About San Francisco Bay University
Have you ever wondered why higher education feels stuck? Or thought, what if we could rebuild it from the ground up? Imagine a university where disciplines don’t dictate the subjects, where learning is transdisciplinary, open-ended, flexible, and deeply connected to real-world needs. A place where we learn across disciplinary boundaries, work through skills that matter, and turn critical ideas into real action.
If you’ve ever dreamed of tearing up the rulebook, of rethinking education in bold, creative, and disruptive ways, you might belong here. San Francisco Bay University is running a bold experiment in higher education, and we’re looking for the people who will make it real.
San Francisco Bay University (SFBU), an innovative, nonprofit, WASC-accredited, university situated in the heart of Silicon Valley in Fremont, California, seeks a forward thinking and experienced Professor of General Education to deliver courses and provide leadership for our Agility Praxis Pathway (APP) Core Curriculum, with special focus on humanistically-centered offerings.
SFBU’s mission is to offer inclusive, innovative, and inspirational education for lifelong careers and our vision is to set the standard as a national model of higher education in service of the common good. At SFBU, students come first. We prioritize students’ needs by fostering multiple meaningful relationships and personal engagement among students, faculty, mentors, industry leaders and staff. We are committed to providing affordable, high-quality education with a deep commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice.
The APP Core Curriculum Model—Agility Praxis Pathways—serves as the transdisciplinary backbone of our undergraduate academic approach, reflecting our commitment to a new paradigm of higher education. Built on the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and a commitment to all students at the center of the learning conversation, the APP model is a response to the evolving, multifaceted needs of students, employers, and the broader global challenges at hand. As such, this model is designed to foster agility to not only adaptively navigate but flourish amidst change, honor praxis, bridging the rich traditions of academic inquiry with the imperative of pragmatic creativity, and offer flexible, clear pathways to make progress toward goals and respond to new opportunities. Here’s how it unfolds in our academic environment:
Think
At the onset, the "Think" stage immerses students in a rich curation of texts and multimodal resources, broadening perspectives and sparking curiosity about the subjects at hand. This phase introduces students to a wide range of materials—from guest speaker insights to flipped classroom videos, and diverse reading assignments—designed to stoke vibrant discussions and healthy debate. It emphasizes increasing intellectual friction while decreasing social friction, fostering an environment where visible thinking routines and self-inquiry flourish. This foundational step ensures students are not just passive recipients of information but active participants in their learning journey.
Do
The "Do" phase emphasizes the deliberate practice of the skills, mindsets, and behaviors pivotal to the course's goals and student learning outcomes. Academic disciplines act as lenses through which students engage with content, allowing them to apply domain-specific skills consistently. It is about learning by doing, where knowledge meets practice in a dynamic interplay. Whether it's through sustained, reflective writing exercises, hands-on experiments, communication protocols, or iterative design processes, this stage is about deep engagement with the material and the cultivation of practical skills. By encouraging students to apply what they learn in real-time, we bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application.
Create
The "Create" stage empowers students to synthesize their learning and skills into tangible outputs. Building on their acquired knowledge and practiced abilities, students craft projects, artifacts, written works, and presentations that demonstrate their progress and mastery of course outcomes. This creative application not only serves as evidence of their learning journey but also as a portfolio showcasing evidence of developing skills and their readiness to tackle real-world challenges.
Through the APP Model, we commit to preparing students not only for academic success but for a lifetime of intellectual exploration, professional achievement, and creative contribution. This approach embodies our vision of the education paradigm we need – one that is responsive, experiential, and forward-looking.
We encourage candidates to learn more about SFBU’s Agility Praxis Pathway Core Curriculum by visiting: https://www.sfbu.edu/learning-teaching/sfbu-core-curriculum.
Position Summary
SFBU invites applications for a Full-Time Professor of General Education who can teach across multiple transdisciplinary courses on leadership, social sciences, and the humanities within our Agility Praxis Pathway Core Curriculum. The successful candidate will contribute to the assessment, continuous improvement, and maturity of APP courses. Through their leadership, APP faculty will help ensure fidelity to the course design and that the embedded core student identities of Tenacious Leader, Interpersonally Gifted, Global Navigator, Tech Trendsetter, and Enlightened Thinker, as well as the behavioral indicators associated with each competency, are being delivered through carefully curated and highly experiential classroom learning environments. This is a full-time, non-tenure-track position, located in Fremont, CA, intended for individuals with deep subject expertise in more than one area of the APP curriculum, a passion for teaching, experiential learning, multidisciplinarity, and a desire to help shape the future of undergraduate education. The appointment begins on July 27, 2026, with an initial 12-month contract, renewable based on performance.
