Tenured Professor/Associate Professor and Director of the Center for the Advanced Study of India

Position description

The School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) of the University of Pennsylvania is searching for a senior scholar of India to be appointed July 1, 2025 with tenure in the department of Political Science or Sociology and take on the role of Director of the Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) on July 1, 2026. Founded in 1992, CASI is the first research institution in the United States dedicated to the study of contemporary India. A national resource, it fills an urgent need for knowledge of India’s politics, rapidly changing economy and population, and social transformation. The Center’s key goals are to nurture new generations of scholars across disciplines and to provide a forum for dialogue among the academic, business, and foreign policy communities. Appointment as Director will be for a five-year renewable term. The CASI Director holds the Madan Lal Sobti Chair for the Study of Contemporary India. In addition, the candidate will teach in appropriate SAS undergraduate and graduate programs, though with a reduced teaching load while serving as CASI director.

The successful applicant will demonstrate intellectual merit that meets tenure standards at a major research university and includes a strong scholarly reputation in their home discipline and as a scholar of contemporary India. We seek scholars doing policy relevant research that concerns development issues, broadly defined to include political, cultural, societal, economic, or demographic perspectives. In addition, the successful candidate is expected to demonstrate engagement with networks of scholars and relevant practitioners in India and capacity to direct a pre-eminent center, such as skills in institutional entrepreneurship, constituency-building, staff development, governance, finances, fundraising, and overall management. These skills may have been acquired in either an academic or non-academic setting. The director must be able to foster work from multiple disciplines and across disciplinary lines.

We seek candidates who share our strong commitment to research, teaching, and mentoring, and to a scholarly community shaped by values of inclusive excellence. The School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania is committed to cultivating and sustaining a community of students, scholars, researchers, and staff that reflects the diversity of our world. We nurture working and learning environments that are affirming, equitable, and inclusive. As a community, we are committed to thoughtful discussions and dynamic interactions as we strive for an environment where everyone is supported and valued. Please see our School’s Inclusion and Antiracism Initiatives to learn more about our active priorities.
 

Application instructions

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