Contract Professor Jobs in Tennessee (NOW HIRING)

Description
The College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences (CEHHS) at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) is seeking applicants for a tenure-track associate or full professor of digital health to join the Department of Nutrition and Public Health Sciences (NPHS) for a nine-month position beginning August 1, 2027. Digital health generally involves advanced information and communication technologies (e.g., online and mobile applications, wearable sensors, computing platforms, connectivity, software, and machine learning/AI) to assess, intervene upon, and optimize human health behaviors and clinical outcomes. The successful candidate will be a nationally recognized scholar in the field and will hold a Gary and Becki Blauser endowed professorship position that provides additional support for high-quality scholarship. We seek a preeminent scholar who will contribute to the advancement of the department's reputation in research and who will provide leadership in research and training in the area of digital health. Additionally, under the leadership of Dr. J. Graham Thomas, UTK is launching the Center for Applied Digital Health and Optimization Methods, which will enhance the university's national footprint in digital health and optimization methods. This position will help support interdisciplinary collaborations in digital health within the center, across the campus, and within the UT system.
Duties and responsibilities, with a focus in the area of digital health as appropriate, include:
• Sustaining a nationally recognized, high-impact research agenda demonstrated through multiple indicators, such as publications in top-tier peer-reviewed journals, acquisition of competitive external funding, invited grant reviewer for federal funding, invited presentations, and recognition by professional associations.
• Enhancing UTK's ability to be a leader in digital health research demonstrated by supporting digital health research within the UT system and collaborating with health-focused industry and community partners to engage in impactful research.
• Providing mentorship and research guidance for NPHS Ph.D. students, fostering their scholarly productivity and professional development.
• Mentoring junior faculty to support their scholarly productivity, external funding success, and professional advancement.
• Supporting graduate programs in NPHS through high-quality teaching, research-informed advising, and curriculum innovation.
• Engaging actively in professional associations at the local, state, regional, and national/international levels, including presenting research, holding leadership positions, and contributing to the advancement of the field.
• Providing meaningful service contributions to the department, college, university, and broader educational and professional communities.
• Collaborating with faculty, staff, and students to advance interdisciplinary research, program development, and collective scholarly initiatives.
• Demonstrating a strong commitment to the research, educational, and service missions of the university, college, and department.
Qualifications
Required qualifications include:
• Earned doctorate in psychology, public health, epidemiology, biostatistics, computer science, engineering, informatics, or a related discipline in the social, behavioral, or technical sciences.
• Evidence of teaching effectiveness in graduate-level programs, as demonstrated by course evaluations, teaching awards, course syllabi, or documented instructional innovations.
• Documented record of interdisciplinary collaboration, as demonstrated through co-authored publications, interdisciplinary projects, or service/leadership roles.
• Evidence of engagement, as demonstrated through partnerships with industry, health-focused community-partners, or other engaged partners.
Required qualifications for Associate Professors include:
• Meet the qualifications for appointment as an Associate Professor as defined in the University of Tennessee, Knoxville's Faculty Handbook and the NPHS bylaws (e.g., evidence of sustained contributions in research, teaching, and service).
• Established research agenda and record of scholarly productivity as demonstrated by peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, monographs, invited presentations, editorships, or leadership roles in professional associations.
• Evidence of success in securing external funding, such as serving as principal investigator (PI), co-PI, or in other senior personnel roles on funded grants/contracts, receiving fellowships, or contributing substantively to externally supported projects.
• Evidence of mentoring doctoral and/or postdoctoral students documented by co-authored publications and dissertation supervision or serving as a mentor on a postdoctoral fellowship or career development award.
Required qualifications for Full Professors include:
• Meet the qualifications for appointment as a Full Professor as defined in the University of Tennessee, Knoxville's Faculty Handbook and the NPHS bylaws (e.g., distinguished record of research, teaching, and service).
• Extensive record of scholarly productivity as demonstrated by a sustained pattern of peer-reviewed publications, books or edited volumes, invited keynote addresses, leadership roles in professional associations, and other indicators of national/international recognition.
• Extensive record of securing external funding, including documented experience serving as principal investigator (PI) or lead investigator on major federal, foundation, or state grants/contracts, with evidence of effective funded research project management.
• Documented record of mentoring doctoral and/or postdoctoral students and junior faculty toward successful scholarly careers, as evidenced by co-authored publications, dissertation supervision or serving as a mentor on a postdoctoral fellowship or career development award, external grant collaborations, and the professional placement/advancement of mentees.
Preferred qualifications include:
• Experience with distance learning and innovative teaching methodologies, including hybrid and online course design and delivery.
• Demonstrated ability to work collegially and collaboratively with faculty, staff, students, and community partners.
• Demonstrated record of leadership within their department or college, and through active leadership roles in professional associations at the regional, national, and international levels.
• Expertise in one or more technical aspects of digital health research (e.g., ecological momentary assessment, wearable sensors, machine learning/AI, electronic health record integration, geospatial tracking, virtual/augmented reality).
Application Instructions
Application Process
Interested applicants should submit:
1. A letter of interest outlining how the applicant meets the stated qualifications;
2. A current curriculum vita;
3. Up to three representative publications/writing samples; and
4. Contact information for three references.
These materials must be submitted electronically via the Interfolio portal.
General inquiries may be directed to Dr. Hollie Raynor, search committee chair, at hraynor@utk.edu.
Review of materials will begin on October 15, 2026, and will continue until the position is filled.
CEHHS is a multidisciplinary unit with 126 tenured/tenure-track faculty members housed in six departments. NPHS is a thriving department within CEHHS, currently with more than 18 full-time faculty, 237 graduate students, and 418 undergraduate students.
Located near the beautiful Great Smoky Mountains National Park, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) was founded in 1794 and is one of the oldest public universities in the country. UTK is a vibrant and diverse urban campus, located in the heart of Knoxville. It is the flagship campus for the UT system, a participating institution of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), and officially designated as a Research (Very High Research Activity) and Community Engagement University by the Carnegie Foundation. For more information about UTK, please visit: https://alumni.utk.edu/points-of-pride/#top.