Job ID: 7829 Location: Biology Full/Part Time: Full Time Regular/Tempoary:
Faculty Posting Details
Appointment:
Department of Biology, full-time, tenure-line Assistant Professor position; begins Fall 2025.
Responsibilities:
The Department of Biology at the University of Puget Sound, a predominantly undergraduate liberal arts college in Tacoma, Washington, seeks to recruit a tenure-line Assistant Professor.
We expect the incumbent to show promise and enthusiasm to become a skilled teacher and contribute to the department's mission to develop an inclusive learning environment for our students. The individual is expected to teach both at the introductory and upper-division levels in their areas of proficiency. A typical semester teaching load consists of either one class with three accompanying laboratory sections, or two classes, one with a lab.
We expect the incumbent to develop an active research program that includes undergraduate research opportunities and professional growth, and that complements and grows existing research efforts in the Biology Department. We welcome applicants studying a wide variety of research systems amenable to undergraduate work. We particularly welcome faculty who can contribute in the molecular biology core courses (particularly Introductory Biology, Cell Biology and Genetics) as well as teach an upper division course broadly related to human or animal health such as developmental biology, reproductive biology, cancer biology, microbiology, or animal physiology. Faculty start-up funds and student stipend and grant opportunities are available.
Departmental and university service is also expected.
About Biology at Puget Sound:
The Biology Department highly values excellence in teaching and mentoring of undergraduate research. We promote close contact between faculty and students through faculty-taught laboratories, a highly organized student/faculty research program that spans the academic year and the summer, and dedication to student success and inclusive teaching. Faculty have dedicated research labs (~400 ft2) and access to state-of-the-art equipment in the Science Core Facility and other shared research spaces including instrument labs, a greenhouse, and an animal housing facility (more information is available on our Biology department homepage: https://www.pugetsound.edu/academics/biology). The Biology Department is housed in the University of Puget Sound Science Center, renovated in 2008, along with Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics & Computer Science, and Earth and Environmental Science programs as well as the Puget Sound Natural History Museum. There is ample opportunity and enthusiasm for interdepartmental collaboration in both teaching and research. We offer majors in Biology and Molecular & Cellular Biology (MCB), and our curriculum offers a breadth of courses in modern biology for science majors and courses on contemporary topics in biology for non-majors.
Qualifications:
PhD in biological sciences by the time of appointment; ABD candidates are welcome to apply; commitment to undergraduate teaching and research, and inclusive pedagogy is required.
Application Deadline:
Review of applications begins October 1, 2024.
Required Documents:
Please submit curriculum vitae (CV) when prompted to submit resume. Additional documents can be attached within the application before submission. Applications submitted without the required attachments will not be considered.
Curriculum vitae
Letter of Interest
Diversity Statement
Teaching statement
Research statement
Writing sample
Teaching evaluations
Unofficial transcripts
Three (3) Letters of Reference. You will be asked to specify the email addresses of reference providers at the time of application and the system will email these providers on the next business day.
Note: In the online application system, please submit curriculum vitae when prompted to submit resume. Additional documents can be attached within the application.
Applicant's Diversity Statement:
As a department and university, we are strongly committed to creating an inclusive and effective teaching, learning, and working environment for all. In the applicant's diversity statement, applicants should comment on their ability to contribute meaningfully to our on-going commitment to be informed and competent with regard to issues of diversity, equity, and individual differences. We encourage applicants to reference the University of Puget Sound's current Diversity Strategic Plan (DSP) at https://pugetsound.edu/about-puget-sound-0/mission-core-values/institutional-equity-diversity prior to writing this statement. While not an exhaustive list, the following are some ways applicant's can express their qualification:
Your lived experiences and/or identities that speak to the department and university's commitment to inclusion and diversity;
Demonstration of your awareness of inequities for underrepresented student populations in education, research experience, and other opportunities;
Brief insights on why diversity is important at institutions like the University of Puget Sound;
Infusion of diversity and diversity-related issues into your research, pedagogy, and/or service;
Previous and/or current activities involving mentoring underrepresented student populations;
Creative ideas or strategies you could enact as a member of the University of Puget Sound campus community to support the university's DSP;
Brief insights on how cultural competency increases one's effectiveness as an educator and department/university colleague.
Compensation and Benefits:
Rank: Assistant Professor
Faculty salaries at the University of Puget Sound are based on a common salary scale based on experience. Assistant Professor salaries for 2024-25 begin at $72,765 annualized in their first year of full-time post-doctorate teaching through $81,428 annualized based on experience. ($72,265 to $80,928 for ABD.).
Puget Sound offers a generous benefits package for eligible faculty members, including:
Medical, dental, and vision
Life insurance and long-term disability
Employee Assistance Program
Retirement plan options and 403(b) contributions
Education benefits, such as full tuition for eligible employees and their families
Access to university facilities and entertainment (fitness center, pool, library, concerts, lectures) and more!
The mission of the University of Puget Sound is to develop in its students the capacities for critical analysis, aesthetic appreciation, sound judgment, and apt expression that will sustain a lifetime of intellectual curiosity, active inquiry, and reasoned independence. Puget Sound is a 2,600-student, residential, national undergraduate liberal arts college in Tacoma, Washington, drawing students from virtually every state and several countries. 65% of students live on the 97 acre campus and the remainder typically live within a mile in the surrounding neighborhood. A low student-faculty ratio provides students with personal attention from faculty members who have a strong commitment to teaching. The university offers 1,200 courses in more than 50 areas of study, numerous experiential learning opportunities, 23 D-III varsity sports, and extensive co-curricular and leadership opportunities. Puget Sound graduates include Rhodes and Fulbright scholars, notables in the arts and culture, entrepreneurs and elected officials, and leaders in business and finance locally and throughout the world. In 2012, Puget Sound was named as one of 40 schools in Colleges that Change Lives.
Puget Sound has a well-established Shared Faculty Appointments Policy. More information on faculty resources can be found here: https://pugetsound.edu/resources-faculty
University Diversity Statement
We acknowledge the richness of commonalities and differences we share as a university community; the intrinsic worth of all who work and study here; that education is enhanced by investigation of and reflection upon multiple perspectives.
We aspire to create respect for and appreciation of all persons as a key characteristic of our campus community; to increase the diversity of all parts of our University community through commitment to diversity in our recruitment and retention efforts; to foster a spirit of openness to active engagement among all members of our campus community.
We act to achieve an environment that welcomes and supports diversity; to ensure full educational opportunity for all who teach and learn here; to prepare effectively citizen-leaders for a pluralistic world.
All offers of employment are contingent on successful completion of all required background checks.
The University of Puget Sound is an equal opportunity employer.
About Puget Sound Puget Sound is a selective national liberal arts college in Tacoma, Washington, drawing 2,600 students from 48 states and 20 countries. Puget Sound graduates include Rhodes and Fulbright scholars, notables in the arts and culture, entrepreneurs and elected officials, and leaders in business and finance locally and throughout the world. A low student-faculty ratio provides Puget Sound students with personal attention from faculty who have a strong commitment to teaching and offer 1,200 courses each year in more than 40 traditional and interdisciplinary fields, including graduate programs in occupational and physical therapy and in education. Puget Sound is the only nationally ranked independent undergraduate liberal arts college in Western Washington, and one of just five independent colleges in the Pacific Northwest granted a charter by Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s most prestigious academic honorary society. Visit "About Puget Sound" (http://www.pugetsound.edu/about) to learn more about the college.
As a strategic goal and through our core values, University of Puget Sound is committed to an environment that welcomes and supports diversity. We seek diversity of identity, thought, perspective, and background in our students, faculty, and staff. EOE/AA