Established in 1789, the University of King’s College is Canada’s oldest chartered university and is associated with Dalhousie University. A small and extraordinarily lively academic community located in Halifax (Kjipuktuk), Nova Scotia, King’s is known nationally and internationally for its highly acclaimed interdisciplinary programs in the humanities, including its renowned Foundation Year Program, its professional programs in journalism, and its fine arts programs in creative writing. King’s is a community where students, faculty, alumni and staff work to bring greater understanding, creativity, and compassion to the world.
The King’s School of Journalism, Writing & Publishing is a leader in journalism education and is known for its combination of academic rigour and leading-edge skills instruction at its beautiful campus in the heart of Halifax.
King’s offers two undergraduate degrees in journalism — the four-year Bachelor of Journalism Honours and the one-year Bachelor of Journalism. King’s also offers a Minor in Journalism Studies to students who are majoring in another program or discipline. King’s and Dalhousie jointly offer the two-year Master of Journalism, which trains leaders in the field and culminates with an enterprising or investigative journalism project that is suitable for national publication and is supervised by faculty and outside experts. The programs draw students from across Canada and abroad. The School of Journalism, Writing & Publishing enjoys a national reputation for excellence, with graduates working in news outlets across Canada and beyond, as well as in a wide variety of other fields including law, communications and education.
The School seeks a new tenure-track faculty member as it prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2028. This position is at the rank of assistant professor and the appointment begins July 1, 2025.
The ideal candidate will have a strong background in journalism, with at least eight years of experience in an editorial role such as reporter, editor or producer, and broad knowledge of the practices and skills of contemporary journalism. Their body of work will show evidence of rigour, enterprise and storytelling skill. It will also display strong evidence of serving the public interest and having impact in the community. Expertise in a specialized topic area of journalism, such as data and/or investigative journalism, artificial intelligence as it relates to journalistic practice, or other areas of innovative practice, will be a strong asset, as will experience in the
classroom as the primary instructor who researches and designs courses, is responsible for assessment, provides feedback to students, and performs all necessary tasks with a learning management system such as Brightspace or Moodle. Experience with photojournalism will be an asset.
The successful candidate will teach intermediate and advanced courses and workshops across the school’s undergraduate journalism programs and will additionally be expected to teach at the graduate level in the MJ program. Strong preference, therefore, will be given to candidates with a graduate degree and a successful candidate without an advanced degree will be expected to obtain at least a master’s degree prior to seeking tenure.
The successful candidate will be expected to engage in professional and/or research activity directly relevant to the practice of journalism. This person will also possess a willingness to take on academic administration and service duties at the program and university levels.
The school recognizes the importance of training students to practice journalism, or work in the many fields that use the skills we teach, with an awareness of the varied nature of society. We want instructors to bring their valuable perspectives, skills and expertise to the university. We aim to continue to diversify our student body and strengthen their ability to report effectively about traditionally underserved communities and the specific issues that affect them. To that end,
we also welcome the opportunity to further diversity our faculty complement.
King’s is located in Mi’kma’ki, the traditional and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq from time immemorial. The school is a leader in responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Call to Action #86 on journalism education. We welcome applications from candidates who can help further our efforts to decolonize our curriculum and bring the lived experience of Indigenous peoples into the classroom.
The university is a small teaching-intensive institution and the association with Dalhousie means that while King’s is a tight-knit community, faculty and students also have access to the resources of a U15 research university.
Candidates should address applications to Fred Vallance-Jones, Director of Journalism, by November 22, 2024. They are requested to send them via email to jemploy@ukings.ca. Their digital file will include a complete CV, examples of professional work, a statement of teaching philosophy, evidence of teaching competence (such as evaluation summaries), a plan for research and/or professional work, at least two references attesting to the candidate’s suitability for the
position and any other materials that would shed light on their suitability. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted by January 10, 2025 and will be interviewed soon thereafter by a hiring committee made up of faculty members.
Compensation is based on the faculty salary scale at Dalhousie and is commensurate with experience in teaching and journalism.
The University of King’s College is committed to diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion. We encourage and welcome applications from Indigenous persons (especially Mi’kmaq), persons with a disability, racialized persons including persons of Black/African descent (especially African Nova Scotians), women, persons of a minority sexual orientation and/or gender identity, and all candidates who would contribute to the diversification of our community.