Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy

Carleton College invites applications for a tenure-track position in astrophysics (Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy) that would normally begin September 1, 2024.  Applications received by Sept. 15, 2023 will receive priority consideration. Members of groups traditionally underrepresented in physics and astronomy, including those with non-traditional career paths, are strongly encouraged to apply.

Our Institution:  Carleton College is a highly-ranked liberal arts college of 2,000 students located in the two-college town of Northfield Minnesota. Notable features include:

• Urban Access:  Northfield is 45 miles from Minneapolis - St. Paul (where MSP International airport is a Delta hub) and a similar distance from Rochester, home of the Mayo Clinic. 
• Outdoor Opportunities: Our campus includes an 800-acre arboretum, and the region contains a network of state parks, lakes, and trails. 
• Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity (IDE): Carleton has revised and renewed its IDE efforts through the recently-developed IDE strategic plan.

Our Physics & Astronomy Department: 

• Who we are: We are eight faculty members and four staff members. Annually, we graduate 14-30 majors, and about 10% of the students on campus take introductory courses with us.
• How we grow: Our strong collegial culture of learning and innovating together enriches our approaches to teaching, research, and service, and informs how we adapt to ongoing changes across higher education and in our field.
• Facilities we have: We have recently built or updated our well-equipped and modern teaching spaces, research labs, a computational research suite, an instrument shop, and a makerspace. Goodsell Observatory has both historic and modern optical telescopes for curricular and co-curricular use.

You should have:

• A Ph.D. in Astronomy, Physics, or a related field.
• A strong interest in teaching undergraduates in a liberal arts environment.

Things you will do:

• Teach the equivalent of five courses per year, normally two in physics and three in astronomy.  Lab sections and research with students count as a half course.
• Advise students on their senior project (comps)
• Involve students in your research
• Serve as an academic advisor and on college committees (after your first year)
• Integrated within all that you do:
• Help cultivate a welcoming community where everyone feels a sense of belonging. We strive to foster an environment where all people can be themselves, build community, learn, and grow.

Things you can choose to do:

• Engage the community with the observatory
• Collaborate on teaching or research projects with other departments or campus centers
• Engage with curricular innovation efforts  (e.g., design courses, develop an astronomy minor)

How we will support you:

We support new faculty in creating a professional trajectory that suitably balances teaching, research, and other interests. Carleton offers a competitive benefits package and start-up funds. The Learning and Teaching Center provides teaching professional development, resources and mentoring for new faculty. Internal funding is available for research, and the Grants Office supports external funding proposals. 

To apply, submit online:

• Cover letter - describing why this particular position is of interest to you.
• Teaching statement - (2-3 pages) describing your approach to teaching discussing ideas or techniques you would like to pursue or have tried in prior teaching experiences including TAing or tutoring. Address how these engage a student body with broad diversity including preparation, career interests, identities, and the intersections between them.
• Research statement - (2-3 pages) describing your research interests for an audience of non-experts. Provide examples demonstrating how undergraduates could participate in your research projects, including how they might engage, what they would learn, and what they would produce.
• CV

After passing through an initial screening process, applicants may receive a request for the contact information for three references who can speak to your abilities in teaching, research, and collaborative engagement. Letters of recommendation may be requested as soon as September 29th for potential finalists.  

Carleton College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, marital status, veteran status, actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, status with regard to public assistance, disability, or age in providing employment or access to its educational facilities and activities.