Assistant Professor of Geosciences

The Geosciences Department at Oberlin College invites applications for a full-time tenure track faculty position in the College of Arts and Sciences in Paleontology/Geologic Time and Life History. Initial appointment to this position will be for a term of four years, beginning fall semester of 2025, and will carry the rank of Assistant Professor.

The Geosciences Department consists of five permanent faculty, a lab manager/GIS instructor, a staff member who provides technical support for teaching and research, and on average, 14 majors graduating per year. Students actively participate in research with faculty and routinely present at national meetings and co-author papers. Facilities and equipment include rock crushing and mineral separation equipment, rock and thin-section preparation facilities, petrographic microscopes for teaching and research, a variable pressure scanning electron microscope with SE, BSE, CL, EDS, EBSD detectors, a new LA-ICP-MS laboratory for trace element and isotopic analysis, three germanium detectors (two broad energy), and a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. Instrumentation for additional spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction are available elsewhere on campus. In addition, Oberlin College has competitions for small research grants each semester. For more information on the department, candidates can visit our web page at: http://www.oberlin.edu/geosciences.

The incumbent will teach the standard teaching load (4.5 courses per year) in the general area of Paleontology/Geologic Time and Life History. We seek a colleague with a passion for teaching Earth Sciences to undergraduates and increasing the diversity, equity, and inclusion of both the department and our field. Applicants’ research should not substantially overlap with continuing members of the department, and should focus on the history and/or evolution of life on our planet as recorded by biogenic and/or sedimentary records. The successful candidate will teach a 200-level historical geology course with a laboratory (Evolution of the Earth). Other classes will include some combination of 1-2 topical introductory courses proposed by the successful candidate, contributing to our physical geology course, and an advanced-level course with or without laboratory in an area of the applicant’s expertise.
 

The incumbent will also be expected to engage in sustained scholarly research and/or other creative work appropriate to the position and participate in the full range of faculty responsibilities, including academic advising, mentoring undergraduate research and service on committees.

Requirements:

Among the qualifications required for appointment is the PhD degree (in hand or expected by first semester of academic year 2025). Candidates must demonstrate interest and potential excellence in undergraduate teaching. Successful teaching experience at the college level is desirable. 

Review of applications will begin on January 2, 2025, and will continue until the position is filled. Completed applications received by the January 2nd deadline will be guaranteed full consideration.

Questions about the position can be addressed to: zpage@oberlin.edu or F. Zeb Page, Chair of Geosciences, at 440-775-7610.