Visiting Assistant Professor, Biological Anthropology
Work type: NTT Faculty
Location: Bellingham, WA
Categories: College of Humanities & Social Science
Position Title Visiting Assistant Professor, Biological Anthropology
About the University
Western Washington University, with over 15,000 students in seven colleges and the graduate school, is nationally recognized for its educational programs, students and faculty. The campus is located in Bellingham, Washington, a coastal community of 90,000 overlooking Bellingham Bay, the San Juan Islands and the North Cascades Mountain range. The city lies 90 miles north of Seattle and 60 miles south of Vancouver, British Columbia. Western has additional sites in Anacortes, Bremerton, Everett, Port Angeles, and Poulsbo. Western is recognized nationally for its successes, such as being named one of the top public master's-granting institutions in the Pacific Northwest for 25 years in a row by U.S. News & World Report.
Western Washington University is committed to achieving excellence through advancing inclusive success, increasing our Washington impact, and focusing on transformational education grounded in the liberal arts and sciences and based on innovative scholarship, research, and creative activity. Western's greatest strength is the outstanding students, faculty, staff, and alumni/ae who make up its community. Western supports an inclusive governance structure for all and provides a learning and working environment in which everyone can thrive. In pursuit of this excellence, individual employees are expected to establish and maintain productive and effective inclusive working relationships amongst diverse populations including staff, faculty, administration, student, and external constituents. Further, individual employees are expected to have the ability to operationalize sustainability concepts (economic, societal, environmental) into all aspects of performing their job duties.
About the Department The College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Anthropology Department support Western's mission, which states that together with our students, staff, and faculty, we are committed to making a positive impact in the state and the world with a shared focus on academic excellence and inclusive achievement. We encourage applications from women, people of color, people with disabilities, veterans, and other candidates from underrepresented backgrounds and with diverse experiences interested in this opportunity.
About the Position
The Department of Anthropology invites applications for two full-time, non-tenure track Visiting Assistant Professor positions in Biological Anthropology to begin in September 2026. The ideal candidates will have a Ph.D. at the time of application and will have significant research and teaching experience in the areas of human evolution, human anatomy and osteology, reproductive health, and quantitative methods.
We would like to add Biological Anthropologists whose research builds upon the department's existing strengths in the primate fossil record and the evolution of life history. We are especially interested in candidates with a track record of the ability to provide hands-on, personalized research and educational experiences for students interested in health sciences. The Department of Anthropology is dedicated to the implementation of anthropology to address issues affecting human health, incorporating collaborative research and an evolutionary biology framework. The successful candidates will contribute to these areas and demonstrate the ability to integrate their health and evolution-oriented research program into the curriculum.
Teaching priorities include Reproduction and Physiology, Human Osteology and Forensics, Quantitative Methods, Human Origins, Human Evolution, and advanced writing seminars in the area of the applicants' research.
The successful candidates will be expected to fulfill teaching and mentoring responsibilities that provide equitable and inclusive learning environments for all students. Candidates should address at least one of the topical areas outlined above in their cover letter, indicating how their past experiences, current interests and activities, and/or future goals could promote a work climate that values and supports inclusion.
Required Qualifications
- PhD in Anthropology or related field
- Evidence of ability to teach diverse set of courses in biological anthropology, especially Reproduction and Physiology, Human Osteology and Forensics, Quantitative Methods, Human Origins, Human Evolution, and advanced writing seminars in the area of the applicants' research.
- Evidence of a research program in human evolution, human anatomy and osteology, reproductive health, and quantitative methods.
- Evidence of the ability to provide hands-on, personalized research and educational experiences for students interested in health sciences.
- Evidence of the ability to integrate their health and evolution-oriented research program into the curriculum.
- Evidence of the ability to mentor undergraduate and graduate students in research and professional development.
- Evidence of ability to work with students from diverse backgrounds.
- Evidence of ability to provide equitable teaching and learning environments for students.
Preferred Qualifications
- Postdoctoral experience in Anthropology or related field
- Evidence of ability to acquire internal and external research funding.
- Experience working with the primate fossil record
- Ability to engage with primate skeletal collections at WWU, utilizing them in research and teaching.
- Ability to engage with technological resources available to Anthropology, including micro-CT scanners, structured light scanners, 3D printers, and other resources.
- Experience with/dedication to reproducible statistical workflows (e.g., GitHub repositories and general R code sharing), open-source data repositories (e.g., 3D scans, landmark data, etc), and increasing accessibility via 3D digital/statistical analysis.
Conditions of Employment All employees must comply with our Immunization policies, including Proof of Rubeola Measles Immunity within 60-days of hire. Please reach out to HR@wwu.edu if you need information regarding medical or religious exemption and applicable accommodations.
Salary
$1,178-1,400 per credit, commensurate with experience and qualifications. The expected teaching load includes teaching 2 or 3 courses per quarter, on a 10-week quarter system (up to 7 courses total). Additional face-to-face and/or online courses are possible during the Summer 2027 term.
Benefits Information Benefits Overview for Faculty Positions
Bargaining Unit
United Faculty of Western Washington
Application Instructions
A cover letter and curriculum vitae are required and should address your experience related to the position responsibilities and the required and preferred qualifications.
You will be asked to provide contact information of three references.
Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of hire. Employment-based visa sponsorship may be considered depending on the candidate's current immigration status; however, the University is unable to sponsor new H1B petitions or cover associated filing or processing fees at this time.
Required Supplemental Materials
Please do not upload reference letters. If needed, these will be automatically requested from the provided references via the PageUp system.
Closing Date Notes
Applications will be accepted until the positions are filled; for priority consideration, please apply May 19, 2025.
Western Washington University (WWU) is an equal opportunity employer. In compliance with applicable laws, WWU does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, national origin, age, citizenship or immigration status, pregnancy, use of protective leave, genetic status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, creed, religion, veteran or military status, disability or the use of a trained guide dog or service animal (including a service animal in training) by a person with a disability, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law, in its programs or activities, including employment, admissions, and educational programs. See WWU's Policies on Prohibiting Discrimination Based on A Protected Class and Prohibiting Discrimination Based on Sex. Inquiries may be directed to the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance, Title IX and ADA Coordinator, Western Washington University, Old Main 126 (MS 9021), 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225; 360.650.3307 (voice) or 711 (Washington Relay); crtc@wwu.edu
WWU is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. To request this document in an alternate format or to request an accommodation, please contact Human Resources Disability Services, 360.650.3751 or 711 (Washington Relay).
Annual Security and Fire Safety Report: This report is provided pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act ("The Clery Act"). It includes statistics for the previous three calendar years concerning reported crimes that occurred on Western's campus; in certain off-campus buildings or property owned or controlled by Western; and on public property within, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from, the campus. The report also includes institutional policies concerning campus security, such as policies concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. You can obtain a copy of this report in printed or alternate formats by contacting the Office of Student Life at student.life@wwu.edu. The report can be found at: Annual Security and Fire Safety Report.
All new employees must comply with the immunization policy and show employment eligibility verification as required by the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service before beginning work at WWU. A thorough background check will be conducted on all new hires and rehires, which includes a sexual misconduct background check.
Job no: 503006
Advertised: Apr 28 2026 09:00 Pacific Daylight Time
Applications close:
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