Assistant Professor (Tenure-Track) - World Languages and Cultures

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Position Title:Assistant Professor (Tenure-Track) - World
Languages and Cultures

Job Category:Faculty

Employment Type:Regular

Job Profile:Assistant Professor

Job Duties:

Attention:

The Department of World Languages and Cultures in the
College of Letters and Sciences at the University of
Wisconsin-Whitewater seeks an Assistant Professor.

Job Summary:

The Department of World Languages and Cultures at UW-Whitewater
seeks a dedicated educator, scholar and colleague to join our
faculty. This position carries a 24-credit annual teaching
load with an emphasis on high-impact instructional practices,
student success, research, and professional service. The successful
candidate will be able to teach professional Spanish and
translation — including translation across languages — along with
Spanish language and grammar courses for second-language learners,
heritage speakers, and mixed classrooms as part of the Spanish
major, the Spanish minor, the Professional Spanish minor, the
Spanish BSE major and minor, and the broader World Languages and
Cultures curriculum. The approved standards for promotion and
tenure at the time of initial contract are the standards that will
be used for promotion and tenure. If there are revisions to
department or college standards, a faculty member can request (in
writing to the department chair) to have the revised standards
applied.

Workplace Expectations:

● Please see the link below regarding the workplace expectations at
UW-Whitewater. We believe that by adhering to these expectations,
we develop a university community in which all students, staff and
faculty feel valued and supported.

○
UWW Workplace Expectations

Key Job Responsibilities:

Teaching & Instructional Expectations

• Course Load: Deliver 24 credits of instruction per

academic year in Spanish and World Languages and Cultures. The
anticipated rotation includes translation coursework in Spanish and
across languages (Introduction to Spanish Translation, and
Translation and Interpretation in the World Languages); Spanish for
the professions courses (such as Spanish for Business); Spanish
Conversation; and Spanish grammar and language courses at any level
from 141 through 326 as departmental need requires. (
UW-Whitewater Teaching Responsibilities and Workload Policy
)

• Office Hours for Students: Maintain at least five office

hours for students each week during the academic year (departments
and/or colleges may have additional requirements). These office
hours for students should be consistent to provide accessible
student support and academic advising/mentoring. For faculty who
teach a portion or all courses online, the modality of the office
hours for students should be proportionate to the modality of the
courses taught unless the department or college has additional
requirements.

• Advising/mentoring: Use Navigate for all

advising/mentoring notes.

• Communication: Maintain professional and timely

responsiveness to student, colleague, and administrator
inquiries via Navigate, Canvas, email and telephone, generally
within 24–48 business hours while on contract. When off contract,
use the “out of office” feature in Outlook to let individuals know
who to contact in your absence.

• Administrative Compliance: Ensure the punctual

submission of course syllabi at the start of each term,
ensuring they meet all University and system-wide requirements (

UWW Syllabi Reqs ).

• Contribute to curriculum development, including the development

of new professional Spanish courses and support for the WLC major
with French and German emphases planned for AY 2027-2028.

• Student Success: Professional Spanish courses are capped

at 24 students. Faculty are expected to use that scale to work
closely and individually with students, building the highly engaged
classroom community that supports the success of all students.

• Accessibility: Select and develop instructional

materials that are Title II (ADA) compliant. All digital
course content, textbooks, and media must be accessible to students
with disabilities to ensure an equitable learning environment.

Research, Scholarship & Creative Activity

• Maintain an active scholarly agenda that contributes to the

field of translation studies, professional Spanish, Hispanic
linguistics, Heritage Spanish, or a related area of Spanish
studies.

• Disseminate research through peer-reviewed publications,

conference presentations, or professional exhibitions per
department and college standards.

• Seek opportunities to involve undergraduate students in

research initiatives.

Service & Engagement

• Participate in departmental, college, and university-level

meetings and committee work.

• Participate in professional and public service.
• Contribute to program assessment and development.
• Engage in professional outreach and service that aligns with

the University
Mission Statement and the
Wisconsin Idea .

• Lead the department in developing a formal internship process

and other career-oriented programming that connects World Languages
and Cultures students with regional employers.

• Build collaborations across campus — including, for example,

the College of Business and Economics, the university’s artificial
intelligence programs, and other departments and disciplines— that
strengthen professional Spanish offerings and student career
pathways.

• Carry a regular departmental advising load and support student

recruitment and retention in the Spanish and Professional Spanish
programs.

• Participate in at least one graduation ceremony each academic

year.

Department:

COLS | World Languages and Cultures

The Department of World Languages and Cultures offers majors and
minors in French, German, Japanese Studies, and Spanish, together
with coursework in ASL and Arabic. The Spanish program enrolls
approximately 50 majors and 150 minors and is the department’s
largest program. The Spanish program has a well-established
Peninsular, Latin American, and Latinx literature and culture
curriculum, as well as a robust language curriculum for both
second-language and heritage learners. The Professional Spanish
minor anchors a career-oriented curriculum that includes Spanish
for Business, Legal Spanish, Spanish for Educators, Spanish for
Health Professionals, Spanish Translation and Interpretation, and a
travel study course to Costa Rica co-taught with Social Work.

The department maintains a strong heritage Spanish program and
serves a notably high proportion of the university’s
underrepresented minority students. Faculty collaborate regularly
with Latinx Studies, Community-Based Learning, and Study Abroad,
and the department is rebuilding its translation offerings —
including World Languages and Cultures: Translation and
Interpretation, which serves majors and minors across all
department languages — with an emphasis on the work of cultural
brokering that translation now requires in the age of artificial
intelligence.

