The O’Connor Chair in the History of Hispanic Texas and the Southwest, Director of Center for Mexican American Studies

The Department of History in the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at St. Mary’s University, ranked #1 by US News and World Report for Social Mobility in San Antonio and #1 for Best Value in the West, invites applications for the O’Connor Chair in the History of Hispanic Texas and the Southwest and the inaugural director of the university’s new Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS). This tenured appointment will be made at the level of associate professor or professor.

Supported by the O’Connor Endowment established in 1982, the holder of the O’Connor Chair in the History of Hispanic Texas and the Southwest teaches one course per semester on Mexican American and Latino history topics, engages in scholarship in these areas, and supports the History Department’s undergraduate History Program and graduate Public History Program. The O’Connor Chair is active in campus and community outreach, which includes organizing a lecture series.

The O’Connor Chair also will serve as director of a new Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS), providing intellectual and visionary leadership. CMAS serves as an academic home for student learning, faculty and student scholarship, and related campus and community programming focused on Mexican American Studies and, secondarily, Latin American and Latino/a/e Studies. It contributes to the University’s longstanding mission as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) by supporting and advancing Mexican American Studies as a field of study. The role is an exciting opportunity to build interdisciplinary scholarship and programming across the four schools: the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; the Greehey School of Business; the School of Science, Engineering and Technology, and the School of Law. CMAS also supports our Hispanic Serving Institution’s diverse student population, more than half of whom identify as Hispanic or Latino and more than 40% as first-generation college students.

While serving as director of CMAS, the workload for the O’Connor Chair is distributed as follows:

• Scholarship (traditional and/or public-facing) and campus and community engagement associated with the O’Connor Chair and CMAS (50 percent)
• Teaching (a 1:1 teaching load each academic year), student mentorship, working with student research assistants, and advising in the History Department at the graduate and undergraduate levels (30 percent)
• Service, including providing intellectual leadership for the Center for Mexican American Studies and overseeing staff; managing the CMAS and O’Connor Chair budgets in collaboration with dean and department chair; active and collegial participation in the activities and service of the History Department (20 percent) 

Minimum qualifications:

• Ph.D. in History or a related field emphasizing historical scholarship 
• An established record of scholarship (traditional and/or public facing) in the field of Hispanic, Mexican American, and/or Latino/a/e history of Texas and the Southwest that merits rank of associate professor or professor at St. Mary’s University 
• An established record of teaching Mexican American and/or Latino/a/e history of Texas and the Southwest that merits rank of associate professor or professor at St. Mary’s University 
• Capacity through the O'Connor Chair and CMAS directorship to support the university's Catholic and Marianist educational mission 

Preferred qualifications: 

• Leadership experience relevant to the roles of the O’Connor Chair and Director of the Center for Mexican American Studies 
• Engagement with public history and/or local history methods and practices. 
• The ability to communicate with stakeholders in Spanish and English 

St. Mary's University, as a Catholic Marianist University, fosters the formation of people in faith and educates leaders for the common good through community, integrated liberal arts and professional education, and academic excellence: www.stmarytx.edu/about

. St. Mary's is the oldest Catholic university in the Southwest and continues to advocate the Marianist mission. St. Mary's enrolls approximately 3500 students in a diverse university with four schools, more than 40 academic programs including Ph.D. and J.D. programs, and numerous pre-professional programs. The successful candidate is expected to support and contribute to the University's Marianist educational mission.

San Antonio offers a wealth of archives, community organizations, historical sites, and museums, which offer opportunities for historical research and community engagement. The St. Mary’s University History Department prides itself on its partnerships with local historical institutions and active community networking and engagement. San Antonio’s rich historical legacy provides exciting classroom to community connections.

Applications can be found at http://stmarytx.applicantpro.com/jobs/ with the option to upload all supporting documents electronically. Along with the application, please include (1) a letter of application addressing the minimum and/or preferred qualifications listed above and (2) a curriculum vitae. Additional materials and references may be requested in subsequent rounds of the interview process. For questions, please contact Dr. Lindsey Wieck (lwieck@stmarytx.edu).

Review of applications will begin December 1, 2024 and will continue until the position is filled. Any offer of employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a clear background check and submission of official transcripts.

St. Mary’s University is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The University is committed to furthering diversity, equity, and inclusion and encourages all qualified candidates apply.