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Job Category:
Faculty
Employment Type:
Regular
Job Profile:
Assistant Professor
Job Summary:
The Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison invites outstanding social and behavioral scientists with strengths in quantitative methodology to apply for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in environmental communication as part of the Wisconsin RISE-EARTH (Environment: Adaptation, Resilience, Technology, and Humanity) initiative. We seek scholars who conduct theory-driven research on how communication influences public understanding, attitudes, decision-making, behavior, policy support, or collective action surrounding environmental challenges (e.g., adaptation, resilience, sustainability, and technological change).
This position is part of the Wisconsin Research, Innovation and Scholarly Excellence (RISE) Initiative. Through accelerated and strategic faculty hiring, research infrastructure enhancement, interdisciplinary collaboration, and increased student and educational opportunities, RISE addresses complex societal challenges of importance to the state, nation and world. Building on UW-Madison's strengths, RISE expands the University's successful track record of connecting with communities and industry on collaborative solutions.
Over the next three academic years, UW-Madison will substantially increase current hiring levels, bringing 150 new RISE faculty to campus. Candidates hired through RISE will join a community of scholars working across disciplines, schools and colleges on research, teaching and outreach endeavors. The community will engage regularly in venues such as seminar series and colloquia to share ongoing projects and identify opportunities to work together. The University will support the community, facilitating access to research infrastructure, and funding to support broad and rich collaboration. Further information regarding RISE can be found at: https://rise.wisc.edu/.
Research areas may include, but are not limited to: environmental and risk communication, conflict and negotiation surrounding environmental decisions, misinformation and polarization, social influence and behavior change, disaster preparedness and resilience, public engagement with science, or communication surrounding emerging technologies such as clean energy, artificial intelligence, and digital infrastructure. We welcome applications from scholars employing surveys, experiments, longitudinal designs, network analysis, computational social science, and other advanced quantitative methods.
The Department of Communication Arts offers one of the largest majors on campus with approximately 600 declared majors as well as two undergraduate certificate programs. The department is home to 50 faculty and staff and 70 graduate students. Our department is multidisciplinary and has a highly collaborative environment. We offer four graduate programs, all of which showcase our faculty's cutting-edge research in media and communication. One of these, the Communication Science program, seeks to understand processes of human interactions in various face-to-face and mediated contexts as they relate to the cognitive, social, and cultural functions of communication.
The scholar hired in this position would be expected to make rich contributions to Communication Science. In addition, Communication Arts is home to programs in Media & Cultural Studies, Film, and Rhetoric, Politics & Culture, each of which would offer opportunities for research and teaching collaboration. Together, we are committed to a shared vision of making a positive difference in the world through effective communication, currently pursuing the priorities laid out in our 2025-29 strategic plan.
In the College of Letters & Science, we provide a liberal arts education that is both broad and deep through excellent, empathic teaching. We hire faculty who are interested in pursuing difficult questions, making new discoveries, and making an impact in their field. We reward excellent teaching and classroom innovation, and we are committed to shared governance. Learn more about the L&S mission on our webpage: https://ls.wisc.edu/about/mission.
Madison is the state's capitol city and is well known for offering a small town feel in a medium sized city. It is a great place to raise a family and offers an ideal combination of natural beauty, stimulating cultural events, outstanding schools and outdoor recreation.
Key Job Responsibilities:
The successful candidate, as a member of the College of L&S, will proactively contribute to, support, and advance the college's commitment to excellence among all aspects of their teaching, mentoring, research, and service. The selected candidate will develop an innovative research program while contributing to undergraduate and graduate teaching in communication science, including courses related to environmental communication, quantitative methods, interpersonal communication, media effects, risk communication, or related areas.
The general teaching load is 4 courses per year, 2 in one semester and 2 in the other. The successful candidate will advance the educational mission of the College of Letters & Science that values, prioritizes, and actualizes evidence-based and student-centered teaching and mentoring. They will contribute to an environment that fosters engagement and a sense of belonging for faculty, staff, students, and members of the broader community.
Department:
The Department of Communication Arts
Compensation:
Negotiable - 9 months / ongoing / renewable
Required Qualifications:
Candidates should demonstrate evidence of creativity and excellence in teaching and scholarly research as well as the ability to make valuable contributions to the department, college, and RISE initiative. Application materials for this tenure-track position in Communication Arts should communicate capacity to conduct cutting-edge communication research, teach/mentor undergraduates and graduate students, and participate in department and university service. In addition, the successful candidate will demonstrate fostering or the ability to foster a teaching, learning, mentoring, departmental, and research environment where all can thrive.
Education:
PhD required in Communication or similar discipline by start of appointment.
How to Apply:
Apply online at "Jobs at UW" (http://jobs.wisc.edu) under Job Requisition JR10014221. Applications must be received through UW- Madison's online application system. Applications submitted outside of this system will not be considered. Click the "Apply Now" button to start the application process. Applicants should submit the following items:
1. a letter of application,
2. curriculum vitae,
3. a research statement
4. a teaching and mentoring statement with evidence of teaching effectiveness
5. up to 3 publications and/or dissertation chapter
Applicants who move forward in the process will receive an email requesting the names and contact information for three references; each reference will receive an electronic link through which they can upload a signed letter of reference.
For full consideration, all materials must be received no later than 11:59pm on Oct 1, 2026. Applications will be accepted until position is filled. Please note that applicants will be evaluated based upon submitted application materials and therefore should speak to and include evidence of their qualifications.
Application materials must clearly demonstrate the applicant's dedication to excellence in student-centered teaching and mentoring. Additionally, materials should showcase the applicant's ability to purposefully plan their teaching practices, evidenced through goals, action plans, reflection, and related documentation. This portion of the application materials must be created by the applicant and may include supporting letters. It cannot be only in the form of letters and testimony by others.
Contact Information:
For any questions, please contact the chair of the search committee, Professor Lyn van Swol (vanswol@wisc.edu).
Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.
Institutional Statement on Diversity:
Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.
To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.
Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment.
The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).
The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.