Description

Calvin University invites applications for a full-time or part-time regular faculty member to join the Physics and Astronomy Department to teach physics and to do physics or astronomy research, beginning in August 2027, pending administrative approval. The opening is at the rank of assistant professor.

The Physics and Astronomy Department at Calvin University is a collegial community of five faculty members dedicated to excellent teaching, mentoring, and scholarship. The department regularly offers the upper-level undergraduate theory and laboratory courses needed to prepare students well for graduate study in physics or astrophysics, and it has a strong record of placing alumni in outstanding graduate programs and industry jobs. The department also makes significant contributions to Calvin’s broader STEM programs through physics cognate courses for engineering, pre-med, and other majors, as well as astronomy courses for non-science students that contribute to the broader liberal arts mission of the university. Faculty therefore have the opportunity to teach both specialized courses for majors and high-impact courses that reach students from across the campus.

Faculty maintain active research programs in physics or astronomy, with most research conducted during the summer, often in collaboration with undergraduate research assistants. Opportunities also exist to apply for teaching release time to support research during the academic year. Strong interdisciplinary connections with other STEM programs further enrich the department’s teaching and research environment, making Calvin an attractive place for faculty committed to undergraduate education.

Requirements

The university seeks applicants with vibrant Christian faith who are dedicated to integration of that faith with their field of study.

Ideal candidates will hold a PhD in Physics or a related field.

Candidates are expected to demonstrate excellence in teaching at the undergraduate level as well as an active stream of relevant research and publication. Preference will be given to candidates with experience teaching using a variety of methods and instructional technology.

The university will prioritize candidates with broad interdisciplinary interests, demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, ability to integrate questions of meaning, significance, and ethics into all course content, and deep commitment to engaging students beyond the classroom.

Full-time faculty members typically teach 24 semester hours per academic year. Faculty are expected to grow in Reformed Christian commitment, to pursue an active scholarly agenda, to teach effectively, and to serve the university, department, students, and the wider community. Candidates will be asked to affirm their commitment to the educational mission of Calvin University as a Christian liberal arts university in the Reformed tradition, affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church.  

For this position, the faculty member should be able to teach a variety of introductory and intermediate-level undergraduate physics courses, both lecture and lab, and some upper-level undergraduate physics theory courses. The faculty member is expected to maintain an active experimental, computational, or theoretical research program that includes undergraduate research assistants during the summers.