The University of Hawaii at Manoa is recruiting an African-American studies specialist for a faculty vacancy that students and others had campaigned to fill using the slogan “Black Studies Matter.”

“I’m quite excited that we’re able to move forward at this time,” Denise Konan, dean of the College of Social Sciences, said in an interview last week. “This was one of our top priorities. I think the diversity of perspectives that this position will bring to our campus is so important.”

The job, which starts in August, has been advertised nationally, and applications will be reviewed starting Jan. 10. The permanent, tenure-track position is for an assistant professor in the Ethnic Studies Department.

Jacques Brunvil, president of the Black Student Association at UH Manoa, had pushed to restore the position and thanked Konan and ethnic studies leaders for making it happen. Students helped spotlight the issue at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in January and “talk story” sessions titled “Black Studies Matter” in February.

“In only a year of advocacy, this is a huge accomplishment made largely by student leaders and the greater aloha community as well,” said Brunvil, who graduated Saturday with a degree in political science.

“The university saw it was more than professors protecting their jobs, but students aggressively wanting to take courses that should be available to them,” he said. “I think that was a huge driving force behind bringing not only the lecturer this year, but establishing a tenure-track position to bring a permanent professor here as well.”

The position had been vacant since 2013, when the incumbent moved to California. Konan said the students’ efforts and community interest in the position had made a difference. A lecturer was hired to fill the position for the current academic year.

Konan said the posting for a permanent position has already generated an enthusiastic response nationally, especially since some ethnic studies programs have been cut at other universities.

“We do think we will have a strong applicant pool for the position,” she said.

The positions will be funded with savings from other vacancies, she said. Since 2011, 10 instructional faculty positions have been cut and 22 positions have been left vacant at the College of Social Sciences because of budget cuts and rising costs.

“We are recovering from a time of austerity,” Konan said. “For me it is a big relief that we are able to now start reinvesting in positions like this and other positions that have high impact for students. The university has just started to reallocate funding based on student demand. That’s giving us optimism to make an investment today.”