Job Description

About JMU:

Mission
We are a community committed to preparing students to be educated and enlightened citizens who lead productive and meaningful lives.

Vision
To be the national model for the engaged university: engaged with ideas and the world.

Who We Are
Located in the heart of Virginia’s beautiful Shenandoah Valley, the city of Harrisonburg is approximately 120 miles from Washington, D.C. and Richmond, VA. With a population of just over 53,000, Harrisonburg is one of the most diverse communities in the Commonwealth of Virginia. JMU is a selective, public institution with a growing national reputation for offering experiences that lead to an outstanding education and inclusive environment for students, faculty and staff. The student body includes approximately 20,000 undergraduate and 1,900 graduate students, with over 1,000 full-time instructional faculty.

JMU offers thriving programs in the liberal arts, science and technology, and professional disciplines at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels. The university is committed to expanding diversity, fostering equity and inclusion, and supporting superlative teaching and scholarship. JMU has achieved national recognition for the high quality of its academic programs, focus on maintaining strong student/faculty interaction, and innovative faculty research.



General Information:

The Department of Geology and Environmental Science at James Madison University invites applications for a Renewable Term Appointment (RTA) at the rank of Lecturer beginning August 2025. This is a 10-month, promotable, full-time position. The responsibilities of this position will focus on teaching general education classes.

The Geology and Environmental Science Department at James Madison University currently has over 100 undergraduate majors. We offer a wide variety of courses for our majors including a 4-semester lab-intensive core curriculum, and general education. The Department has numerous teaching and laboratory facilities to support the scholarly and educational pursuits of faculty and students. Our campus is embedded within a region of exceptional geological opportunities for both teaching and research. Within a 1 - 3 hour drive we have access to examples of exotic terranes, basement complexes, ancient and modern divergent continental margins, two rifting and four orogenic events, including a classic thrust and fold belt system.

The department is committed to creating an equitable and inclusive environment that supports recruiting and retaining a diverse population of faculty, staff, and students. The successful candidate will be expected to adopt these principles in their teaching, mentorship, scholarship, and service to the institution.

Please visit our web site at http://www.jmu.edu/geology/ for more information about the department.



Duties and Responsibilities:

A successful candidate will contribute to the general education program by teaching introductory geoscience courses. Courses may include physical geology, Earth systems and climate change, oceanography, environmental science, and/or associated labs. Teaching is the primary responsibility for this position. Secondary responsibilities include participating in service and scholarly activities. Activities may be related to student success, for example scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), mentoring of undergraduate research, advising student organizations, or the development of new educational materials. The candidate will be expected to contribute to the department’s continuing efforts in building inclusive excellence within geosciences and Earth science to promote the success and retention of all students.



Qualifications:

Minimum qualifications:
• A Master’s Degree or PhD in Earth science, geology, or a relevant field is required at the time of appointment;
• Demonstrated ability to teach introductory undergraduate courses in the geosciences;
• Potential for, or experience with, increasing access through inclusive instruction.

Preferred qualifications:
• Experience as the instructor of record in a geoscience class
• Experience developing instructional materials
• Active scholarship in SoTL
• Experience mentoring undergraduate students



Additional Posting Information:

Candidates must complete the online application and attach the following:
• Curriculum vitae
• Cover letter
• Statement of Teaching Philosophy

Contact information for three professional references will be requested as part of the application. Candidates will be required to provide academic transcripts prior to beginning employment.

For additional information, please contact Shelley Whitmeyer ([email protected]).

JMU’s Dual Career and Community Resources Program is available for candidates that will be relocating to the area. For more information, please visit https://bit.ly/2OTF1NG.