Assistant/Associate Professor of Literacy Education (Tenure-Track)

Description

The College of Education, Health and Human Sciences at The University of Tennessee is seeking applicants for a position in literacy education (grades 3rd-6th emphasis) in the Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education (TPTE). We seek assistant or associate professor level faculty members to join an active research and teaching community focused on the preparation of teachers and assisting the community/schools in literacy instruction, particularly for culturally and linguistically diverse schools across urban and rural settings. Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience and qualifications. Position begins August 2025.

 

The College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences is a multidisciplinary unit with 90 tenured/tenure-track faculty members, housed in eight departments. TPTE, the College’s largest department, offers programs of study that lead to initial teacher licensure in many areas as well as undergraduate programs in educational interpreting and audiology/speech pathology, advanced programs leading to several teaching endorsements including gifted education and the literacy specialist, masters and educational specialist degrees, and doctoral degrees. Beyond the licensure programs, other graduate education programs prepare master’s students, educational specialists, and doctoral students for careers in research, teaching, and leadership in research universities, teaching colleges, and elementary schools.

 

Literacy education faculty conduct rigorous research on reading and writing interventions, assessment development, motivation and affect, and teacher preparation and professional development.  Further, faculty members are committed to preparing educators for effective and engaging teaching in high-need urban and rural communities. The successful candidates will join an active, collaborative, and interdisciplinary faculty committed to improving public education through exemplary research, teaching, and service. The successful candidates understand current research and practice for teaching literacy, particularly reading methods for elementary students. The successful candidates will have extensive and cutting-edge knowledge of literacy research findings and be able to provide professional development on reading and writing practices to area schools and community groups.

 

Responsibilities include designing, conducting and publishing scholarly research; pursuing external funding to support an active research agenda; teaching undergraduate and graduate classes in literacy education; supervising the applied work of preservice and in-service students in diverse settings; collaborating with a team of faculty on the development, delivery, and ongoing program evaluation of undergraduate courses, the literacy specialist program, and the literacy education PhD program; developing collaborative relationships with local schools, teachers, and community members; working collaboratively with a broader group of faculty engaged in literacy work across the college; providing service and leadership to local/state and national/international professional organizations; and fulfilling advising and administrative duties as required by the department and the university.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications at the Assistant Professor Rank

Candidates must have a doctoral degree in Literacy Education, or a related field, prior to the start of the appointment in August of 2025, a record of successful teaching experience in an elementary classroom (grades 2-6), and a demonstrated record of scholarship.

Required Qualifications at the Associate Professor Rank:

Candidates must have a doctoral degree in Literacy Education, or a related field, prior to the start of the appointment in August of 2025, a record of successful teaching experience in an elementary classroom (grades 2 -6), a demonstrated record of scholarship and external funding, and 5 or more years of experience in literacy education at the assistant professor rank.

Desired Qualifications at the Assistant or Associate Professor Rank

Preferences will be given to candidates who have extensive (4 or more years) of successful elementary classroom (grades 3-6) teaching experience; a significant record of scholarship and experience securing external funding commensurate with experience; strong research methodologies expertise; and digital literacies and bilingualism/translanguaging research.

 

Application Instructions

General inquiries can be sent directly to Gina Guinn at gguinn@utk.edu