Lecturer AY - Dance, Music, and Theatre

**Program:**  Dance, Music, and Theatre
**Rank:**  Lecturer Faculty
**Title:**  Lecturer AY - Dance, Music, and Theatre

**About the University:**

California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI) is an inclusive institution dedicated to transforming lives through education, opportunity, and community engagement. Opened in 2002, CSUCI is part of the California State University system and has quickly earned recognition as a leader in higher education. Ranked 13th among “Top Public Schools” and 7th for “Top Performers on Social Mobility” in the Regional Universities West category by *U.S. News & World Report* in 2026, and earning the distinguished Research Colleges and Universities (RCU) Carnegie classification, CSUCI is committed to academic excellence and fostering student success.

As Ventura County’s only public university, CSUCI serves a diverse community of over 4,900 undergraduate and graduate students. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 18:1, the university ensures personalized learning and meaningful connections between students and educators. Offering over 90 academic programs, CSUCI provides a wide range of academic opportunities designed to prepare students for meaningful careers and global leadership.

CSUCI is dedicated to supporting its students both academically and financially. In fact, 80% of students receive financial aid, and 61% are first-generation college students. Additionally, 55% of students are Pell Grant eligible, reflecting the university’s commitment to providing access to higher education. As a proud Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), CSUCI embraces a vibrant cultural community, with 63% of its undergraduate students identifying as Latinx, alongside other racial and ethnic groups that enrich the campus experience. Because of its efforts to advance Latinx student success, CSUCI was one of the first colleges and universities to have earned the prestigious “Seal of Excelencia,” was recertified, and most recently earned the inaugural Intentionally Thriving Institution (ITI) designation from *Excelencia* in Education.

With a focus on critical inquiry, innovative learning, and social justice, CSUCI is also taking proactive steps to diversify its faculty and confront systemic challenges to equity. This dedication creates an environment where every voice is valued, and students are empowered to thrive academically, socially, and personally.

Whether through its strong academic offerings, supportive community, or transformative opportunities, CSUCI provides a unique and rewarding experience for students ready to shape their future and make a lasting impact on the world.

**CSUCI Mission Statement:**

Placing students at the center of the educational experience, California State University Channel Islands provides undergraduate and graduate education that facilitates learning within and across disciplines through integrative approaches, emphasizes experiential and service learning, and graduates students with multicultural and international perspectives.

**CSUCI’s Commitment to You**:

CSUCI is committed to helping newly hired faculty develop a sense of belonging in a collaborative and supportive community dedicated to providing resources and opportunities for establishing and sustaining a research agenda and engaging in continuous improvement in equitable teaching and learning.

**About the Program:**

The Dance Studies program at CSU Channel Islands centers on dance and movement as the embodied understanding of the human experience. Dance is where bodies--both individual and communal--find deeper connection to communities, social ideas, a complex global world, and human subjectivity. Throughout their journey at CI, regardless of ability or previous access, students will connect dance to heritage, history, and social structures, preparing them to be mindful citizens and dance artists, creating a more equitable world in the twenty-first century.

The Dance Studies Major prepares students to find their own creative identities by harnessing their knowledge of bodies, cultures, and global awareness, to work in the interconnected spheres of Hollywood, Broadway, concert dance, digital platforms, education, community organizing, arts activism, dance making, somatic practice, dance therapy, social work, arts administration, and to embrace the joy of dancing.

**About the Position:**

This is a part-time faculty pool for available assignments during the academic year. Applications are considered throughout the year and reviewed based on Dance Studies Program need. Here is a current list of courses taught within the Dance Studies program. People with expertise and ability within and beyond the current course offerings are encouraged to apply. Your application status will be updated throughout the review process. If your application is still in progress, your application has not been reviewed by the hiring department. Should a review of your application result in the intent to pursue your candidacy, you will be contacted by phone for an interview.

