Assistant Professor - Earth & Environment (Fall 2026)

Description

Albion College invites applications for a tenure-track position in Earth Materials, within the Department of Earth & Environment beginning August 2026.

We are seeking a broadly trained, field-oriented geologist who will contribute to the creation of, and subsequently hold responsibility for teaching, a two-semester two-course sequence in earth materials, and an additional upper-level course in a specialty that complements the strengths of the department. The candidate will preferably have completed a Ph.D. in geology prior to the date of appointment, although ABD candidates will be considered. Applicants must have research and teaching experience in the areas of earth materials (mineralogy/petrology). The teaching load is two courses (lectures with labs) per semester, typically one introductory and one advanced course per semester. Opportunities to teach in the College-wide Honors Program and First-Year Seminar program will also be available. The candidate will be expected to assist and mentor undergraduates in research and participate in other department activities, including field trips.

The Department of Earth & Environment offers majors in Geology, Earth Science, Environmental Science and Environmental Studies; and minors in GIS, Environmental Geology, Geology, Paleontology and Environmental Studies. The department is well equipped with five teaching laboratories, analytical equipment (including a new benchtop XRF), teaching and research petrographic microscopes, geology shop facilities, as well as extensive GPS, surveying, data-logging, and other field equipment.  The dedicated R.G. Clark GIS and Remote Sensing Laboratory has 16 workstations, featuring the latest versions of ArcGIS. 

We are seeking a candidate whose research interests complement our department’s existing strengths in hydrogeology, sedimentology, and paleontology.

We encourage applications from individuals who will help us create a more inclusive Albion College by showing interest in developing inclusive pedagogies to address the needs of a diverse student body and, when possible, demonstrating excellence with successful creative activity, scholarship or research that involves students.

Albion College is a private, coeducational, liberal arts college serving approximately 1,200 undergraduate students in the City of Albion in Calhoun County, Michigan. The City of Albion is home to 8,000 residents as well as 17 parks with shelters, trails, athletic fields, and greenspace. Albion is within a half hour’s drive of larger cities like Jackson and Battle Creek and an hour’s drive from Lansing, Ann Arbor, and Kalamazoo. Detroit and Grand Rapids are 1.5 hours away. 

In April 2025, Albion College was recognized as an “Opportunity College and University – Higher Access, Higher Earnings” (OCU) under the new Student Access and Earnings Classification by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. This designation honors colleges that offer broad educational access—especially to low-income and underrepresented students—and whose alumni earn above-average incomes. On average, OCU institutions enroll 47% Pell Grant recipients and 56% underrepresented minority students. Albion is the only liberal arts and sciences college in Michigan to earn this recognition and one of just 10 such institutions in the country. In 2024, Albion was ranked by the Wall Street Journal/College Pulse as the number one liberal arts college in Michigan, second in the Midwest, and 15th nationally for enhancing students’ social mobility. 

Qualifications

Qualifications and Experience:  

• Ph.D. in geology by start of position
• Teaching experience preferred 

 

Application Instructions

Interested candidates should submit an online application that includes:

• a cover letter
• current CV
• teaching and research statements of no more than one page each
• copies of graduate transcripts
• a statement on your commitment to working with individuals and groups from a variety of identities, cultures and backgrounds
• three letters of reference.

Application materials should be submitted through Interfolio at: https://apply.interfolio.com/179873

Please contact Kevin Metz (kmetz@albion.edu), Chairperson, Department of Earth & Envi