Position: Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Tenure-Track Faculty Position
Department of Chemistry
The position requires the candidate hold a Ph.D. in organic chemistry or a closely related area. We will accept applications from Ph.D. candidates who are on track for a successful dissertation defense by summer 2022. We seek candidates who have a passion for teaching undergraduates.
Wofford is a nationally ranked, Phi Beta Kappa, residential liberal arts institution of more than 1,700 mostly traditional students. The campus is located in downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina, about an hour west of Charlotte and 1.5 hours south of Asheville, North Carolina; 2.5 hours east of Atlanta, Georgia; and 1.5 hours north of Columbia (the state capital) and 3 hours northwest of Charleston, South Carolina. Known as the Hub City, Spartanburg is home to six other institutions of higher education: Converse University, Spartanburg Methodist College, Spartanburg Community College, USC-Upstate, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Sherman College of Chiropractic. Students attending the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine and ours often gain clinical shadowing experience at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center, which abuts the Wofford campus. Housing is affordable. Spartanburg is home to the Chapman Cultural Center and numerous cultural events throughout the year.
Find out much more about Wofford at wofford.edu/about/fast-facts.
The Department of Chemistry has about 60 declared majors and about 10 minors. We graduated 16 seniors in May of 2021, many with double majors and many who studied abroad for a semester. The faculty include eight full-time chemists, all holding doctorate degrees, and two visiting professors. Six of the full-time chemists are tenured. The Department of Chemistry occupies the third floor in the Roger Milliken Science Center (RMSC), which we share with the Departments of Biology, Psychology and Physics. The Department of Environmental Studies is located in an adjacent building. Colleagues from all these departments will befriend and mentor the successful candidate.
The college is well known in the Carolinas for its strong science programs. Our graduates comprise a disproportionately large fraction of those admitted to the medical and dental schools in South Carolina. While we acknowledge that research is an important aspect of a student’s experience, we are primarily a teaching institution. We have no graduate programs; professors are responsible for courses and their labs. We have a full-time chemistry laboratory manager to assist with all labs; upper-level undergraduate majors serve as lab assistants and peer tutors. In addition, we have a departmental assistant to support the faculty.
More about the Department of Chemistry may be found at wofford.edu/academics/majors-and-programs/chemistry. Meet the chemistry faculty and staff at wofford.edu/academics/majors-and-programs/chemistry/faculty-and-staff.
In the fall of 2022, the assistant professor of chemistry will teach one section of CHEM 123 (General Chemistry I and the lab, 6 contact hours) and one section of CHEM 203 (Organic Chemistry I and the lab, 6 contact hours). There are typically 24 students (majors and non-majors) enrolled in each course. Students have the same professor for lecture and lab in all of our courses.
Eventually, the assistant professor of chemistry will be expected to additionally teach courses in their area of specialty in organic chemistry.
The assistant professor will be encouraged to collaborate with the other faculty. The faculty, lab manager and laboratory assistants work together as a team in preparing labs, so the assistant professor will have significant support in all aspects of the courses. The assistant professor will benefit tremendously from sitting in on the lecture sections and labs of an experienced colleague. Faculty vary in terms of how they organize class meetings and how much they expect their students to use online resources provided with the textbook. If you’re an inexperienced teacher interested in pedagogy, you’ll find Wofford to be a great place to learn about teaching and learning with special support for new faculty through development opportunities offered by the Center for Innovation and Learning.
Catalog course descriptions may be found at http://catalog.wofford.edu/courses-programs-departments/chemistry/#majorrequirementstext.
During the month of January, faculty and students are permitted to concentrate on a single study project. These projects are designed to move beyond traditional classroom courses and teaching methods and to encourage innovative, experiential learning. Projects are graded on a pass/fail/honors basis, which allows students to explore projects in which they have interest but not necessarily a full background without risking their GPA. Students annually enroll in on-campus projects, internships, service learning and travel/study projects. Students also are able to propose independent study projects. Additional information about Interim may be found at wofford.edu/interim.
As a first-year assistant professor, you would not be expected to offer or participate in an Interim 2023 project, although you might find it exciting and enlightening to collaborate on a project that has already been approved. The January Interim period allows time to prepare for the spring semester, which begins in early February. After the first year of employment, faculty are required to teach every Interim, with the exception of when on sabbatical.
The chemistry faculty, our administrative assistant and chemistry laboratory manager are quite supportive. Your office will be in close proximity to all the faculty. Most of us have lunch every day with our colleagues from across the campus in the faculty-staff dining room (FDR). The FDR is a lively place with rich and diverse conversations, where strong friendships develop. Faculty members from all departments are passionate about teaching and often share stories and strategies. A candidate interested in honing teaching skills will quickly discover that Wofford College provides remarkable opportunities to do so.
The salary will be competitive and commensurate with your experience. Additionally, a strong benefits package will be provided.
Pre-session workshops for faculty occur in late August with classes beginning immediately afterward. You could move into your office earlier. The 2021-22 academic calendar may be found at wofford.edu/academics/registrar/calendars-and-schedules/academic-calendar-ny. The 2022-23 calendar is not published at this time.
The assistant professor of chemistry must work collaboratively with other chemistry faculty/staff. You are expected to be available during regular/daily office hours and via Wofford email to assist your students. You will be expected to have committee assignments and academic advising responsibilities. Research, either individually or in collaboration with our students outside of the courses for which you are responsible, is encouraged and expected. You are expected to attend and contribute to meetings of the chemistry department, which are scheduled 2-4 times each semester, and monthly faculty meetings of the college. You will participate in the new faculty mentoring program.
Application materials should be emailed as one PDF file to ChemistrySearch@wofford.edu by September 24, 2021. Application materials include: (1) a cover letter explaining your interest for this position, (2) a current resume or curriculum vitae, (3) a statement of your teaching philosophy, which should include an articulation of interest in and understanding of working at a residential, liberal arts college; which courses in the Wofford catalog you would have an interest in teaching; and what new coursework you could contribute to the current curriculum, (4) a statement of scholarly interests, (5) your unofficial academic transcripts, and (6) three reference letters that can speak to your teaching ability, commitment to inclusivity, ability to sustain independent scholarly activity and collegiality.
Please ask your references to email their letters directly to Melissa Mann, executive assistant to the provost, at mannmw@wofford.edu by September 24, 2021.
Wofford is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer committed to excellence through diversity and strongly encourages applications from members of under-represented groups.
To learn about Wofford, explore wofford.edu. For information about Spartanburg, visit cityofspartanburg.org.