Job Description

About The University of Texas at El Paso:

UTEP is a Carnegie R1 and Community Engaged research university at the heart of the U.S.-Mexico border region that is increasing access to excellent higher education. UTEP enrolls nearly 24,000 students - 84% of whom are Hispanic and half of whom are first generation college students.

UTEP is the founding institution and lead of the Computing Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institutions (CAHSI), an NSF INCLUDES alliance and a national network of HSIs and organizations from the public and private sectors committed to Hispanic and female student recruitment, retention, and advancement in computing.

El Paso's border location makes it an ideal venue for academic programs and research studies on topics of national interest such as bilingual education/language acquisition, border environment and immigration, environmental sustainability and infrastructure, health disparities, and international trade and commerce. As the region's center for intellectual capital, UTEP is one of the major economic engines in the region, adding $1.4 billion to the local economy annually. El Paso's active arts and culture community features the state's longest-running symphony orchestra, a nationally recognized chamber music festival, art galleries, museums, and a full schedule of seasonal events and festivals. UTEP adds to the arts and entertainment scene with an award-winning dinner theater, music and dance productions, contemporary and student art galleries, and a natural history museum. For sports fans, the UTEP Miners offer exciting Division I college athletics at several campus venues including the Sun Bowl Stadium, the Don Haskins Center, Kidd Field, University Field, and the Helen of Troy Softball Complex. A baseball stadium, located a mile away in lively downtown El Paso, is home to the El Paso Chihuahuas, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, and the El Paso Locomotive, a professional soccer team founded in 2019.

UTEP's CS department is in the College of Engineering, along with six other academic departments. The department places great emphasis on students' professional development and advancements through faculty mentoring and involvement in research at the early stages of their education. Our graduates are heavily recruited by leading companies and government agencies. The College of Engineering offers students interdisciplinary and industry training opportunities, study abroad programs, and other professional development opportunities. The college is consistently ranked among the top schools in the U.S. in awarding Bachelor's degrees to Hispanics.

The CS faculty has a distinguished record of research and national leadership in professional organizations, with one of the highest research expenditures at UTEP. The CS department has 20 tenured and tenure-track faculty members and four professors of practice. The department offers B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science and M.S. degrees in Software Engineering and Data and Information Sciences. The undergraduate program offers concentrations in software engineering, secure cyber-systems, and data analytics. In addition, the M.S. in Software Engineering offers a concentration in secure cyber-systems. The department participates in interdisciplinary programs, including Computational Science, Smart Cities, Data Science, and Bioinformatics. UTEP is an NSA Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations and Cyber Defense.


Job Description:

The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) invites applications for highly qualified candidates for a tenure-track Clare Boothe Luce (CBL) Assistant Professor position in Computer Science (CS) starting fall 2023. The CBL Professorship supports women in STEM fields with the aim of advancing work to close the gender gap in STEM disciplines and across leadership roles in higher education. Over the past 34 years, the CBL program has supported over 300 professors across the nation, 18 of whom are in CS and only two in Texas institutions. CBL professors will be provided exceptional support in teaching and scholarship directly related to CS. As stated on the CBL website, CBL Assistant Professor candidates must:

display the potential for excellence in teaching and research and ability to engage undergraduates in their research programs;
demonstrate the ability to leverage the resources provided by the CBL Program and UTEP into a successful long-term research agenda;
demonstrate deep commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in support of all students, particularly women, in their disciplines and in in the advancement of discovery in general;
show the potential for leadership within their departments, colleges, and UTEP community, their disciplinary communities, and broader efforts to support women and other minoritized students in STEM; and demonstrate commitment to support interdisciplinary research.
UTEP incorporates Inclusive Excellence in its operations and efforts to provide access to an exceptional education for all students. As such, UTEP seeks candidates committed to advancing diversity, equity , inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) and educating our diverse student body. The new CBL professor will receive advanced mentoring and training in leadership and DEIA, and will be expected to become a departmental and campus lead to advance DEIA issues both locally and nationally. The support structures for the new hire include mentoring from distinguished female faculty with achievements that include the 2021 Alfredo de Los Santos Jr. Distinguished Leadership Award from the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education; the 2015 Great Minds in STEM Education award; the Computing Research Association 2015 A. Nico Habermann Award; the 2010 Anita Borg Institute Social Impact Award; the 2019 Great Minds in STEM Hispanic Education Award as one of the country's top Hispanic engineers and scientists; the 2019 NCWIT (National Center for Women & Information Technology) Mentoring Award for UG Research; and the University of Texas System Regent's Outstanding Teaching Award.

Over the past six years, CS student enrollments have grown from 400 to over 1,350 (2022). During this time, the department has hired nine tenure-track/tenured faculty, four of whom (44%) identify as female. Of the female hires, one was hired as an Associate Professor with tenure, one has obtained promotion to Associate Professor with tenure, one is applying for promotion this year, and one was hired as an Assistant Professor in 2021. Overall, the department has 20 tenured/tenure-track faculty, six (30%) of whom identify as female. Additionally, the CS department provides active support to female students through research and professional development opportunities. The department hosts multiple highly active student organizations including chapters for the ACM-W and Women in Cyber Security (WiCyS) groups and the Girls who Code student organization.


Requirements:

Candidates must hold a doctorate degree in CS or a closely related field by the time they start and must demonstrate potential for excellence in both research and teaching commensurate to their experience. The position is open to candidates from all areas of CS, with preference given to those with research and teaching focus on Data Science or Secure Software Systems. All candidates must demonstrate excellent communication skills, the potential to establish an externally-funded research program, and the motivation to support the student-oriented culture and commitment to DEIA of the department and UTEP.