Available Assistant Professor in Physical Chemistry Position
The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Middlebury College invites applications for a tenure-track position to begin September, 2013. Application deadline is October 1, 2012. Applicants should have a Ph.D. in physical chemistry or a closely related field (post-doctoral experience preferred) and be committed to excellence in teaching in a liberal arts environment. Research with undergraduate students is expected and strongly supported. Through Interfolio submit: a letter of application addressed to Professor Rick Bunt (department chair), a curriculum vitae, undergraduate and graduate transcripts, a statement of teaching and research plans, anticipated start-up needs, and three current letters of recommendation.
Teaching Expectations: The successful candidate is expected to routinely contribute to the department’s Physical Chemistry lecture and lab sequence (CHEM 0351, 0355, 0311, 0312) and the General Chemistry sequence (CHEM 0103, 0104, 0107). All department members rotate responsibility for teaching First-Year Seminar (FYSE) courses and contribute to Middlebury’s Winter Term Curriculum as interested and needed. Teaching both introductory and advanced chemistry electives is also encouraged. The typical teaching load at Middlebury College is 4-5 courses per year—depending on the sizes of the classes, number of contact hours, labs, etc. See the Chemistry & Biochemistry Department website forspecific course details.
Research Expectations: The successful candidate is expected to establish an independent research program that involves undergraduate students and results in scholarly publications. Middlebury College provides broad support for such endeavors including competitive start-up funds, internal student research scholarships and faculty professional development funds, and state-of-the-art research facilities and equipment. The Department is housed in McCardell Bicentennial Hall, the College’s 116,000 net square foot science center, which opened in the fall of 1999. The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry also contributes to the Program in Molecular Biology & Biochemistry and the Program inEnvironmental Studies. Applications from candidates who might additionally contribute to these programs are welcomed.
Application Details
Statement of Teaching and Research Plans
Please describe your career vision for both teaching and research in a liberal arts environment. These can be separate or combined. The teaching statement offers a free-form opportunity to convey one’s interests, motivations, plans, and desires in regard to teaching at Middlebury College. The research plans should be both specific and detailed.
Anticipated Start-up Needs
Please list out or describe in narrative form the facilities and equipment necessary to successfully begin your research program. A rough budget is helpful and need not specify all routine supplies and minor items—they can be lumped together (e.g., glassware and consumables: $5,000). This is not a final nor binding list. It may change and evolve over the course of an interview visit as one sees the labs and facilities. The actual start-up funds and/or equipment commitments will be negotiated after a job offer is made. Middlebury College is committed to meeting the full start-up needs of the successful candidate.
Letters of Recommendation
The combination of three recommendation letters from the candidate’s Ph.D. mentor, postdoctoral advisor, and/or others who know them well should address the candidates potential as both a teacher and a researcher. Some letters may focus primarily on one aspect due to the nature of the interaction, but at least one letter should specifically address teaching experience or potential.
Interview Process
Timeframe - We anticipate two-day, on-campus interviews in mid to late October and November 2012.
Research Talk - We ask candidates to give a typical 40-50 minute research seminar keeping in mind that most of the audience will be undergraduate students and other non-specialists. College administrators sometimes attend as well.
Teaching Lecture - We also ask candidates to present at 50 minute “mock lecture” on a topic of their own choosing from a junior-level physical chemistry course in quantum mechanics. This teaching lecture need not follow any particular format nor have any specific content, but it should offer insight into the candidate’s style and approach to teaching. In addition to the department faculty a number of our chemistry and biochemistry majors typically attend these talks.
Individual Meetings - The candidate will meet with all department faculty, a number of current students, one search committee member from outside the department, and members of the academic administration during the interview.
Middlebury College is located in scenic Middlebury, Vermont in the heart of the Lake Champlain Valley, with the Green Mountains to the east and the Adirondacks to the west. Burlington, about an hour to the north, is Vermont’s largest city and also home to the University of Vermont. Dartmouth College is about an hour and a half to the east in Hanover, New Hampshire.
Specific questions or concerns about the application or interview process should be directed to either Judy Mayer (department coordinator) for Interfolio related issues, or Rick Bunt (department chair) for position specific issues. We are happy to assist you in submitting the strongest possible application.
Middlebury College is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to recruiting a diverse faculty to complement the increasing diversity of our student body.
