Assistant Professor of Public Health

The Davidson College Department of Public Health invites applications for a tenure track Assistant Professor position with a start date of July 1, 2025. Candidates should have demonstrable public health expertise and experience, a PhD or ScD in a public health-aligned discipline, including social, behavioral, or natural sciences; a DrPH; or a public health-aligned clinically focused terminal degree such as MD or DVM, if the candidate has substantial public health experience or training. The required education must be completed by July 1, 2025. Public health professionals from outside academia with the specified educational credentials, if also possessing strong interest in and experience with undergraduate teaching and/or mentorship, are encouraged to apply. Applications must be received by October 11, 2024. Questions about the position may be addressed to Dave Wessner, Chair of the search committee, at dawessner@davidson.edu.

The teaching load is five courses (4 in the first year) over two semesters (fall and spring). The ideal candidate will have a strong interest in undergraduate public health education, and experience in or potential for teaching public health at the undergraduate level. Area(s) of public health specialization may include diverse topical foci in public health policy, practice, and/or research. The candidate should also have strong foundational, generalist methodological and topical knowledge in interdisciplinary public health that can be translated into undergraduate teaching and advising, which may include research, policy, and practice-based theses and capstones. The candidate should have demonstrated potential to develop a program of active public health scholarship or practice. Although any area of public health specialization will be considered, candidates with methodological expertise in mixed quantitative and qualitative methods, monitoring and evaluation, community participatory research, and/or topical expertise in noncommunicable diseases, sexual and reproductive health, or environmental public health are of particular interest.

To apply, please submit:

1) CV: Please include the names and contact information of three references. Letters will be requested for selected candidates later in the search (no page limit);

2) Cover letter: Describe your specific interest in this position at Davidson College and how your education, experience, and interests align with the position. In your letter, we suggest summarizing the key elements of your approach to teaching, research, and professional service, highlighting how your work in these areas supports diverse populations and/or perspectives, creates a welcoming and supportive environment in academia and/or the broader community, and aligns with Davidson's institutional commitment to diversity and inclusion (not to exceed 2 pages);

3) Statement on teaching, advising, and mentoring: Provide evidence of relevant preparation for and approaches to teaching courses including: an introductory course in public health, a foundational public health methods course for public health minors and majors; and a public health seminar or upper-level elective on a topic of your choice. Please emphasize how your approach to teaching, advising, and mentoring aligns with the Davidson College setting and complements the Department of Public Health curriculum, as well as how you might approach supervising theses and capstones. Additionally, please provide specific examples of inclusive teaching strategies, highlight mentoring experiences with students from various backgrounds, and describe how you create inclusive classroom environments (not to exceed 3 pages);

4) Statement on research: Describe current and future research interests, including how you might involve undergraduates in your research. If your work has a practice component, describe your current and future activities, and how these might involve students or create opportunities for practica or other forms of experiential learning. Discuss how your research addresses or considers diverse populations and/or perspectives (not to exceed 3 pages);

5) Statement on service: Describe your professional service (encompassing a broad conception of what constitutes service to professions, institutions, and communities) and highlight how your work in these areas supports diverse populations and/or perspectives and creates a welcoming and inclusive environment in academia and/or the broader community (not to exceed 2 pages).

Established in 2021, The Davidson College Department of Public Health (DPH) is committed to providing students an education grounded in a forward-looking vision of interdisciplinary public health, foregrounding structural inequalities. DPH continues to expand and diversify its curricular offerings, experiential learning opportunities, and ancillary departmental learning activities, such as its public health leader speaker series, emphasizing the topical and methodological scope of public health. There is considerable student interest in public health courses, the minor, and the public health major through the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies.

Consistently ranked among the nation's top liberal arts colleges, Davidson College is a highly selective, independent liberal arts college located in Davidson, North Carolina, close to the city of Charlotte. Davidson faculty enjoy a low student-faculty ratio, emphasis on and appreciation of excellence in teaching, and a collegial, respectful atmosphere that honors academic achievement and integrity.