Assistant Professor Public Policy Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Department/Organization
225101 - School of Leadership & Policy
Rank
Assistant/Associate Professor
Position Summary
The University of Alabama School of Leadership and Policy invites applications for multiple tenure-track faculty positions in public policy, at the rank of assistant or associate professor, beginning August 2027.
Detailed Position Information
The University of Alabama School of Leadership and Policy invites applications for multiple tenure-track faculty positions in public policy, at the rank of assistant or associate professor, beginning August 2027. We seek scholars to help prepare leaders, policymakers and public servants to navigate important and complex societal challenges. The SLP is the first new college-level unit established at The University of Alabama in 60 years; as a new school, the SLP offers faculty a rare opportunity to help build a curriculum, research culture and set of programs from the ground up.
We are interested in candidates with research agendas relevant to pressing policy challenges. We welcome candidates from a broad range of substantive research areas. We welcome applicants working in security policy (including national security, space, cyber, or public safety), social and community policy (including healthcare, education, criminal justice, or economic development), technology and industrial policy (including energy and resources, transportation, or manufacturing and labor), or policymaking processes, among other fields. Applicants should have an applied, policy-relevant research program. We are less interested in work whose primary contribution is theoretical or methodological alone.
We offer a competitive salary and startup package, relocation assistance, and a range of research support to help faculty establish an active research agenda.
Minimum Qualifications
Candidates must hold a PhD (in hand or expected by the start date) in economics, public policy, political science, public administration, sociology, or a related field, and should demonstrate strong potential for scholarly research and for undergraduate and graduate teaching. Candidates applying at the associate professor level should have a research and teaching record appropriate to that rank; see Research and Teaching below for details.
Preferred Qualifications
Research We seek candidates with a well-defined, active research agenda that produces peer-reviewed scholarship and engages questions of practical consequence to policymakers and practitioners. We value candidates who show interest in and capacity for pursuing external research funding. Candidates applying at the associate professor level should have an established record of highly visible peer-reviewed publications and a sustained, active research agenda appropriate to that rank. Teaching Applicants should demonstrate the potential to teach in one or more of the following areas: research methods, policy analysis, program evaluation, economics for public policy, policymaking processes, public policy communication, leadership in public policy, and values in public policy. Experience or demonstrated aptitude directing or teaching in a policy capstone course is particularly valuable. Successful candidates will have the opportunity to develop courses that reflect their own research expertise and areas of specialization.
Instructions and Required Materials for Application
Apply at UA's Careers website for the School of Leadership and Policy. Candidates should submit: • A cover letter describing fit for the position and research and teaching interests • A current CV • A research statement or writing sample (e.g., job market paper or recent publication) • A teaching statement, including any evidence of teaching effectiveness • Contact information for three references • Graduate transcript (need not be official transcript) Review of applications will begin Oct. 1 and continue until the positions are filled. For candidates on the entry-level economics job market, interview invitations will follow AEA guidelines. Questions may be directed to Dr. Joseph L. Smith at jos.smith@ua.edu.
About the Division/College/School
The School of Leadership and Policy (SLP) is the first new college-level unit established at The University of Alabama in 60 years, created to build on the University's history of educating effective leaders and policymakers. UA President Dr. Peter J. Mohler is committed to establishing a nationally recognized institution dedicated to advancing leadership and policy education for the next generation of changemakers. The SLP faculty will blend tenure-track and contract faculty with professors of pp (BA and MPP) and organizational leadership (BA), with plans to add an online BA and in-person and online master's degrees in organizational leadership.
The SLP focuses on leadership across sectors, not partisan politics. Its interdisciplinary, practice-oriented curriculum emphasizes skills, not ideology: ethics, collaboration, data literacy, communication, economic analysis, systems thinking, public problem-solving, and evidence-based practice. The SLP will prepare students of all backgrounds to become effective leaders, policymakers, and public servants who contribute to the social, economic, and civic well-being of Alabama and the nation. Students will be exposed to multiple viewpoints and will engage directly with public institutions, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector through internships, policy labs, and community-based projects, developing the perspective and skills needed to address complex challenges with practical solutions.
As a new school, the SLP offers faculty a rare opportunity: the chance to help build a curriculum, a research culture, and a set of programs from the ground up. The SLP will bring together faculty across leadership and public policy, whose research and teaching will regularly reach practitioners: elected officials, civil servants, and business and nonprofit leaders working to solve real problems. The SLP will be housed in the historic Farrah Hall, now undergoing a $40M renovation to create modern classrooms, offices, and labs.
About the University
The University of Alabama is located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, named one of Travel + Leisure's 25 Best College Towns and Cities in the U.S. As one of the nation's premier universities, UA offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in nearly 200 fields of study. With more than 1,400 acres of tree-lined academic core campus and over 300 state-of-the art facilities, UA has been ranked among the most beautiful and most impressive college campuses in the South, in the state of Alabama and in the nation.
In Fall 2023, the Capstone set a new enrollment record with more than 39,000 students, including more than 8,200 in the freshman class. The current enrollment includes students from every county in Alabama, every state in the nation and 92 countries around the world. More than 1,100 National Merit Scholars are currently enrolled, making UA one of the largest enrolling institutions of the scholars in the country.
UA was recently recognized as a Top Producing Institution of Fulbright U.S. students for the seventh time in nine years, as well as a Top Producing Institution of Fulbright U.S. Scholars for the first time. UA is one of only 12 universities in the nation to receive both honors.
For reasons like this, the University made Forbes list of America's Top Colleges for 2023 and Time magazine's list of Top 50 Best Colleges for Future Leaders. It also made Princeton Review's list of Top Value Colleges.
UA is also designated among the top doctoral research universities in the United States in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. One of the fastest growing major research institutions in the nation, UA saw a 21% increase in sponsored awards in the 2023 fiscal year.
Since 2015, UA has invested over $1.1 billion in the physical campus, adding more than 2.55 million gross square feet of space, over 150 new research-intensive faculty, signature research areas (e.g., "The Alabama Research Institutes"), and a growing number of partnerships with industry and with state and federal agencies.
The University employs nearly 2,100 faculty and over 4,500 staff, with 52 UA researchers included in the National Academy of Inventors. An additional 40 current faculty have received the NSF CAREER Award, the nation's most prestigious recognition of top performing young scientists in disciplines ranging from nanoscience and engineering to biological sciences.
Background Investigation and EEO Statement
Background Investigation Statement: Prior to hiring, the final candidate(s) must successfully pass a pre-employment background investigation and information obtained from social media and other internet sources. A prior conviction reported as a result of the background investigation DOES NOT automatically disqualify a candidate from consideration for this position. A candidate with a prior conviction or negative behavioral red flags will receive an individualized review of the prior conviction or negative behavioral red flags before a hiring decision is made.
Equal Employment Opportunity: The University of Alabama is an Equal Employment/Equal Educational Opportunity Institution. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment or volunteer status without regard to any legally protected basis and will not be discriminated against because of their protected status. Applicants and employees of this institution are protected under Federal law from discrimination on several bases. More information is available in the EEOC's Know Your Rights: Workplace (https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/22-088_EEOC_KnowYourRights6.12ScreenRdr.pdf) discrimination is illegal poster.
The University of Alabama affirms its longstanding commitment to institutional neutrality, free speech, and academic freedom.