Assistant Professor for American Indian and Indigenous Studies (AIIS) Program

IMDiversity; Town of Clinton (NY); On-site; USD 95,000 - 117,000; Full time

Job summary

Hamilton College invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant or Associate Professor in the American Indian and Indigenous Studies (AIIS) Program. The position focuses on Indigenous literatures, environmental humanities, and cross-disciplinary inquiry, with a priority on program-building and community engagement.

Teaching load starts at four courses per year and grows to five; the role includes advising undergraduates and developing the minor toward a concentration.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated leadership experience to help build and lead the AIIS program.
• Evidence of curricular development or degree-program creation is preferred.
• Experience engaging with Indigenous communities or partnerships is valuable.

Responsibilities

• Teach four courses in the first year and five courses in subsequent years.
• Provide academic advising to undergraduates after the first year.
• Help grow the AIIS minor toward a concentration and oversee program growth.
• Engage with Indigenous communities and contribute to public programming and shared governance.

Skills

Leadership experience

Program building

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Teaching undergraduates

Job description

Assistant Professor for American Indian and Indigenous Studies (AIIS) Program

Hamilton College in Clinton, NY

Type: Full-Time

Salary: $94,500 - $116,500 per academic year

Category: American Studies; Ethnic and Multicultural Studies

Hamilton College: Hamilton College Faculty

Description:

The American Indian and Indigenous Studies (AIIS) Program at Hamilton College invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor or Associate Professor (without tenure but on the tenure-track), beginning July 1, 2027. We seek candidates whose research and teaching are grounded in American Indian and Indigenous Studies and centered on Indigenous literatures, narrative, and cultural production in conversation with the environmental humanities. We are especially interested in candidates working across climate fiction, multispecies and ecological thought, and decolonial approaches to the Anthropocene, and whose scholarship engages the political and legal dimensions of sovereignty and self-determination. We welcome candidates whose work is in conversation with Indigenous communities in North America and/or globally, and who bring an expansive, cross-disciplinary perspective to questions of land, justice, and Indigenous futures.

In particular, we are seeking a candidate with demonstrated leadership experience who can help build and lead our college's interdisciplinary program in American Indian and Indigenous Studies, including teaching courses at the heart of the minor and guiding the program's growth toward a concentration. Because the program is still in its early stages, we are prioritizing candidates who bring a track record of program building in addition to teaching in the field. Applicants should provide evidence of this experience, such as developing curricular structures or degree programs, evidence of external funding, building and leading advisory committees, establishing and sustaining partnerships with tribal nations or Indigenous communities, leading community engagement and public programming, and navigating shared governance to launch or grow academic programs.

We are seeking candidates who can demonstrate their experience in teaching or working with broadly diverse student populations while contributing to a vibrant learning community that values academic freedom, creativity, and intellectual curiosity. Your cover letter should address the ways in which you would enhance the educational experience of students and further the College's educational goals. The position requires institutional service, including academic advising of undergraduate students after the first year.

The American Indian and Indigenous Studies program at Hamilton College was formally established by faculty governance in May 2025. It is both interdisciplinary and extradisciplinary, spanning academic departments, disciplines, and fields of inquiry to integrate Indigenous ways of knowing across the liberal arts curriculum. The program is grounded in a reciprocal, community-based partnership with the Oneida Indian Nation, whose gift of land and vision helped found Hamilton College in 1793 as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy. The vision of the 1793 Promise was to educate both American Indian and colonial settler youth; the College is working to honor and fulfill that promise. The program offers a five-course minor, currently draws on contributing faculty across nine departments, and is supported by a three-year grant from the Mellon Foundation. The program is building toward an eventual concentration. For more information, please visit the AIIS program website.

The teaching load for this position is four courses during the first year and five courses thereafter. The expected 9-month base salary range for this position is $94,500 to $116,500. Questions regarding the search may be directed to Nathan Goodale, Search Committee Chair, at [e-mail]. The deadline to apply is September 21, 2026.

Hamilton College is a residential liberal arts college located in central New York. The College has built its reputation on the teaching excellence and leading scholarship of its faculty, and on the academic distinction and intellectual curiosity of its approximately 2,000 students who take advantage of Hamilton's open curriculum (https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/open-curriculum).

Accomplished faculty, highly capable and motivated students, and a student-faculty ratio of 9:1 provide an educational experience that emphasizes academic excellence, intellectual and cultural diversity, and respect for differences in the development of students as engaged members of their communities. Hamilton's commitment to diversity is embodied in its need-blind admission policy for US Citizens and Permanent Residents; furthermore, Hamilton College meets the full demonstrated financial need for all admitted and enrolled students during their four years on campus. Please visit the college website for more information (www.hamilton.edu).

Hamilton College is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to creating an accessible, supportive environment and an educational experience that recognizes a wide array of experiences, backgrounds, and viewpoints as integral components of academic excellence. Candidates who can contribute to those goals are encouraged to apply and identify their strengths in these areas. Applicants with dual-career considerations can find other Hamilton and nearby academic job listings at https://www.hercjobs.org/regions/higher-ed-careers-upstate-new-york/, as well as additional information at https://www.hamilton.edu/dof/faculty-development/resources-for-prospective-or-new-faculty/opportunities-for-spouses-or-partners (Opportunities for Spouses or Partners). Hamilton provides domestic partner benefits.

Hamilton College is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer and is committed to diversity in all areas of the campus community.