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Spence L. Wilson Distinguished Professor in Humanities

Employer
Rhodes College
Location
Memphis, Tennessee
View more categoriesView less categories
Faculty Jobs
Arts & Humanities, Ethnic & Cultural Studies
Position Type
Tenured & Tenure-Track
Employment Type
Full Time
Institution Type
Four-Year Institution

Job Details

Job Title:Spence L. Wilson Distinguished Professor in Humanities

Department:Provost Office

Job Description:

Rhodes College invites applications for the Spence L. Wilson Distinguished Professor in Humanities, created as the result of a major gift to the College. The hire will be made at the level of Associate/Full Professor with tenure. The person holding this endowed professorship is expected to enhance an already strong teaching and scholarly cohort in the Humanities division at the college and to maintain a strong commitment to public-facing scholarship. We seek a scholar currently engaged in research that carries significance within their field and across the disciplines of the Humanities broadly defined. The department(s) of the hire is open, but we expect the successful candidate to complement the teaching strengths and areas of scholarship among the College’s existing departments and programs. The position carries a 2-2 undergraduate teaching load, and the College places a strong commitment on excellence in teaching. The selection committee is especially interested in candidates who could be jointly appointed in two departments or programs. The candidate will also hold a permanent seat on the advisory board of the recently-founded Spence Wilson Center for Interdisciplinary Humanities and contribute to the annual programming of the Center in coordination with the Center’s executive director. Candidates should have a record of publication appropriate for a tenured appointment and should also document their success in undergraduate teaching. In addition, applications from individuals able to contribute to the College’s many interdisciplinary programs, such as Gender and Sexuality Studies; Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern Studies; and Asian Studies, are especially welcome. Please see a list of all our majors and minors here.

Rhodes is a nationally ranked residential college committed to the liberal arts and sciences. Our highest priorities are intellectual engagement, service to others, commitment to diversity and inclusion, and honor among ourselves. Our students live and learn on one of the country’s most beautiful campuses, located in the heart of Memphis, an economic, medical, and culturally diverse center, making Rhodes one of a handful of prominent liberal arts colleges in a major metropolitan area.

Rhodes College prides itself on being a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming environment. We are an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and anti-discrimination.

A complete application will include 1) a cover letter that addresses the strengths the candidate will bring as a teacher and scholar to a liberal arts college environment; 2) a curriculum vitae; 3) a separate statement that addresses how the candidate’s experiences with teaching, scholarship, and/or service will contribute to a college community that includes a commitment to diversity and inclusion as one of its core values. Review of completed applications will begin October 1, 2024, and will continue until the position is filled. Candidates from backgrounds typically underrepresented in higher education are strongly encouraged to apply. Letters of recommendation will only be solicited for short-listed applicants, at which time you will be prompted for the names and contact information for three (3) references. Background checks are required before candidates can be brought to campus for interviews.

Questions can be directed to: Professor Steve Wirls and Professor Sarah Rollens, co-chairs of the search committee, at wirls@rhodes.edu and rollens@rhodes.edu.

Organization

About Rhodes
Founded in 1848, Rhodes College is a private, residential, undergraduate college located in the heart of historic midtown Memphis, Tennessee. Rhodes is national, four-year, private, coeducational, residential college committed to the liberal arts and sciences. We aspire to graduate students with a lifelong passion for learning, compassion for others, and the ability to translate academic study and personal concern into effective leadership and action in their communities and the world.

 

Commitment to Diversity
A diverse learning community is a necessary element of a liberal arts education, for self-understanding is dependent upon the understanding of others. We, the members of Rhodes College, are committed to fostering a community in which diversity is valued and welcomed. To that end, Rhodes College does not discriminate – and will not tolerate harassment – on the basis of race, gender, color, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national or ethnic origin, military status or any other protected status.

 

Discover the Rhodes Edge

Rhodes’ rigorous approach to liberal arts and sciences inspires students to discover and cultivate lifelong passions, and to make a difference in the classroom, on campus, in the city of Memphis, and throughout the world. Simply put, our mission is to prepare students for life and career, wherever those journeys take them.

  • We value the types of engaging dRhodes 15ialogue that arises when students and professors work together to investigate questions and problems they care about. Our student-to-faculty ratio is 10:1 and the average class size is 14 which allows us to have these engaging conversations between faculty and students.
  • Through 18 academic departments and 13 interdisciplinary programs, Rhodes offers more than 50 majors, interdisciplinary majors, minors, and academic programs.
  • Memphis is more than what you know it to be. Yes, we’re home of the blues and barbeque, Graceland, and the Grizzlies, but we’re much more than that.
  • Rhodes graduates are perceptive thinkers, creative problem solvers, and lifelong learners, and they have the skills and abilities that connect them to the country's top graduate and professional schools, interesting careers, and fulfilling lives.
  • Rhodes students are conducting leading-edge research and creative activity that produces original intellectual or creative contributions to a wide range of fields of study.
  • Rhodes College’s commitment to overseas study is most powerfully expressed in the programs that it has created and developed.

Rhodes is profiled in The Princeton Review’s popular college guide, The Best 384 Colleges: 2019 Edition, and ranks No. 10 for Most Accessible Professors and No. 16 for Most Engaged in Community Service. Rhodes is also one of fifty colleges included in both editions of The Princeton Review’s list of “Colleges That Create Futures” and continues to be included in each new edition of Colleges That Pay You Back: The 200 Schools That Give You the Best Bang for Your Buck. For two years in a row, Rhodes was named America’s #1 Service-Oriented College by Newsweek magazine. In addition, Rhodes regularly garners accolades from U.S. News and World Report, Forbes and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges. Rhodes is also profiled in the prestigious book Colleges That Change Lives.

 

 

Rhodes Students

The college’s 2,010 students are a diverse group, representing 45 states (plus D.C.) and 55 countries. They are keenly aware of social responsibility and are involved as volunteers throughout their college years. More than 80% of Rhodes’ students participate in community service.

Rhodes’ students hold impressive academic and extracurricular credentials. The Class of 2024 has a mid-range SAT score of 1250-1400 and a mid-range ACT score of 27-33. 52% of the students of the class of 2024 ranked in the top 10% of their high school class.

 

Educational ExRhodes cellence in One of the South’s Most Vibrant Cities

Ask anyone who knows about Rhodes College and you will learn about this rare jewel among the nation's finest liberal arts colleges. Rhodes' students live and learn on a campus cited as one of America's most beautiful. Quietly nestled among 100 acres of wooded charm and Gothic stone buildings in an attractive residential section of Memphis, Rhodes is just minutes from a revitalized downtown where Beale Street (Home of the Blues) meets the majestic Mississippi River.

The campus is within walking distance of the Memphis Zoo and the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. Memphis is the 15th largest city in the United States and offers a broad variety of entertainment, cultural and recreational opportunities, good restaurants, malls, shops and great hangouts. As the region's medical and business hub, Memphis provides students with many internship and research opportunities, as well as career and service opportunities.

Company info
Website
Telephone
901-843-3750
Location
2000 N Parkway
Memphis
TN
38112
US

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