Swarthmore College, a selective liberal arts college just outside Philadelphia, is seeking an astronomer interested in teaching small classes of enthusiastic students as a visiting assistant professor, beginning in fall 2015. The position is for two years, with the second year contingent on good job performance. The Physics and Astronomy Department at Swarthmore has seven physicists, two astronomers, and roughly 15 students per class year in the physics or astrophysics majors. The college and the department value committed, excellent teaching. The teaching load is two classes and one lab, or two labs and one class, per semester, mostly in introductory and upper-level astronomy. Members of the department are active researchers and involve students in their research.
The position of visiting assistant professor is accorded similar status and salary to that of tenure-track junior faculty at Swarthmore, with travel and research funding, and excellent benefits. Swarthmore College has a strong commitment to promoting the benefits of diversity and social justice within the campus and global community. Our department is no exception. Women and underrepresented minorities are especially encouraged to apply. Swarthmore College is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Information about the department, including the astronomy curriculum and research areas of current faculty, is available at http://physics.swarthmore.edu.
Candidates should submit a statement describing their teaching experience and how they envision contributing to the departments astronomy curriculum, and a separate statement describing their research (in terms non-experts can understand), including plans for involving Swarthmore undergraduates in their research. Candidates should also submit a CV and arrange to have three letters of recommendation sent separately. Application materials should be submitted through AcademicJobsOnline at https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/5265. Review of applications will begin February 1, 2015.
