The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University seeks an experienced and innovative professor to teach and lead undergraduate and graduate students in strategic communication writing, research, marketing, measurement and content production across the school’s growing academic portfolio.

This role combines creativity, leadership, mentorship and teaching, ensuring students develop professional-level skills and experience in strategic communication. Success in this role is measured by the success of students, and their ability to develop and apply their knowledge and skills to drive meaningful media careers.

The successful candidate will be a seasoned strategic communicator of the highest caliber and a student-first instructor inspired by the future of media. The candidate demonstrates a commitment to principled work; possesses the skills to inspire, support and instruct a team of student communicators; and instinctively delivers clear direction and feedback. Candidates must have professional experience in and passion for at least some of these instructional areas:

● Brand content, PR, science, health and strategic writing

● Social media campaigns (paid and organic) and community management

● Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

● Primary and secondary PR research methods and competitor analysis

● Campaign analytics, content testing and performance measurement

● Strategic communication theory, history and ethics

● Multimedia content creation (photo, audio, video, graphics)

As a member of the faculty, the professor will have teaching and service responsibilities within the Cronkite School. In this role, there are no research or creative activity responsibilities.

This is a full-time, benefits-eligible, 9-month appointment based on ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus. It is not a tenure-track appointment. The professor will hold the rank of assistant, associate or full teaching professor, or assistant, associate or full clinical professor.

Essential Responsibilities

● Teach lower-, upper- and graduate-division courses (four classes in the fall semester, and four in the spring semester)

● Foster a culture of innovation by harnessing fresh ideas and experimenting with new tools, technologies and techniques that enhance strategic communication and client impact

● Serve as a disciplinary thought leader, proactively staying abreast of new strategic communication techniques and technology updates; curating exemplars of superior research and professional work; and highlighting superb student work.

● Collaborate with faculty and staff to assess, optimize and develop curriculum

● Perform service both internally (e.g., committee assignments, student recruitment, thesis direction) and externally (e.g. professional workshops, contest judging, academic/industry leadership)

● Perform other duties as assigned

Strategic Communication at the Cronkite School

Strategic Communication students at the Cronkite School gain advanced skills across PR, digital marketing, brand content creation, audience measurement and more in hands-on, applied coursework. In the school’s signature capstone experience, the Cronkite Agency, students deliver real services for real clients, creating professional-level impact well before graduation. Programs include undergraduate and graduate degrees in strategic communication, digital strategy and audience engagement, sports strategic communication, science communication and content creation.

About the Cronkite School

The Cronkite School is widely recognized as the nation’s premier mass communication school. Rooted in the time-honored values that characterize its namesake—accuracy, responsibility, integrity—the school fosters excellence and ethics among students as they master the professional skills required to succeed in the media world of today and tomorrow.

Based on ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus in the heart of the nation’s fifth-largest city, the School is known for its hands-on “teaching hospital” approach to learning led by a faculty composed of Pulitzer Prize-winning professional journalists, strategic communication leaders and world-class media scholars. More than 2,500 undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students regularly lead the country in national competitions as they prepare for careers in journalism, PR, marketing, strategic media and related communication fields.

About Arizona State University

Arizona State University, ranked the No. 1 “Most Innovative School” in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for 10 years in succession, has forged the model for a New American University. Repeatedly ranked No. 1, ASU has topped more than 20 lists in the last three years: No. 1 in the U.S. for global impact (Times Higher Education) and No. 1 in the U.S. for sustainable practices (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education). ASU is a comprehensive public research institution, measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed; advancing research and discovery of public value; and assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves. ASU operates on the principles that learning is a personal and original journey for each student; that they thrive on experience and that the process of discovery cannot be bound by traditional academic disciplines. Through innovation and a commitment to accessibility, ASU has drawn pioneering researchers to its faculty even as it expands opportunities for qualified students, attracting some of the highest-quality students from all 50 states and more than 130 nations.

Required Qualifications

Candidates pursuing a clinical professor rank must have a master’s degree at the time of appointment, and at least 7 years professional experience in strategic communication, or equivalent specialized experience.

Candidates pursuing a teaching professor rank must have a terminal degree at the time of appointment, and at least 7 years professional/teaching experience in strategic communication, or equivalent specialized experience.

Desired Qualifications

● Experience leading organic social media, customer engagement, digital marketing, advertising or brand content for a client, brand, agency or other media organization.

● Experience teaching strategic communication at the university level.

● Demonstrated proficiency in new and emerging PR, digital marketing and/or social media tools and platforms.

● Experience using native analytics tools and reporting content performance.

● A network of strategic communication practitioners and experts who can advise on the field.

● Experience using an online training or learning management system such as Canvas.

● Demonstrated experience and expertise in at least one core teaching discipline: brand content, PR, science, health and strategic writing; social media campaigns (paid and organic); brand or client multimedia content creation; strategic communication media theory, history and ethics; strategic communication research methods; media analytics and content performance measurement; search engine optimization; strategic communication ethics.

Applicants will be asked to create or use an existing Interfolio Dossier to submit the following:

● A cover letter stating qualifications

● Curriculum vitae or resume

● Contact information (name, address, email, telephone number) for three professional references

Successful candidates will demonstrate throughout their materials how their teaching, research, and service will contribute to the fulfillment of the ASU Charter.

The applicant’s name should appear in each uploaded file name. Cover letters may be addressed to the Search Committee Chair, senior associate dean Jessica Pucci. Questions about the position should be directed to the search committee chair at: jepucci@asu.edu.

Application deadline is June 12, 2026. Applications will continue to be accepted on a rolling basis for a reserve pool. Applications in the reserve pool may then be reviewed in the order in which they were received until the position is filled.