Job Description

We specifically invite applicants whose expertise embraces the natural science/sustainability science interface (e.g., environmental science, sustainability science, resilience, or other integrative fields), seeks to inform policy, and draws primarily on quantitative methods. Teaching and research that employs spatial analytical approaches and centers on aspects of global environmental problems, such as sustainability transitions, climate mitigation and adaptation, and fostering resilience are key areas the department seeks to support and strengthen with this position. Candidates whose approaches consider questions that address just transitions, just sustainabilities, climate justice, or other aspects of environmental inequities or injustices are encouraged to apply. All applicants will be expected to teach an introductory GIS course and the department’s introductory courses and offer a new capstone course of their own design. 

Applicants whose research and teaching will contribute in a complementary fashion to the existing expertise of departmental and associated faculty members to any or all of the following areas will be given close consideration: 

• Ability to apply emerging environmental problem-solving approaches and sustainability solutions to local issues at Ursinus College, in Collegeville, in the Perkiomen Valley, and/or in southeastern Pennsylvania.
• Ability to contribute classes that use digital analytical technologies, such as geospatial applications (e.g., ESRI ArcMap), statistical software packages (e.g., SPSS, R), or topic modeling/ text mining software packages. 
• Ability to contribute classes to the department’s new concentration in  Applied Sustainability (and related minor) . 
• Ability to contribute classes to one of the department’s other concentrations, particularly in Earth & Environmental Science, but also potentially Environmental Justice, Food Studies and/or Marine Science (and associated minors).
• Ability to contribute, create, and support experiential learning opportunities for students in  the ENVS major and relevant associated major concentrations and minors.
• Demonstrated ability to support research with students in areas related to the candidate’s expertise or allied fields.
• Demonstrated potential for excellence in teaching, clear evidence of scholarship success, and commitment to principles of inclusivity and well-being of students, staff, and fellow faculty. 

With a diverse community of students, all faculty are expected to contribute to the inclusion, engagement, and success of all students. The Ursinus faculty is a diverse community of teacher-scholars dedicated to providing transformative experiences for a diverse student body in a highly reflective process embedded in our  Ursinus Quest: Open Questions, Open Minds core curriculum. All faculty members are expected to be similarly reflective. As part of its commitment to liberal education and fostering an intellectual community, all faculty contribute to the teaching of the first-year  Common Intellectual Experience , in which first-year students consider selected readings in a shared syllabus. Applicants also may be asked to develop new courses in the ENVS major that support Ursinus Quest.  

The Department of Environment and Sustainability supports a robust major in Environmental Studies and  newly created concentrations and minors . The Department draws on several living-learning laboratories (e.g., BearShare, Campus Farm, Pieces of Earth’s History, Ursinus Food Forest) and nearby natural and built areas and collaborating partners to support in-class research with students and learning centered on applied problem-solving. Faculty interests span climate change and paleoceanography, environmental hazards, hydrology and water science, geology, geomorphology, GIS, circular economies, waste management (reduction, reuse, redistribution), urban ecosystems, landscape change and planning, human-forest interactions, political ecology, and globalization. 

Interested candidates should apply here.

Applicants should include a cover letter, along with separate statements describing (1) their commitment to, philosophy of, and previous experiences with undergraduate teaching in a liberal arts setting, (2) a research program that will ideally involve undergraduate collaborators, and (3) their experience with and/or commitment to supporting an inclusive community. Send a letter of application, curriculum vitae, and transcripts. Applicants also should submit a list of their three referees. Letters of recommendation will be requested only of applicants who are invited to a video interview in mid October; applicants are encouraged to make reviewers aware of this deadline in advance. Review of applications will begin October 1, 2024. 

Ursinus is an EO/AA employer. Ursinus College does not discriminate on grounds of race, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, age, creed, ancestry, veteran status, marital status, disability, or other classification protected by applicable law in the administration of any of its educational programs or activities or with respect to employment.

About Ursinus College

Ursinus College is a selective, independent, co-educational, residential liberal arts college of approximately 1500 students located about 25 miles northwest of center city Philadelphia. With a diverse community of students, it is an expectation of all faculty to contribute to the inclusion, engagement, and success of all students.

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