Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Sciences

Position Title Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Science About the University Western Washington University, with over 16,000 students in seven colleges and the graduate school, is nationally recognized for its educational programs, students and faculty. The campus is located in Bellingham, Washington, a coastal community of 90,000 overlooking Bellingham Bay, the San Juan Islands and the North Cascades Mountain range. The city lies 90 miles north of Seattle and 60 miles south of Vancouver, British Columbia. Western is the highest-ranking public, master's-granting university in the Pacific Northwest, according to the 2022 U.S. News & World Report rankings. Western Washington University is committed to achieving excellence through advancing inclusive success, increasing our Washington impact, and focusing on transformational education grounded in the liberal arts and sciences and based on innovative scholarship, research, and creative activity. Western's greatest strength is the outstanding students, faculty, staff, and alumni/ae who make up its community. Western supports an inclusive governance structure for all and provides a learning and working environment in which everyone can thrive. In pursuit of this excellence, individual employees are expected to establish and maintain productive and effective inclusive working relationships amongst diverse populations including staff, faculty, administration, student, and external constituents. Further, individual employees are expected to have the ability to operationalize sustainability concepts (economic, societal, environmental) into all aspects of performing their job duties. About the College, Department, and Program

About the College: Western’s College of the Environment is the oldest interdisciplinary environmental studies college in the U.S. and is known nationally and internationally for its excellence in educating the next generation of environmental leaders. The College of the Environment’s academic programs reflect a broad view of the physical, biological, social, and cultural world.

About the Department: The Department of Environmental Sciences offers degrees in Environmental Science at the undergraduate and master's level. The department values putting learners in active roles in real world contexts, and recognizes the diverse kinds of professional expertise its faculty bring. The department maintains active relationships with community, agency, NGO, and private sector partners and is committed to diversity and excellence in our faculty, students, and staff. We especially encourage candidates who share and can contribute to this commitment through active engagement in the department, university, and wider community.

About the Program: 

Through the Everett and Western on the Peninsulas programs, the College of the Environment provides off-campus degree programs designed with a flexible schedule for working adults and offers three bachelor's degrees: BA in Environmental Studies (emphasis either in Geographic Information Systems or Environmental Science); BA in Natural Resource Management; and BS in Environmental Science.  A full list of degrees/certificates is listed online. Classes in the degree programs are held during evening hours (after 5:00 p.m.).  The classrooms are networked across three sites at Port Angeles, Poulsbo, and Everett.  A class held at any of these sites is connected via Interactive Teleconferencing to the two other sites.  Hence any single cohort of our students is typically spread across three sites. 

Detailed information for the Department of Environmental Sciences is available online. Many of the students continue in the field through graduate school, and in private and government professions. Regionally the graduates are well respected for their educational training. More about the College of the Environment Everett and Western on the Peninsulas programs is available online. 

The College of the Environment supports Western’s mission, which states that together with our students, staff, and faculty, we strive to making a positive impact in the state and the world with a shared focus on academic excellence and inclusive achievement. We encourage applications from women, people of color, people with disabilities, veterans, and other candidates from underrepresented backgrounds and with diverse experiences interested in this opportunity. 

About the Position

The Department of Environmental Sciences at Western Washington University is inviting applications for a 6-month Visiting Assistant Professor from December 16, 2024, through June 15, 2025, eligible for renewal for the full 2025 – 2026 Academic Year. We seek expe