Assistant Professor, Advertising & Artificial Intelligence, Advertising + Public Relations - 524219

Department/Organization
207201 - Advertising and Public Relations

Rank
Assistant Professor

Position Summary
The Department of Advertising and Public Relations, housed in the College of Communication and Information Sciences (C&IS) at The University of Alabama, invites applications for a nine-month tenure-track faculty appointment at the rank of assistant professor in advertising with a focus on artificial intelligence beginning in August 2025.

Detailed Position Information
The ideal candidate will have expertise in AI-driven innovations in advertising, computational advertising, programmatic advertising, and/or ad effectiveness in AI advertising. Candidates with additional expertise in Machine Learning, Artificial Neural Networks, Supervised and Unsupervised Learning, and/or Deep Learning and their applications within the domains of advertising and/or digital marketing are of particular interest. Applicants should demonstrate evidence of or potential for publishing an impactful research stream within the advertising discipline. Additionally, the ability to teach courses in AI research methods, analysis and insights, social and digital media, channel planning, advanced digital marketing, emerging technologies in A+PR, and media strategy and analytics would be preferred.

About the Department of Advertising & Public Relations
The Department of Advertising & Public Relations houses a growing community of faculty, staff, and students with various research and professional interests. The department faculty engage in a variety of successful cross-campus collaborations and leadership roles, including directorships in multiple communication-oriented labs and the Institute for Communication & Information Research within the college’s Office for Research, Scholarship, & Creative Activity.

The advertising and public relations undergraduate programs are ACEJMC-accredited. Advertising majors have four options: a general major or a concentration in brand management, advertising creative, or integrated channel planning. Public Relations majors have the option of a general or digital communication concentration. The graduate program awards a Master of Arts in advertising and public relations. The two-year residential program offers an individualized track and more specialized advertising, creative, and media strategy concentrations. The graduate program also provides distance-learning concentrations in digital communication and marketing communication management.

The Department is home to the award-winning Minerva advertising portfolio program and the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations. It has been listed by PRWeek magazine as one of the top five programs in the country and APR teams have been recognized in national student competitions including the American Advertising Federation’s National Student Advertising Competition and the Washington Media Scholars Foundation Case Competition. Students gain extensive practical experience before graduation through multiple outlets, including work with the student-run Capstone Agency and industry clients such as NASCAR, the Country Music Association, McLaren Automotive, Twitch, and Tervis.

Review of applications will begin September 15, 2024, and applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Questions regarding the search should be directed to the search chair, Dr. Jihoon Kim at jkim227@ua.edu.

Minimum Qualifications
• Doctorate in Advertising, Mass Communication, Communication Marketing, or closely related field completed by start date of appointment. ABDs will be considered.
• Scholarly activity in advertising or AI-focused journals, university presses, or other publication outlets consistent with departmental expectations for the rank of assistant professor.
• Record of teaching effectiveness, including courses in advertising, public relations, digital media, and/or other communication-related fields.

Preferred Qualifications
• Evidence of or potential for attracting extramural funding. • Potential for and interest in leading multidisciplinary research and/or grant teams. • Professional experience involving the application of AI in advertising or public relations. Demonstrated commitment to diversity of thought, experiences and backgrounds.

Instructions and Required Materials for Application
To apply, go to https://facultyjobs.ua.edu and provide the following: 1) Cover letter highlighting how your research, teaching, and service/leadership have prepared you to contribute to the development of a larger agenda for advancing advertising and artificial intelligence 2) CV 3) Names and contact information for three