"Assistant Professor of Urban Education"

Job Description

Metro State University, a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, is seeking to hire an Assistant Professor of either Urban Elementary Education and/or Urban Special Education which includes teaching, program coordination, and advising among other responsibilities. This is a full-time, probationary, tenure-track position within the School of Urban Education and will start on August 17, 2026.

Description of College/School/Unit

The School of Urban Education and its Urban Teacher Program has a rich history of nearly 25 years. We offer nine undergraduate and seven graduate programs, and have approximately 400 students enrolled in these programs who bring a wealth of personal and professional experiences to their studies as post-traditional learners. The School is the most racially and ethnically diverse teacher preparation unit in Minnesota with two-thirds of all teacher candidates being from BIPOC communities as well as a majority 11 full-time faculty and staff. Approximately 110 students are majoring and enrolled in the Urban Elementary Education program, and approximately 75 are majoring and enrolled in the Urban Special Education undergraduate or graduate program. The faculty are committed to and inspired by our students, and anchored in their fields of expertise with various forms of scholarly activity that contribute to the knowledge base in their fields. The School of Urban Education takes pride in working in partnership with both PreK-12 schools and community organizations that are stakeholders towards achieving our mission.

The mission of the School of Urban Education is twofold: (1) To increase the number of well-prepared teachers of color in Minneapolis, St. Paul and surrounding suburbs so that the urban teaching workforce reflects the ethnically diverse population of preK-12 students and their communities; and (2) To empower all teacher candidates to become urban teachers with the content knowledge, pedagogical skills, urban field experiences, and professional dispositions needed to improve the educational achievement of historically and currently underserved urban learners and to advocate for their right to receive a high quality education. The School of Urban Education is embedded on the campus of Minneapolis College. For more information, visit our website at https://www.metrostate.edu/academics/urban-education.

Responsibilities

Faculty members are expected to:

• Demonstrate the ability to teach Urban Elementary Education and/or Urban Special Education courses effectively to a post-traditional student population and contribute to meaningful assessment of student learning.
• Coordinate and manage either the Urban Elementary Education or Urban Special Education licensure program with collaboration skills that will further strengthen and grow these programs with colleagues and stakeholders.
  (NOTE: This work is done in addition to teaching and advising responsibilities through a reduced instructional credit load.)
• Curriculum development in urban elementary education and/or urban special education programs that are aligned to state licensure standards
• Teaching in BS and MS programs
• Teach in-person and distance education courses as needed by the department, college, or university
• Contribute meaningfully to the assessment of student learning at program and institutional levels.
• Engage in scholarly activity, creative achievement, and/or research.
• Provide evidence of continuing preparation and study.
• Contribute to student growth and development through advising and assistance.
• Engage in service to the university and community.
• Demonstrate a commitment to serving a diverse student body by delivering a student-centered education and using approaches that support equitable outcomes for all students.
• Provide excellent learning environments through in-person online, and/or hybrid course modalities.
• Work regularly from the campus where the School of Urban Education office suite is located in ways that result in frequent opportunities for effective, in-person meetings and collaborative engagement with colleagues and students as an instructor, advisor and program coordinator; some work involves attending other meetings at other university campuses or in the community.

Salary Range

$64,066.00 - $186,015.00

Salary is commensurate with education and experience and is determined by the salary placement process as outlined in the Inter Faculty Organization (IFO) Master Agreement. Employment for this position is covered by the collective bargaining agreement for the Inter Faculty Organization (IFO) which can be found at on the Minnesota State Employee and Labor Relations website. For the most current information on the Inter Faculty Organization, go to www.ifo.org.

Minimum Qualifications

• A master’s degree in Elementary Education or Special Education, with enrollment in a doctoral program in a closely related field. Doctoral program must be successfully completed within 5 years to meet the requirement for tenure.
• Three (3) or more full-time years of licensed elementary education and/or special education teaching experience in an urban school in the U.S.
• Demonstrated potential for success in teaching and professional service activities.
• A plan for scholarly activity, creative achievement, and/or research in the specified discipline(s), or related disciplines.
• Effective Communication skills (written verbal) to communicate with a variety of persons and groups.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in an institution with a culturally, economically, and linguistically diverse workforce and student population.
• Demonstrated ability and desire to work collegially with faculty and staff from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Preferred Qualifications

• A completed terminal degree (i.e., PhD, EdD) in Elementary Education or Special Education or closely related field in education.
• Five or more years of full-time teaching experience in urban schools in the U.S.
• Demonstrated effectiveness teaching at a post-secondary level.
• Professional development and/or Expertise in culturally responsive pedagogy, anti-racist pedagogy, and/or universal design.
• Experience developing course curricula at a post-secondary institution.
• Experience effectively coordinating programs (e.g., designing, organizing, managing, overseeing, collaborating, problem-solving, strengthening, growing) to meet program, partnership and community-based needs in the K-12 system.
• Demonstrated organizational, time management, communication and collaborative leadership skills with colleagues and internal/external partners needed to effectively manage, grow and support the continuous development of urban education licensure programs for teacher candidates. Experience leading program continuous improvement and state accreditation efforts.
• Demonstrated use of current educational technology platforms or tools that diversify and support the learning experiences for K-12 students. Demonstrated contributions to assessment of student learning at a post-secondary institution.
• Experience as an academic advisor for students at post-secondary institution.
• Experience writing, securing and administering grants.

Application Instructions

The priority deadline for applications is 12:01 AM on Sunday, November 30, 2025 Qualified applicants are required to attach the following documents to their online application: Cover letter of interest addressing your qualifications for the position. Current curriculum vita or resume. A statement of your teaching philosophy and examples of teaching effectiveness, particularly as it relates to student success (limit 2 pages). Names of four (4) references with addresses, email addresses and telephone numbers; at least two (2) of the references must be able to address teaching effectiveness. Transcripts - Valid unofficial copies of your transcript showing conferred/awarded date of your highest attained degree, with your name and the academic institution’s name/logo are required. If doctoral study is in progress at the time of application, submit the most recent transcript showing your course of study and progress to date. We are not able to accept copy/paste word documents with a list of courses/grades. If selected for hire, official original transcripts will be required. Additional materials may be requested at a later date.

For TTY, call Minnesota Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) at 7-1-1 or 1-800-627-3529. If you have other questions related to this job announcement, please contact Human Resources, at 651.793.1275 or email at hrrecruiting@metrostate.edu.

Metro State University is an Equal Opportunity employer/educator committed to the principles of diversity. We prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their race, sex, color, creed, religion, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or membership in a local commission as defined by law. As an affirmative action employer, we actively seek and encourage applications from women, minorities, persons with disabilities, and individuals with protected veteran status. The university provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request.