Employment Opportunities
Career Teaching Professor (Open Rank), American Sign Language
Career Teaching Professor (Open Rank), French
STUART RAMSAY TOMPKINS VISITING PROFESSORSHIP
UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA
Applications are invited for the Stuart Ramsay Tompkins Visiting Professor position at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. This twelve-month appointment will be held jointly in the Departments of History, Classics, and Religion (HCR) and Modern Languages and Cultural Studies (MLCS, the appointee's home department). The Visiting Professor will be expected to reside from August 25, 2026, to August 24, 2027, and to participate in the intellectual life of the sponsoring departments.
The successful candidate will teach two one-term courses in the area of expertise (available to students in either department) and give the annual Tompkins lecture and other public presentations. The appointee is expected to hold regular consultations with graduate students in related fields throughout the stay and serve as an ambassador for the program upon returning home. We expect appointees to remain on campus for most of their stay.
The successful candidate should hold a doctorate or a candidate's degree in Russian/East European history or a related field. Ideally, visiting professors must have a permanent affiliation with an academic institute outside Canada, to which they will return following their visit. We will also consider applications from displaced scholars from institutions of the former Soviet Union. The sponsoring departments are seeking a candidate who can teach courses in a range of history and culture. Preference will be given to candidates who can teach classes in the history of Russia, the Soviet Union, and their empires, but we have a particular interest in Russian/East European culture that would match course offerings in MLCS.
Since all teaching and communication will be in English, candidates must possess near-native fluency in spoken and written English. This is a precondition for employment. Please note that the endowment restricts this position to current citizens of Soviet successor states. The Stuart Ramsay Tompkins endowment will cover return airfare. Compensation is $115,000 CDN for the twelve months.
Qualified individuals are invited to submit a letter of application, a complete CV, and sample publications. Suggestions of possible survey courses and senior research seminars are welcome. Please consult the HCR, MLCS, and the University of Alberta websites for information. Applications should also include the names and contact information of three individuals qualified to act as referees. Email submissions are encouraged.
Applications should be submitted to:
Tompkins Professorship Committee
Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies
University of Alberta,
Arts 200 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E6
Applications and inquiries can be sent to Sandra Ezeji, the MLCS Executive Assistant to the Chair, at mlcsea@ualberta.ca.
The closing date for this competition is March 1, 2026