Adjunct Faculty Pool - Astronomy (AST) and Physics (PHY)
Pima Community College

Position Type: Adjunct Faculty Pool- Astronomy (AST), and Physics (PHY)

Salary: $945 per load hour (most courses are 3-4 load hours)

Job List: External

Close Date: Multiple positions available- open until filled with a first review date of applications submitted by 05/17/2024 at 5:00 pm (Arizona time)

Please note, this position will be in person, however all faculty could be asked to teach in multiple modalities, including virtual, online or face-to-face. To ensure the health and safety of our colleagues and their families, as well as our students, potential candidates, and the communities we serve, it is the College's expectation that everyone will follow the CDC and NIH guidelines on limiting face-to-face interactions and consistently practicing preventative hygiene.

About Pima Community College

At Pima Community College, we believe that every role is vital to achieve student success and meet the diverse needs of our students and community. Pima Community College is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice. We value the diversity of our workforce and seek to attract, hire and support employees who consistently and actively embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are intentional about social justice and addressing issues of equity and inclusion, as well as institutional, structural, and environmental inequity, power and privilege. See our Diversity website for additional information about our commitment.

Position Summary

Pima Community College's Department of Astronomy and Physics are currently accepting applications to expand the pool of qualified Astronomy and Physics Faculty to teach academic level courses for the 2024-2025, with possibility of being offered a course in summer of 2024 academic year and beyond. Candidates may be hired and assigned to specific courses or may be included in a pool for potential future assignments based on enrollment.

We are seeking dedicated part-time instructors to join our pool of excellent adjunct faculty who are qualified to teach college level courses in either Astronomy or Physics, or both.

Part-time/temporary faculty positions offer flexible hours and the opportunity to assist a diverse group of adult students in achieving their educational goals. Instructors in these courses will be using active learning strategies, online resources and will provide equitable instruction for our students.

Pima Community College offers a wide variety of instructional modalities and is adapting to new realities created by the global pandemic. Our classes may be offered:

• Online
• Virtual
• Hybrid
• Face-to-face
• Dual Enrollment program in the High Schools, or in a high school's virtual classroom

Duties and Responsibilities

General Duties:

• Instruct students in the content area and work with them on strategies to help them achieve academic success.
• Follow established protocols for presence, responsiveness, grading, attendance taking, and assessment of student learning.
• Use current, effective classroom management techniques.
• Monitor and continuously improve instruction to ensure Student Learning Outcomes are met on a classroom, discipline/program, and College level.
• Evaluate student performance.
• Continually improve instruction utilizing appropriate delivery methods.
• Maintain competency and currency in the teaching field(s), as well as in teaching strategies, subject delivery modalities, and assessment methods.
• Work collaboratively with faculty, staff and students and utilize a collegial style in all forms of communication.

The ideal candidate will have knowledge, skills, and abilities related to:

• Experience teaching astronomy or physics courses
• Experience teaching online courses and/or alternative instructional formats
• Experience using a Learning Management System, preferably D2L Brightspace
• Student learning styles: ability to adapt and modify instruction based on the instructional needs of students, including working with accommodations and accessibility
• Evaluation of students' educational progress: ability to maintain high instruction and learning standards and assess students' academic progress in meeting course objectives and student learning outcomes
• Competencies in diversity and inclusion: knowledge of diverse community college student populations, and the ability to address diversity in effective instructional practice and student learning

Minimum Qualifications

Astronomy (AST) and physics (PHY) are categorized as academic/transfer prefixes. Certain area of study might be qualified for AST, or PHY, or BOTH.

To qualify to teach the Academic/Transfer courses, the applicant must have the following qualifications:

Master's degree in the field of study OR

Master's degree in any discipline and 18 graduate semester hours in the field of study.

Fields of study (disciplines/subfields) are astronomy; astrophysics; physics; physical sciences; applied and industrial physics; planetary science; astrobiology; other closely related field.

If your graduate degree is not in the field of study but you think there are courses you have taken (at the graduate-level) that are directly related and qualify toward certification, please list those courses in separate file as one of the attachments. If you want your dissertation to be considered toward certification, please submit the dissertation abstract as one of the attachments.

Benefits

Adjunct faculty on contract qualify for a tuition and fee waiver for PCC courses taken, as well as their spouse and qualifying child(ren). If a course contract is offered, benefits such as sick leave will be provided as required by law. No other College-provided benefits will be offered, such as holiday pay, annual leave, etc.

Temporary employees who work twenty (20) or more hours per week for more than nineteen (19) weeks in a fiscal year are required to participate in one of the following retirement plans: Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) or the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP).

Directions for Applying and Other Important Information

In order to be considered for this opportunity, you must include the documents that are listed within the application form as required. Follow the directions in the application form to upload your documents. At minimum, these documents are required:

Resume/CV. This should be up to date and include any gaps in employment.

Letter of interest or cover letter (not to exceed two pages). Please indicate which discipline you are interested in teaching and how the degree and/or courses on your transcripts meet the above minimum qualifications. Also describe your related knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience and the strengths you would bring to the assignment.

Copies of unofficial transcripts that support your qualifications as listed above. If selected for further consideration, official transcripts will be required.

Diversity Statement. In one page or less, please share your experience working with diverse student populations and how that informs your teaching practice and/or philosophy.

Degrees and courses qualifying for Pima Community College teaching certification must be from a regionally accredited college or university. Applicants currently in progress for a degree or additional coursework to meet the minimum qualifications must have the degree conferred and/or coursework prior to an offer to teach.

A degree from any college outside of the United States (even if the transcript is in English) may need to be evaluated by a foreign transcript evaluation service. Pima Community College requires that applicants use an evaluation agency that is a member of NACES. Before ordering an evaluation, check with the Faculty Qualifications and Hiring Office to confirm whether you will need to complete this step.

Note: Pima Community College does not sponsor any employment visas for this position at this time.

If you have any questions regarding the application process, please email facultycertification@pima.edu. Office hours are normally Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.

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