Compensation:

Well-qualified candidates can expect a minimum starting annual
salary of $60,000 commensurate with the candidate's education,
related experience, and qualifications.

UW System employees receive an excellent benefit package. To learn
more about the UW System’s comprehensive benefit package, review
the
UW System Employee Benefits Brochure .

Required Qualifications:

• Terminal degree (Ph.D., Ed.D., or equivalent) in Spanish,

translation studies, Hispanic linguistics, or a related discipline
by the time of appointment. ABD candidates may apply but must have
their degree completed by the contract start date in August 2027;
if not, they will be hired on a one-year contract with the
understanding that their degree will be completed before January
2028 in advance of their first scheduled review.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated excellence in university-level teaching,

experience with Canvas, and a record of scholarly achievement.
Candidates with additional academic background in raciolinguistics;
interdisciplinary scholarship such as critical race studies or
ethnic/Latinx studies; code-switching or Spanglish or bilingualism;
critical translation; or decolonial translation theory are
encouraged to apply.

• Expertise in translation and Spanish for the professions.
• Experience navigating the changing artificial intelligence

landscape as it applies to translation and language
instruction.

• Pedagogical expertise with both heritage Spanish speakers and

second-language learners, including the ability to teach mixed
classrooms.

• Experience with high-impact practices such as community-based

learning, undergraduate research, internships, or travel
study.

• Interest in developing new professional Spanish courses and in

building partnerships with employers and other departments and
colleges on campus.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Ability to interact respectfully with people with diverse

socioeconomic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds

• Willingness and ability to be an active participant in

following applicable safety rules and regulations including
necessary training and drills.

How to Apply:

Only complete application packages will be considered. This
includes online submission of the following documents. If
submitting more than five application materials, you'll need to
combine files prior to uploading and label with an appropriate
name.

• Cover letter/letter of interest
• Statement of teaching philosophy
• Curriculum Vita
• Names and contact information for three professional references

(letters of recommendation may be solicited at a later time)

• Copies of unofficial graduate transcripts (Official transcripts

will be required if offered the position)

Contact Information:

If you have questions regarding this recruitment or if you are
unable to complete the application online due to a disability or
system problem, please contact us at (262) 472-1024 or
hr@uww.edu.

For questions regarding this position, please contact: Pilar Melero
at (262) 472-3173 or melerop@uww.edu

To Ensure Consideration:

Applications received by December 31st, 2026, are ensured
full consideration. Applications received after that date may be
given consideration at the discretion of the search committee. The
most qualified applicants will be invited to participate in the
next step of the selection process.

CAMPUS INFORMATION:

UW-Whitewater is a thriving public university located in
southeastern Wisconsin. It leads the way in providing world-class,
affordable higher education programs to more students than
neighboring regional comprehensives in the University of Wisconsin
System. A collaborative team of 1,300 faculty and staff are devoted
to the success of the university’s 11,500 students at its main and
Rock County campuses. The team provides high-impact practices and
academic programs — online and in person — from associate to
doctoral levels. Recognized nationally for affordability,
inclusion, and career development, UWW serves approximately
one-third first-generation students and boasts strength in many
areas, especially business and education. The campus and community
embrace the Warhawk Family spirit, supporting the university’s arts
and nationally recognized NCAA Division-III level championship
athletics. As a proud institution of access, more than 10 percent
of undergraduate students use the acclaimed Center for Students
with Disabilities — a priority mission since the 1970s.

UW-Whitewater's campuses are located centrally near Milwaukee,
Madison, and Chicago, offering easy access to the cultural and
commercial opportunities of major metropolitan areas. Near both
Lake Geneva and the Wisconsin Dells, the area attracts numerous
visitors from across the country. Whitewater is a vibrant college
community near the Kettle Moraine State Forest offering area
residents seasonal outdoor enjoyment. The nearby Rock County campus
is located in Janesville, a town of 60,000 located on the Rock
River and known as Wisconsin’s Park Place.

ORGANIZATION INFORMATION:

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is part of the 13-campus
Universities of Wisconsin ( https://www.wisconsin.edu ).

Wisconsin Statute 19.36(7)(b) provides that applicants may indicate
in writing that their identity should be kept confidential. In
response to a public records request, the University will not
reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in
writing, except that the identity of the successful final candidate
will be released. See Wisconsin Statute 19.36(7)(a).

Per Regent Policy Document 20-19, University of Wisconsin System
Criminal Background Check Policy and Universities of Wisconsin
Administrative Policy 1275 Recruitment Policies, UW-Whitewater
requires criminal background checks as a contingency to employment.
A criminal background check will be conducted prior to an offer of
employment. All final candidates must be asked, prior to hire,
whether they have been found to have engaged in, are currently
under investigation for, or left employment during an active
investigation in which they were accused of sexual violence or
sexual harassment. When obtaining employment reference checks,
these same sexual violence or sexual harassment questions must also
be asked.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater requires that all employees
be active participants in following applicable safety rules and
regulations including necessary training and drills.

For UW-Whitewater Campus safety information and crime
statistics/annual Security Report, see
Annual Security and Fire Safety Report if you would like a
paper copy of the report please contact the UW-Whitewater Police at
262-472-4660.

UW IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER:

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment
without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation,
gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability,
status as a protected veteran, or any other bases protected by
applicable federal or State law and UW System policies. We are
committed to building a workforce that represents a variety of
backgrounds, perspectives, and skills, and encourage all qualified
individuals to apply.