Part Time Faculty of First Year Experience

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Job Description:

Trinity University is seeking a Part-Time Faculty for the Fall 2026 semester to teach the following course(s):

The First-Year Experience - Why People Believe Weird Things

BACKGROUND

The First-Year Experience is a team-taught course designed to instruct students in how to analyze and discuss academic texts and ideas, and to produce college-level academic writing and presentations. Sections of 12-15 students take this course every day (each instructor teaches two days per week, and there is one plenary each week). Courses in a wide variety of topics are available, led by faculty topic coordinators.

This particular instructor will join a team teaching the FYE topic "Why People Believe Weird Things" (no experience in this topic is necessary - all course content is already prepared and plug-in ready; new instructors are paired with veteran instructors from many different disciplines across the university).

Topic Summary: In this FYE, we explore the weaknesses of human logic and emotion that cause us to embrace false conclusions. We explore fringe beliefs like those of flat-earthers, Holocaust deniers, and conspiracy theorists... but also the not-so-fringe world: popular movements and widely-held assumptions about our world that you may have never thought to even question. Why does evidence not change peoples' minds, but actually entrench them in their original views? Do 'experts' matter, and who gets to be called an 'expert' on something? Why are we seeing a resurgence of deeply polarized and tribal politics? And in the end, if we are brave enough to try, how could we possibly persuade the unpersuadable?

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Typical responsibilities of part-time faculty members include but are not limited to:

• Lead undergraduate sections of 12-15 students through in-person class discussions of assigned class readings and pre-programmed activities exploring the topic.

• Provide instruction in researching and writing quality academic essays.

• Instruction is twice per week during the Fall (Mon. 10:30-11:20am, Thurs. 9:55am-11:10am

• Evaluate and provide the students with appropriate feedback on their written and oral work.

• Be available to help students at regular, designated times outside class time (i.e. holding some regular weekly office hours on campus).

• Attend weekly meetings with other FYE instructors (Mon. 12:30-1:30pm, can be done remotely and/or recorded as needed)

APPOINTMENT DETAILS

Appointments are for the Fall semester (late August - mid December)

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

Required: Masters degree (or higher, or equivalent) in any field of study.

EXPERIENCE

Preferred: Experience teaching college-level writing and organizing classroom seminar-style discussion.

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES

The ideal candidate will demonstrate:

• No particular subject matter mastery is assumed - but having scholarly disciplinary experience can be helpful.

• Can lead engaged discussions and in-class activities

• Can help students become better writers, speakers, and critical thinkers.

• Can provide feedback and grading on students' written and oral work.

HOW TO APPLY

For internal applicants, please apply through Workday using the 'Jobs Hub' application, see instructions provided here.

For external applicants, when starting the application, select "Apply Manually." Only complete fields with a red asterisk, which are required. Please create your Workday application account using a personal email address, as you will need to maintain access to this account throughout the pre-hire process, if selected.

For all applicants, you do not need to complete the "(Work) Experience," "Education," "Certifications," or "Languages" fields - these details will be provided in your curriculum vitae.

In the "Application Documents" field, please upload the following, each as a separate pdf file [note: a maximum of five (5) files can be uploaded]:

• Cover letter

• Curriculum vitae or resume

• Names and contact information for three professional references

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Joshua Schwartz, Ph.D., Topic Coordinator, "Why People Believe Weird Things", jschwar1@trinity.edu
• Shannon Mariotti, Ph.D., Interim FYE Coordinator, smariott@trinity.edu

Please ensure that all required documents are uploaded prior to submitting an application. If you have revisions needed to an application already submitted or need help submitting an application, please contact Human Resources at 210-999-7507 or email humanresources@trinity.edu.