Bard Prison Initiative

Justus Rosenberg Chair for the Study of the Thought and Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Apply Here: https://apply.interfolio.com/158932

The Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) invites applications from distinguished scholars for the Justus Rosenberg Chair for the Study of the Thought and Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. This one- or two-year full-time position starts July 1, 2025 with teaching responsibilities beginning in the fall semester.

This endowed faculty position will make inquiry into King's thought, influence, and intellectual milieu a central curricular feature of BPI. Its establishment honors the importance of studying King, not only as an extraordinary doer, galvanizing orator, and transformative political agitator, but as a preeminent theologian and philosopher of the American tradition. This chair is not named for King but for the study of King – his intellectual contributions and worldview.

The Chair is named for the longtime Bard College professor Justus Rosenberg, who taught the first-ever BPI course over two decades ago. A distinguished anti-fascist who escaped Nazi extermination as a teenager and fled to join the French Resistance, Justus was a bridge between Bards. In 1962 he began teaching literature and many languages at Bard, where he worked until 2020. Justus died in 2021 at the age of 100.

The Justus Rosenberg Chair will teach a 2-2 course load across six of BPI’s seven sites. Academic discipline is open; courses will focus on King's thought, influence, and intellectual milieu. They will contribute to the academic depth and breadth of the undergraduate and/or graduate curriculum, including the academic writing curriculum. Additional participation in BPI faculty workshops, guest lectures, senior project advising and overall engagement in BPI is expected.

Successful candidates will be committed to innovative undergraduate teaching at a liberal arts college with a diverse student body; excel at working in a community that is broadly diverse with regard to race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, nationality, sexual orientation and religion; maintain an active research program; and be excited by rigorous, discussion-heavy courses that demand active participation of all students.

BPI offers an associate degree and bachelor’s degrees in social studies, literature and humanities, and mathematics along with specializations in public health, education, and biology. BPI is also launching a master’s degree in public humanities, projected to begin this academic year.

Faculty must be able to provide their own transportation to prisons across the Hudson Valley, and they must successfully complete the Department of Corrections process for approved entry into the prisons. Please note that the prison is a location of BPI coursework, not the subject matter of courses, which reflect the breadth of liberal arts education on the main campus of Bard College. This position does not include an opportunity to conduct research within the prisons or to approach students as research subjects.

Consideration will be given to candidates who bring considerable experience and expertise to the position but who cannot commit to a full-time position. In this situation, salary is prorated and benefits eligibility depends on teaching load.

About BPI
Formed in 1999 to address the mass incarceration crisis, the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) defies expectations of who college is for and where it might lead. For over twenty years, BPI has re-imagined and redefined questions of availability, affordability, and expectations typically associated with college in America. One of the most rigorous and effective college-in-prison programs in the country, BPI is now extending its radical intervention in educational inequity outside of prison through the Bard Microcolleges and BardBac. BPI currently enrolls nearly 600 students across eleven campuses.

To Apply
To apply, please send a cover letter, curriculum vitae, teaching statement, and the names of three references who might speak to your teaching and collegiality to Interfolio at https://apply.interfolio.com/158932.

Review of applications to begin on January 10, 2025.

Compensation $120,000
This salary range reflects the College’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the compensation for the position at the time of the job posting. Salary decisions are dependent on several factors including but not limited to market and organizational considerations, experience, and qualifications of a selected candidate as well as internal and external equity.

Benefits Overview
We are pleased to offer our full-time employees an excellent benefit package which includes; multiple health insurance options; TIAA retirement plans; generous vacation, sick, and personal time; and more. To learn more about employee benefits and eligibility at Bard College, please visit https://www.bard.edu/humanresources/benefits/.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
Bard College is an equal opportunity employer and we welcome applications from those who contribute to our diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, mental, or physical disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, familial status, veteran status, or genetic information.

Bard is committed to providing access, equal opportunity, and reasonable accommodation for all individuals in employment practices, services, programs, and activities.

AA/EOE