Director of the Africana, Asian American, Chicano, & Native American (AAACNA) Studies Center

This is a full-time, tenured faculty position (Associate or Full Librarian) with a target start date of February 2027. The role is split 0.6 FTE as Director of the AAACNA Studies Center and 0.4 FTE as Liaison Librarian. The Director serves a renewable four-year term. Applications are accepted until filled or closed, with a priority deadline of November 12, 2026.

About the role

The SJSU King Library seeks a visionary leader to direct the Africana, Asian American, Chicano, & Native American (AAACNA) Studies Center, a unique 6,000-square-foot academic and cultural hub on the fifth floor of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. Born from decades of student advocacy, the Center integrates four distinct ethnic studies collections—Africana, Asian American, Chicano, Native American, and comparative Ethnic Studies—under one roof to foster cross-cultural dialogue, interdisciplinary research, and belonging. Reporting to the Associate Dean for Student and Faculty Engagement, the Director provides strategic leadership for collections, programs, exhibits, and services that advance academic and community engagement, while also serving as a liaison librarian. The Director chairs the AAACNA Advisory Board, participates in the University Library Leadership Team, and plays a key role in philanthropic development, grant-seeking, and long-term sustainability planning for the Center. The King Library is a pioneering joint university–public library partnership serving SJSU and the City of San José, with a strong institutional commitment to equity, social justice, and serving a diverse student body (45% first-generation, 38% Pell recipients; HSI and AANAPISI designated).

Responsibilities

AAACNA Studies Center Director (0.6 FTE)

• Provide strategic leadership for the AAACNA Studies Center, establishing priorities and advancing a vision that supports the Center’s mission and the teaching, research, and student-success goals of the University Library and SJSU.
• Plan, implement, and assess the Center’s programs, exhibits, events, research initiatives, and other activities highlighting the histories, experiences, scholarship, and contributions represented by the Center’s four focus areas.
• Guide the development, stewardship, visibility, and use of the Center’s specialized collections, including identifying opportunities to improve discovery, preservation, digitization, and access.
• Build and sustain collaborative relationships with academic departments and programs, faculty and staff associations, student organizations, campus resource centers, advisory groups, community organizations, and other partners.
• Oversee the Center’s daily operations, including its space, budget, program calendar, policies, workflows, and allocation of available resources.
• Coordinate the work of employees, student assistants, interns, volunteers, and project teams assigned to Center activities, fostering an inclusive, collaborative, and service-oriented environment.
• Establish measures of effectiveness, collect and analyze relevant data, communicate the Center’s accomplishments, and use assessment findings to guide planning and continuous improvement.
• Represent and advocate for the Center within the University Library, across SJSU, and in relevant community and professional settings, while pursuing grants, gifts, endowment support, and other opportunities.

Liaison Librarian (0.4 FTE)

• Provide research consultations and instruction across ethnic studies and interdisciplinary curricula aligned with the Center’s focus areas.
• Develop and maintain specialized collections supporting AAACNA’s mission.
• Engage in library and university governance, scholarship, and professional service as a faculty member.
• Collaborate with colleagues across the University Library to enhance engagement with the AAACNA Studies Center.

Qualifications

Required

• Master’s degree from an ALA-accredited program (or international equivalent) plus a minimum of five (5) years of experience as a leader developing ethnic studies services, programming, and collections.
• Demonstrated leadership experience providing strategic direction and advancing university library outreach and user engagement initiatives across campus and the broader community.
• Demonstrated success establishing and sustaining strategic partnerships with academic programs, advisory groups, cultural and community-based organizations through effective communication, while cultivating philanthropic support and securing funding for programs and endowments.
• Expertise providing instruction and research consultations across a range of ethnic studies and interdisciplinary courses, and developing specialized collections aligned with AAACNA’s mission and focus areas.
• Record of scholarly achievement in relevant areas of specialization, including research that examines or engages with diverse communities, populations, experiences, or perspectives.
• Awareness of and sensitivity to the educational goals of a socially and economically diverse student population, as gained through cross-cultural study, training, teaching, or comparable experience.

Preferred

• Experience working in an academic library or comparable higher education environment.
• Experience incorporating diverse perspectives and culturally responsive practices into instruction, collections, exhibits, programs, or services.
• Demonstrated success leading significant organizational change or complex, multi-phase initiatives.
• Prior supervisory experience.

Pay

Anticipated hiring annual salary range: $112,000 – $118,000 for Associate Librarian; $125,000 – $135,000 for Full Librarian. Compensation is commensurate with qualifications, experience, and rank as established by the CSU Salary Schedule.

Benefits

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.

Schedule

Full-time, tenured faculty appointment split 0.6 FTE (Director of AAACNA Studies Center) and 0.4 FTE (Liaison Librarian). The Director serves a renewable four-year term.