**For AY 26-27, we are specifically looking for faculty to instruct:**

Themes in Dance Studies

Teaching Dance

**Minimum Degree Requirements:**

M.A., M.F.A., PhD., professional, or cultural proficiency. Degree requirements can vary depending on courses taught.

**Required Qualifications:**

* 1+ years teaching dance practice, dance performance, dance making, critical dance studies, and/or dance theory. All cultures, genres, styles, and actualizations of dance/movement practices are welcome and encouraged to apply.
* Current knowledge of and demonstrated proficiency and experience in dance studies and/or various dance practices.
* Demonstrated experience in dance performance, dance making, dance education, and/or an interdisciplinary practice with dance.
* Innovative approaches to dance pedagogy and practice reflecting the rapidly expanding and evolving field of dance studies.
* Highly effective interpersonal skills
* Develop an embodied practice for lifelong engagement with dance as a function of education, community, cultural knowledge, social justice, equity, history, ritual, and performance.
* Analyze dance as a continually evolving form acknowledging the origins, contributions, and confluences of world diasporas, the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, and how race and racism, class, gender, sexuality, religion, spirituality, national origin, immigration status, ability, tribal citizenship, sovereignty, language, age, economics, and/or technology have shaped the way people move.
* Applicants should demonstrate the ability to effectively engage with a broad student population and provide mentorship that supports student academic success.

**Preferred Qualifications:**

* Two + years teaching dance in higher education
* Recognized extensive participation in their respective dance practice, creative activities, and/or scholarship
* Highly effective oral, written, digital communication skills, including the ability to convey conceptual and complex ideas and information.
* Demonstrated culturally-relevant, responsive and sustaining pedagogy in their syllabi, curriculum, and interactions with students, faculty, staff, and/or community members who span a diverse range of languages, nationalities, ethnicities, socio-economic levels, ages, identities, abilities and/or educational experiences.
* Those with expertise outside the current course offerings such as Folklorico, West African, Martial Arts, Bharat Natyam, Flamenco, Butoh, social/vernacular dances of the Americas, please apply. We need instructors for the DANCE 359 Themes in Dance Studies course.

**Responsibilities:**

* Teach one or more face-to-face, synchronous online, or asynchronous online Dance Studies Courses <https://performingarts.csuci.edu/programs/dance-studies.htm>
* Use subject-matter expertise to impart knowledge and critical thinking skills to students
* Stay current regarding the professional body of knowledge in field of practice
* Design syllabus and curriculum as assigned
* Communicate expectations to students
* Prepare and deliver course materials
* Evaluate student learning and growth and assign grades
* Design interactive and motivational activities to fully engage participants and to reinforce student learning
* Update course materials periodically, and regularly monitor course evaluations in order to make adjustments and improvements to the curriculum
* Respond to student needs and questions
* Create an environment in which students of diverse backgrounds are supported to succeed
* Apply technology and leverage resources appropriately to enhance the curriculum (e.g. use Canvas or make arrangements for guest speakers)
* Handle mechanics of position according to deadlines. Understand how to use the computer, texts, A/V, grade submission, etc.

**Application Deadline:**

Screening of applications will begin Nov.23, 2026. Priority will be given to applicants who submit applications prior to the screening deadline; however, the position will remain open until filled.

**Applicants must submit the following materials:**

* Curriculum Vitae/Resume
* Cover Letter. Please list what potential classes you could teach.
* In your Teaching Statement, please consider how you actualize the following Programmatic Dance Studies Learning Outcomes
+ Develop an embodied practice for lifelong engagement with dance as a function of education, community, cultural knowledge, social justice, equity, history, ritual, and performance;
+ Adapt various somatic, breathing, kinesthetic, and mindful strategies necessary for building a life connected to dance practice;
+ Integrate the practice and embodied knowledge of dance to a range of 21st century skills such as communication, collaboration, critical thinking, digital/media literacy, creativity, and global awareness;
+ Reflect on dance as the primal form of human communication through which traditions and cultures are preserved and shared