Assistant Professor of Geology

The Geology Department at Oberlin College invites applications for a full-time tenure track faculty position in the College of Arts and Sciences. Initial appointment to this position will be for a term of 4 years, beginning fall of 2022, and will carry the rank of Assistant Professor.

Founded in 1833, Oberlin is a private four-year, highly selective national liberal arts college near Cleveland, Ohio and is also home to an outstanding Conservatory of Music. Together, the two divisions enroll approximately 2900 students. Oberlin College was the first college in the US to make interracial education and co-education central to its mission. The College continues to view a diverse, equitable and inclusive educational environment as essential to the excellence of its academic program.  Among liberal arts colleges, Oberlin is a national leader in successfully placing graduates into PhD programs.    The Geology Department consists of five faculty, a lab manager/GIS instructor, and a staff member who provides technical support for teaching and student research, and about 40 majors. Students actively participate in research with faculty and routinely present at national meetings and co-author papers. Facilities and equipment include surveying and GPS equipment, a variable pressure Tescan Vega 3 LMU scanning electron microscope with SE, BSE, and CL detectors with an Oxford EDS/EBSD system, petrographic microscopes for teaching and research, rock and thin-section preparation facilities, and four germanium detectors (two broad energy). Instrumentation for spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction is available elsewhere on campus. Oberlin is a member of the Keck Geology Consortium, and the 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/geology.    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 should have a disciplinary focus on tectonics including but not limited to: tectonics, tectonic sedimentology, structural geology, or geophysics. Applicants’ research should not substantially overlap with existing members of the department. The successful candidate will teach four and a half courses each year, including a 200-level course with a laboratory on tectonics (Earth’s Interiors). Other classes will include some combination of 1-2 topical introductory courses proposed by the incumbent, contributing to our physical geology course, and an intermediate- or 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 and service on committees.   Oberlin College is committed to student and faculty diversity, equity and inclusion. The incumbent will bring understanding of or experience working with underrepresented and diverse academic populations. Oberlin is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the excellence and diversity of the academic community through their research, teaching, and service. Among the qualifications required for appointment is the Ph.D. degree (in hand or expected by first semester of academic year 2022-2023). Candidates must demonstrate interest and potential excellence in undergraduate teaching. Successful teaching experience at the college level is desirable. Oberlin recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, veteran’s status, and/or other protected status as required by applicable law.    A complete application will be comprised of: 1) a Cover Letter describing your teaching, scholarship, mentorship, and service, detailing any connections to supporting an inclusive learning environment; 2) a Curriculum Vitae; 3) an unofficial graduate transcript;  4) a research statement that includes how you will support undergraduate research and, if applicable, how you might incorporate undergraduate students into your research program; (5) Statement of Teaching Philosophy (6) Diversity Statement, and (7) Letters of Reference from three recommenders.*    *By providing three letters of reference, you agree that we may contact your letter writers.    Review of applications will begin on November 15, 2021, and will continue until the position is filled. Completed applications received by the November 15th deadline will be guaranteed full consideration.  
  Questions about the position can be addressed to: aschmidt@oberlin.edu or Amanda Schmidt, Chair of Geology, at 440-775-8342.