Description

The Department of Advertising, Public Relations & Social Media at Suffolk University invites applications for a full-time tenure track Assistant Professor position in Public Relations beginning July 1, 2025 in the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS).  The department is particularly interested in recruiting a teacher-scholar with a research program involving marginalized and/or underserved populations and communication strategies that prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion as called for in disciplinary journals and professional organizations.

Candidates should provide evidence of commitment to excellent teaching and scholarly potential, including a research agenda and plans for peer-reviewed publication. The department includes undergraduate majors in Advertising and Public Relations, and a Master of Arts in Communication.  The successful candidate should have the ability to teach in both our Master’s program and our undergraduate majors.  In particular, candidates should be able to teach courses such as Introduction to Public Relations, Public Relations Research, Public Relations Campaigns, and Media Relations and other elective courses as well as courses to support the University’s first-year general education curriculum, as needed.  Innovative teaching practices are highly desirable.  Candidates with the ability to develop and offer courses about big data and generative AI and their impact on public relations are especially encouraged. In addition to demonstrating excellence in teaching and research, the successful candidate is expected to advise and mentor undergraduate and graduate students, and engage in service with the department, college and university.  The workload for this position is 45% teaching, 35% research, and 20% service with a 5-course teaching load per year.

Suffolk’s Advertising & Public Relations Department is committed to applied learning and research, responsive to the fast-moving technologies and challenges in the fields we teach.  Department faculty are scholars who contribute original research on new trends in public relations/advertising and data analysis, expert teachers who research and publish on best practices and pedagogy in the discipline, and practitioners who make contributions to the field in civic and other organizations as communication professionals. The Department also hosts Suffolk’s award-winning Debate Team which recently hosted the first national debate tournament in Spanish.  Department faculty take advantage of our location in the heart of Boston, home to top advertising and public relations firms, and the start-ups, tech and health sector employers, non-profits and civic organizations that hire them, to advance our work as teacher-scholars and integrate applied learning and service learning into our classrooms.  We collaborate with colleagues in Graphic Design and Marketing (Sawyer Business School) to develop new interdisciplinary programs of study to prepare our graduates for the complex world of work they will enter.

The successful candidate will contribute to a rich tradition of community-engaged teaching and experiential education that prepares our diverse, substantially first-generation college students—40% of whom are Pell eligible—for careers and civic engagement. The successful candidate will have a commitment to inclusive pedagogy and curricular diversity, mentoring and advising students—especially first-generation college students—as well as conducting impactful research.  We seek candidates excited about centering best practices pedagogy focused on active, applied and experiential learning in their teaching; a commitment to ongoing and continuous improvement in teaching is expected.  Familiarity with and experience using pedagogical methods that enable students across racial, ethnic, socio-economic, and ability groups to reach their maximum potential is a valuable qualification. 

Not sure this is you? Contact us to find out. Research indicates that women and members of marginalized populations tend not to apply to jobs when they think they do not meet the qualifications, when, in fact, they often do.

Suffolk University is dedicated to a diverse and inclusive academic community. Diversity, equity and inclusion are woven into our fabric.  Founded in 1906 to provide access to legal education during the evening for individuals who might not otherwise have been afforded that opportunity, Suffolk University consistently seeks to advance its history and mission as a school of access and opportunity.  This mission is lived through our decisions at every level.  U.S. News ranked Suffolk University among the top 100 universities in the country for social mobility.  Suffolk was also listed 14th nationally in percentage of international students.  The University community works to advance equity through student, faculty and staff recruitment and support, community engagement, curriculum development, and research.  Learn more about how we manifest the core values of our mission at Suffolk DEI.   

Preference will be given for candidates with professional public relations experience.  Candidates must hold a PhD in a relevant field (Public Relations or a related field) by the beginning of the 2025-2026 academic year; ABD candidates in the final stages of completing their degrees will be considered.  Experience teaching Public Relations and graduate students preferred.  Application should be made through the Suffolk University Human Resources’ Careers at Suffolk  site.

A complete submission will include: cover letter; CV; Teaching Philosophy; Diversity Statement; a statement of research interests and agenda; student course evaluations (if available); a sample syllabus; and 3 letters of reference.  For full consideration, applications should be submitted by October 1, though applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Initial interviews will be via Zoom followed by on-campus interviews.

Suffolk University is a private, comprehensive, urban university located in downtown Boston and is an equal opportunity employer committed to faculty diversity. Candidates from underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply. Suffolk offers substantial employee benefits, including retirement benefits, tuition remission for employees and their families, a tuition exchange program with participating institutions, as well as health, dental, and life insurance, commuter benefits, and a strong employee assistance program.  Learn more about CAS faculty here.  To learn more about the Advertising, Public Relations & Social Media department visit our website. Inquiries about the position should be addressed to Professor Bob Rosenthal, Chair of the Advertising, Public Relations & Social Media Department at rrosenthal@suffolk.edu. 

Suffolk University does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, religious creed, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, age, genetic information, or status as a veteran in admission to, access to, treatment in, or employment in its programs, activities, or employment. As an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer, the University is dedicated to the goal of building a diverse and inclusive faculty and staff that reflect the broad range of human experience who contribute to the robust exchange of ideas on campus, and who are committed to teaching and working in a diverse environment. We strongly encourage applications from groups historically marginalized or underrepresented because of race/color, gender, religious creed, disability, national origin, veteran status or LGBTQ status. Suffolk University is especially interested in candidates who, through their training, service and experience, will contribute to the diversity and excellence of the University community.