Samford University’s Howard College of Arts and Sciences invites individuals interested in serving in a Christian university environment to apply for a joint position of Chair of the Department of Physics and the Director of the Christenberry Planetarium, beginning August 2020. This tenure-track full-time faculty position is a 9-month appointment.

As the chair, the candidate will collaborate with the science faculty at Samford, stimulate undergraduate research, assist with faculty and curriculum development, recruit prospective students and represent the department faculty to the administration. As the planetarium director, the candidate will have oversight of the planetarium budgets, the facilities, and the planetarium staff. The candidate will receive one course release per semester to facilitate the duties and responsibilities of the joint position.

Qualified candidates will hold a Ph.D. degree in physics and have a history of excellence in research, teaching, and leadership. Candidates must have an active scholarship that incorporates students into research activities, presentations and publications. Candidates must have experience teaching undergraduate-level physics courses. The department welcomes applications from those at the rank of full professor as well as from advanced associate professors who demonstrate a record of publication and achievement commensurate with the rank of full professor in the Department of Physics at Samford University.

The department currently comprises three full-time faculty members and offers majors in physics and in engineering physics. For more information, see the department web page. Samford University is the largest privately supported and fully accredited institution for higher learning in Alabama. Located in suburban Birmingham, the University was founded in 1841 and has 425 full-time faculty and more than 5,600 students representing 44 states and 30 countries. Samford has been nationally recognized for academics, affordability and value by a number of prestigious publications and rankings. The Wall Street Journal ranks Samford 3rd nationally for student engagement and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance ranks Samford 34th among private universities in the U.S. for value and affordability. The University is dedicated to the promotion of rigorous academic inquiry in a Christian setting. The University offers competitive salaries with a generous benefits package.

Review of applications will begin January 15, 2020 and will continue until February 28, 2020. Please submit an application letter, curriculum vitae with names and contact information of three references, evidence of teaching effectiveness, description of leadership experience, description of research interests and activities, an application for faculty position, and the faculty applicant Christian mission statement.

Please submit all materials in PDF format to FACAPP@Samford.edu (ATTN: Physics Department Chair):

• Application for Faculty Position
• Faculty Applicant Christian Mission Statement