Assistant Professor of Earth and Climate Sciences

The Department of Earth and Climate Sciences at Bates College invites applications for a full time, tenure-track Assistant Professor in Earth Materials to begin August 1, 2025. They are seeking an outstanding scholar with strong commitments to excellent undergraduate teaching and mentorship in a liberal arts context. The successful candidate will have expertise in a field of solid earth geoscience, including, but not limited to: igneous or metamorphic petrology, high-temperature geochemistry, mineralogy, tectonics, geomechanics, volcanology, mineral exploration, or planetary geology.

Maine is particularly well suited for providing teaching and research opportunities in metamorphic and igneous terranes. Departmental facilities include an extensive mineral, rock, and thin section collection, rock preparation equipment, a petrographic microscope laboratory, high-precision real time kinematic GPS, and ground penetrating radar. College-wide facilities include a powder X-ray diffractometer and staff-supported microscopy facilities with a scanning electron microscope with EDS, a High Performance Computing Center, Machine Shop, Visualization Lab, and Digital Media Studio.

The Position

The position carries a five-course unit annual teaching load. The duties of the position include the three main areas of faculty work: teaching, professional achievement, and governance and engagement. The standards of excellence for faculty at Bates are articulated in Article II of the faculty handbook, and include a commitment to inclusive and evidence-based pedagogy, impactful professional work, and contributions to the broader Bates community. The successful applicant will offer courses in plate tectonics, earth materials, and upper-level courses in their field of expertise each year, and will teach in the general education curriculum, provide academic advising, and mentor student theses. Successful candidates will also be expected to develop an independent research program that includes undergraduates.

Bates students come from a diversity of educational and socioeconomic backgrounds, and are committed to each student's success. They encourage applications from individuals from historically marginalized groups and from those who may have followed non-traditional pathways to higher education due to societal, economic, or academic circumstances.

Bates College is a residential liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine—a diverse and growing community roughly 45 minutes from the state's largest city, 2 ½ hours north of Boston, and 4 ½ hours south of Montreal. Faculty scholarship and creative work at Bates are robustly supported by start-up packages, internal grants, and a well-staffed external grants office. Community-engaged learning and study abroad are both broadly encouraged and supported; pedagogical development and innovation is further buttressed by Bates' highly engaged Center for Inclusive Teaching and Learning. Educational access and racial justice are central to Bates' history and mission and their faculty-led initiatives reflect this commitment.

Application Instructions

Candidates should have completed their Ph.D. in the Earth Sciences or a related field by August 1st, 2025. Postdoctoral experience is seen as beneficial but is not required.

To receive full consideration, candidates should submit their applications by November 1, 2024. Review of applications will continue until the position is filled. Applicants should submit:

1. A cover letter addressing interest in the position and Bates College
2. A curriculum vitae
3.  A teaching statement that describes the applicant's teaching interests and how the applicant meets Bates' standards of excellence in terms of inclusive and evidence-based pedagogy
4. A research plan that speaks to the current and future promise of a candidate's professional work as it relates to a diverse undergraduate body. 

Applicants should also anticipate providing three letters of recommendation in the event that they are contacted for an interview.

Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a background check and verification of degree.

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