Associate Professor; tenure-track) and Graduate Programs Director, Children’s Literature

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** Located in Boston’s historic Fenway area, Simmons University has a strong tradition of empowering women and challenging traditional gender roles. Simmons was founded for equality 125 years ago as one of the first higher education institutions dedicated to helping women become leaders. Today, our university continues to grow and evolve and now offers Boston’s only women’s undergraduate program and graduate programs open to all.  

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** Funded by a New Endowment
** Building on a new endowment, this position is sponsored by the Children’s Literature Alumni Fund for Faculty and seeks an established scholar and educator with academic, creative, or relevant professional experience who will support implementation of the Children’s Literature graduate curriculum across multiple degree programs. Further, the Associate Professor position will provide leadership as the Graduate Programs Director and as the Director of the Center for the Study of Children’s Literature.

The successful candidate will bring energy and vision to a signature program at the University.

** Position Description
** The Simmons University graduate programs in Children’s Literature invites applications for tenure-track  Associate Professor to begin in the Fall 2027, the beginning of the programs’ 51st year. The graduate programs welcome applications from scholars and professionals in the domain of children’s literature with a deep knowledge of (primarily Anglophone) historical and contemporary literature for children and young adults, a grounding in literary or critical theoretical approaches to works of literature for young people, and a strong commitment to teaching and pedagogical work with a diverse body of graduate students.  

The first of its kind to attend solely to works published for young people, the program has grown to embrace dual degree programs that combine humanities and liberal arts inquiry with specific professional credentials. Consequently, applicants may approach children’s and young adult literature from a variety of scholarly or professional standpoints. The successful candidate will bring strong teaching, scholarship, and  knowledge of and experience with the children’s and young adult trade publishing industry.

The successful candidate will trailblaze the future of the programs, the Center, and the University’s partnerships and alliances in literature for young people.
** Primary Responsibilities
** The Associate Professor will teach, research, and assume administrative and leadership duties as the Children’s…