At SFBU, faculty are active participants in our evolving teaching culture. We expect all faculty to consistently reflect on and revise their teaching practices, including content, pedagogy, and assessment, in alignment with the university’s learner-centered, inclusive, and experiential teaching values. Ongoing engagement with faculty development activities through the Center for Empowerment and Pedagogical Innovation (CEPI) is a core part of the role. Professors who wish to teach at SFBU undergo comprehensive training to ensure their fluency in a range of leading-edge pedagogical practices, including:
Transparent course design
Universal design for learning
Culturally relevant and sustaining pedagogy
Blended learning
Gamified learning
Learning through augmented and virtual reality
Trauma-informed teaching
Metacognitive teaching strategies
Flipped classroom
Scaffolded instruction
The ideal candidate will be highly qualified to deliver two or more courses in the APP curriculum from the list below, utilizing a judicious mixture of engaging, experiential, and active learning strategies.
APP 101 HOW TO TELL YOUR STORY
APP 102 HOW TO DESIGN YOUR LIFE: A JOURNEY THROUGH PERSONAL EPISTEMOLOGY
APP 103 HOW TO COMMUNICATE IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
APP 104 HOW TO LEAD: TRANSFORMING INSIGHTS FROM HISTORY INTO MOVEMENTS MODERN MOVEMENTS
APP 302 HOW TO DESIGN SOCIAL INNOVATION/IMPACT SOLUTIONS TO THRIVE
Responsibilities
Deliver APP courses in alignment with SFBU’s teaching vision, emphasizing personalized, experiential, relational, and student-centered learning.
Actively participate in CEPI-led faculty development workshops, trainings, and learning communities, and apply insights to enhance teaching effectiveness and classroom impact.
Foster a supportive, engaging, experiential, and inclusive classroom environment.
Teach 9 courses per academic year across fall, spring, and summer terms (3-4 courses per term; classes capped at 20 students).
Make real-time adjustments to SFBU’s proprietary artificial intelligence tutors with APP course material and student learning dashboard data.
Collaborate with the Provost, VP of Strategy and Innovation, Associate Provost, Chief Learning Officer, APP Curriculum Architect, and other key constituents to ensure fidelity with the APP program design.
Assist with the hiring, training, and oversight of adjunct faculty working within the APP curriculum.
Participate in curriculum review, program assessment, and accreditation efforts.
Serve on academic and institutional committees.
Remain current with developments in innovative pedagogy and best practices in general education through ongoing professional development.
Required Qualifications
Masters with significant expertise in a liberal arts, humanities, and social sciences discipline.
Demonstrated excellence in teaching through innovative, student-centered pedagogies that are not primarily lecture-based.
Experience teaching in diverse, student-centered environments.
Authorized to work in the U.S.
Preferred Qualifications
Doctorate with significant expertise in a humanities or humanistic social sciences discipline in the context of higher education.
Nationally recognized expertise in innovative general education design and delivery.
Experience hiring and managing adjunct faculty.
Experience with the meaningful infusion of GenAl in general education courses.
Benefits
Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package.
Opportunities for professional development and conference participation.
Dynamic academic community and small class sizes.
Application Instructions
Applicants should submit the following materials:
A detailed cover letter that describes their qualifications and interest in teaching the APP curriculum. The letter should specifically address their approach to teaching general education courses in ways that comport with SFBU’s pedagogical framework, which commits to pedagogies that are Personalized, Experiential, Relational, and StudentCentered (PERS). Applicants are further encouraged to reflect on their commitment to continuous improvement as an educator, including their willingness to participate in faculty development initiatives that emphasize innovation in pedagogy, course content, and assessment design.
Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Applications will be reviewed immediately and will continue until the position is filled. We aim to onboard the successful candidate(s) in July/August 2026. Please address any question regarding this position to the Chair of the Search Committee, Dr. Xuenan Cao,
[email protected].
This position description is not intended to cover or contain a comprehensive list of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change, or new ones may be assigned at any time, with or without notice.
SFBU is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer: SFBU is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and applicants for employment. SFBU does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices based on race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by law.
In accordance with federal and state disability laws, San Francisco Bay University provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you require assistance during the application or interview process, please contact SFBU Human Resources at
[email protected].
