Assistant Professor (Teaching)

The Department of Physics & Astronomy at Wayne State University is hiring a full-time Assistant Professor (Teaching) to begin in Fall 2025. Primary duties for this position will include teaching undergraduate-level introductory and advanced physics and/or astronomy lecture courses (a limited number of laboratory courses may be available). The teaching load is 3 courses in the Fall semester (August to December) and 3 courses in the Winter semester (January to May). Additional responsibilities include assistance in curriculum development, directing teaching teams (composed of graduate Teaching Assistants and undergraduate Learning Assistants) for applicable courses assigned as part of the teaching load, and serving on departmental committees.

This is a non-tenure-track, 9-month position with initial term appointments of 1, 2, or 3 years (renewal appointments increase to 2 or more years after 3 years of service and 4 or more years after 6 years of service).  The position is union-represented and includes competitive healthcare and retirement benefits. A Ph.D. in physics, astronomy, or a related field is required; candidates who are ABD (all-but-dissertation) will also be considered.

Wayne State University is a premier, public, urban research university located in the heart of Detroit where students from all backgrounds are offered a rich, high quality education.  Our deep-rooted commitment to excellence, collaboration, integrity, diversity, and inclusion creates exceptional educational opportunities preparing students for success in a diverse, global society.  Wayne State University is committed to increasing diversity in all forms and promoting an inclusive environment. WSU encourages applications from women, people of color, and individuals from other underrepresented groups.  WSU is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.

Please submit your application materials merged into a single pdf through WSU’s Online Hiring System at the following link:

https://waynetalent.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/2/home/requisition/2474?c=waynetalent.

Candidates should submit: a) a cover letter expressing their interest, b) curriculum vitae, c) teaching philosophy, d) diversity statement, and e) de-identified answers to four questions described below. In addition, please provide contact information for three individuals who will provide letters of recommendation upon request from the search committee. Review of applications will begin on February 15, 2025, and will continue until the position is filled.

As an initial stage of evaluation, a blinded application process will be used where only the answers to the four questions below will be evaluated.  Non-anonymized documents submitted with the application (CV, research summary, teaching statement, diversity statements, cover letter, etc.) will be assessed in a second round of evaluation.  For the initial blinded evaluation, please submit “anonymized” answers to the questions below where any identifying information, including name, mentors’ names, institution names, publications, or locations, are omitted. To be clear, “anonymized” does not mean that specific content or experiences should be omitted, only names and locations. Please limit the responses to each question to 250 words or fewer. Feel free to copy from the other application materials to answer these questions.

1. How are your teaching philosophy, qualifications, and experiences relevant for the job duties of this position, primarily teaching introductory and advanced physics and/or astronomy courses?
2. How do your teaching philosophy and experiences enable you to be an effective teacher for Wayne State University’s student population?
3. How will you promote diversity, equity, and inclusion at Wayne State University?
4. What specific aspects of Wayne State University attract you?  How do your career goals align with the department, university, and/or the Detroit area more broadly?