Assistant Professor - School of Information - Youth Information Ecosystems, Critical Technology...

Job no: 562676
Work type: Instructional Faculty – Tenured/Tenure-Track
Location: San José
Categories: Unit 3 - CFA - California Faculty Association, Tenured/Tenure-Track, Full Time, Information Systems & Technology, On-site (work in-person at business location)

Position Rank and Title: Assistant Professor - Youth Information Ecosystems, Critical Technology Studies, and AI Literacy

School/Department Name: School of Information

Compensation: Commensurate with qualifications, experience, and rank as established by the CSU Salary Schedule. Anticipated hiring academic year annual salary range: $100,000 - $110,000

Faculty employee benefits are very competitive for the higher education sector. See the CSU Employee Benefits Summary for details about the CSU’s excellent benefits package.

Target Start Date: August 17, 2027

Application Deadline: November 19th, 2026 (Applications accepted until filled or closed)

Position Description

The School of Information at San José State University is pleased to announce a search for Assistant Professor of Youth Information Ecosystems, Critical Technology Studies, and AI Literacy beginning in August 2027. We seek a scholar and educator whose work examines how children, adolescents, and emerging adults engage with information, digital technologies, social media, artificial intelligence, and networked environments, particularly in relation to issues of equity, access, identity, learning, participation, and well‑being.

The successful candidate will contribute to the School's mission of preparing information professionals to serve diverse communities in an increasingly complex information landscape. In addition to advancing scholarship and teaching related to youth, information, media, and technology, the successful candidate will provide curricular leadership and strategic vision for the Teacher Librarian Program, strengthening its relevance in a rapidly changing educational and technological environment while expanding its national and international reach. The School of Information (iSchool - SJSU - School of Information - Information Science School) prepares professionals who organize, preserve, analyze, protect, teach, and improve access to information across communities and institutions. Our new faculty member will join a scholarly community with:

• thousands of students and a broad global alumni community
• one of the largest and most diverse schools in the information field
• fully online graduate programs that support working professionals
• an ALA-accredited MLIS program
• an emphasis on access, equity, community service, digital literacy, and ethical technology
• working on problems connected to information access, AI literacy, digital preservation, cybersecurity, and social justice.

The School of Information and San José State University value institutional excellence and are committed to advancing equity through research, teaching, and service. We enroll more than 40,000 students, many of whom are historically underserved; approximately 45% of our undergraduate students are first-generation college students and 38% are Pell Grant recipients. In addition, we are both a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI). SJSU aspires to create holistic learning environments that facilitate both individual and collective transformation. We seek teacher‑scholars who cultivate inclusive, empowering spaces for mutual learning, skill‑building, and knowledge exchange for all students. Our commitment to lifelong learning supports meaningful connections among faculty, staff, students, alumni, and the broader communities we serve.

We invite all applicants to include a Statement of Institutional Excellence (or incorporate it into your cover letter) to share how your lived and professional experiences will contribute to the SJSU community—particularly in relation to student success. A guide to writing this statement can be found at SJSU Institutional Excellence Statement Guidelines.

Required Qualifications

• Earned doctorate in Library and Information Science, Information Science, Informatics, Information Studies, Instructional Design, Education, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated expertise in several of the following:
• youth information behavior/practices
• media/digital literacies
• emerging technologies
• teacher/school librarianship
• critical technology/social media studies.
• Ability to provide curricular thought leadership for the Teacher Librarian Program.
• Evidence of the capacity to develop and maintain an active program of research, scholarship, and/or professional engagement focused on youth and information, media, technology, and learning.
• Applicants should demonstrate an awareness of and sensitivity to the educational goals of a socially and economically diverse student population as might have been gained in cross‑cultural study, training, teaching, and other comparable experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional experience as a school librarian, teacher librarian, school library coordinator, educational technology specialist, or related educational leader.
• Evidence of scholarship, research, or professional leadership related to artificial intelligence, critical technology studies, youth and technology, digital citizenship, platform studies, information ethics, educational technology, or the future of school libraries.
• Experience developing partnerships with schools, districts, educational agencies, professional associations, libraries, community organizations, or international educational institutions.
• Potential to contribute to interdisciplinary research and teaching initiatives related to AI, information science, education, ethics, technology policy, or human‑centered technology design.
• Demonstrated expertise needed to shape the future of teacher librarianship at a time of significant technological and social change.

Key Responsibilities

• Teach graduate and undergraduate courses in areas related to critical technology studies, multiliteracies, teacher librarianship, and information practices.
• Provide curricular thought leadership for the Teacher Librarian Program.
• Develop and maintain an active program of research, scholarship, and/or professional engagement.
• Mentor and advise students from diverse professional and academic backgrounds.
• Teach and collaborate across the School of Information's programs and certificates.
• Participate in service activities that support the School, University, profession, and broader community.
• The candidate will participate in shared governance, usually in department, college, and university committees and other service assignments.
• Faculty shall organize all their classes within the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS).
• The candidate must demonstrate awareness and experience in understanding the needs of a student population of great diversity – in age, abilities, cultural background, ethnicity, religion, economic background, primary language, sexual orientation, gender identity, and academic preparation – through inclusive course materials, teaching strategies, and advisement.

Other Duties