Tenure-track Assistant Professor

Rowan Catalysts for Sustainability

School of Earth and Environment
Tenure-track Assistant Professor

Rowan University’s newly launched Catalysts for Sustainability program seeks to hire ten new faculty to develop, advance, and communicate solutions to humanity’s most pressing existential threats posed by the climate and biodiversity crises. The university-wide cohort will lead and collaborate across colleges, disciplines, and communities, catalyzing new initiatives in sustainability research, advocacy, and education while leveraging existing strengths. This project builds upon Rowan University’s strategic pillars (access, affordability, quality, and serving as an economic engine) and furthers our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Successful candidates will demonstrate expertise related to the climate and biodiversity crises in one or more of the following areas: environmental justice; education and public engagement including storytelling; public policy and advocacy; discipline-specific sustainability scholarship; and sustainability practice.

As part of this Rowan Catalysts for Sustainability hiring initiative, the School of Earth and Environment at Rowan University seeks to hire a tenure-track assistant professor with expertise related to the climate and/or biodiversity crises. The new faculty member will be appointed to one of the three departments contained within the School of Earth and Environment (earth.rowan.edu): the Department of Environmental Science; the Department of Geography, Planning, and Sustainability; or the Department of Geology. Joint appointments, within the school or across the university, will also be entertained where appropriate. 

We seek outstanding candidates with a Ph.D. (completed by September 1, 2023) or equivalent experience in Environmental Science, Geology, Natural Sciences, Physical Geography, Environmental Studies, Environmental Planning, Regenerative Agriculture, Science Communication (related to the school’s mission), or a related field, and we encourage applications from candidates that span the full range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary backgrounds. Successful candidates will be expected to teach courses and lead public-facing outreach efforts that address the physical and human dimensions of the global environmental crises. Furthermore, successful candidates will be expected to participate in the Rowan Catalysts for Sustainability Committee through service work, attending committee events, and/or collaborating with other committee members.  Candidates will be expected to develop and maintain an active, highly visible, extramurally funded research program with outstanding scholarship, and to demonstrate excellence in mentoring both graduate and undergraduate students.  

We seek scholars at the forefront of advancing our understanding of the climate crisis, and/or the biodiversity crisis, and/or human interaction with related environmental systems, who have a demonstrated commitment to effective and innovative outreach on these topics. The successful candidates will have superior communication skills and will have demonstrated a deep commitment to sharing their scholarship with the public. As part of teaching and outreach, School of Earth and Environment faculty are encouraged to develop community science and field-based teaching experiences in the nearby Edelman Fossil Park and affiliated Scotland Run Park. This position is designed to be outward facing; we are seeking dedicated agents of change, and a willingness to work with governments, NGOs, and industry to solve real-world problems.

Rowan University is a Carnegie-classified Doctoral University with approximately 20,000 students. Its main campus is located in Glassboro, N.J., 20 miles southeast of Philadelphia, PA. Rowan has been recognized as one of the top 100 public universities in the nation and is ranked 3rd among public institutions in the north by U.S. News & World Report.

All applications must be submitted via an online portal found at the following link:

https://jobs.rowan.edu/en-us/job/496800/tenuretrack-faculty-open-rank-catalysts-for-sustainability-school-of-earth-and-environment

All candidates should submit: 1) a cover letter outlining suitability for the position; 2) a curriculum vitae; 3) a statement on teaching philosophy (including discussion of the candidate’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and efforts to grow the audience for environmental/sustainability education); 4) a description of research agenda (including potential funding mechanisms); 5) a statement on effective outreach (including discussion of the candidate’s past environmental/sustainability outreach efforts); 6) links to the candidate’s public platforms used primarily for scientific communication (social media, blogs, podcasts, videos, recorded talks, popular writing, etc.); and 7) contact information for three professional references.  

Review of applications will begin on October 31, 2022 and continue until a suitable candidate has been identified.