freshwater Science and Sustainability, Geography, Global and International Studies and Sustainable Brewing. The graduate programs include both traditional and accelerated MS (Geography), Post-baccalaureate Certificate in GIScience, and Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (UAS).

Salary: Competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience, with an excellent benefits package.

Expected Start Date: August 14, 2026

Application Deadline: Applications accepted until position is filled

Go to: wmich.edu/hr/employees/faculty for benefits and other information