The Department of Mathematics welcomes applications for a regular appointment at the Assistant Professor level to begin on August 1, 2010. Applications received by November 20, 2009, will be extended fullest consideration. Selected applicants will be contacted by December 31 to arrange interviews at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Francisco. Soon afterwards, some candidates will be invited to the campus for a visit. The Department anticipates reaching decisions shortly following these visits.
About the College, the Department, and the Position
The College and the Department seek an individual with an understanding of and appreciation for Davidson's particular vision of educational excellence, that of a residential college committed to the liberal arts. Ideally, the college professor would be a widely respected scholar excited about learning and capable of communicating this excitement to others, a teacher deeply concerned with the welfare of students and eager to have them learn and grow, one who teaches imaginatively, both by books and by personal example, a demanding yet compassionate person who respects the moral worth of students and their potential for growth. While no one teacher is likely to realize all these attributes, the College continually seeks to recruit men and women who strive to do so to the greatest extent possible.
The place of excellence in teaching is paramount in a faculty member's evaluation at Davidson College, and in reviewing candidate applications, the Department seeks to identify those who demonstrate distinction in teaching, not simply competence. For evaluation and promotion once at Davidson College, information will be sought from the department chair, colleagues in the department and in other programs in which the candidate has been involved, and from students concerning the instructor's ability to communicate not only knowledge but also enthusiasm for the subject. Among the key components of successful teaching are well organized and stimulating lectures, skill in conducting discussions, the imagination to perceive student problems, and the ability to help students learn to think analytically and to speak and write clearly and logically.
Faculty may become involved in a range of curricular programs beyond the major offered by the Department, from interdisciplinary concentrations to first-year writing courses to the College's Humanities Program, and in the years to come, the College will be extending the coherence and reach of cross-departmental programs. For this reason, the College is particularly interested in candidates with interdisciplinary interests and would welcome information in the application materials regarding those interests.
In addition to seeking distinction in teaching, the College evaluates faculty on the basis of superior professional attainments in research, scholarship, and curriculum design, as well as substantive service to students, to the College, and to the community. While no precise weights valid for every case can be attached to each of these areas, excellence in teaching is a necessary condition for the eventual conferral of tenure. The College expects that the successful candidate for the current search will have completed a dissertation from which one or more research papers will be published, and also also seeks evidence that the candidate has the potential to continue a research program at Davidson.
The Department encourages the involvement of students in all of its activities. Students help organize our speaker series, assist in the development of mathematical software, embark on independent studies and research projects with department members, and work with faculty to publish expository and research articles. Some students remain in Davidson over the summer to work on mathematical questions, and students attend national and local conferences. Our majors represent between 3 and 5 percent of each graduating class, representing an average of 30 junior and senior majors a year, with 10 to 20 more students pursuing a minor; the opportunities for interaction between students and faculty are many.
The Department affirms the diverse ways in which faculty may contribute to the larger mathematical enterprise, and the ongoing contributions of the members of the Department provide varied examples of scholarship and service. The Department has enjoyed a strong connection to the Southeastern Section of the Mathematical Association of America and customarily attends its meetings. Faculty regularly publish in journals devoted to research, exposition, and teaching, as well as offer lectures or lead workshops on mathematical topics and curricular innovation. Members edit portions of MAA journals, assist with the Charlotte Mathematics Club, translate monographs, and author textbooks. The Department seeks an individual with independence and academic leadership who will complement its offerings locally and nationally.
For its part, the College makes a firm commitment to its faculty and their development. Faculty have at their disposal an annual travel fund which covers expenses for attendance at a conference or other professional meeting. While policies regarding specific amounts are subject to change, the level has been sufficient to cover nearly all expenses for one domestic conference or some expenses toward one international conference, with the contribution greater if the faculty member presents a paper. A regular replacement cycle is in place for computers and software. Faculty are eligible to apply for Faculty Study and Research grants to reimburse research expenses, including the employment of an undergraduate research assistant; these grants are awarded on a competitive basis. Teaching Improvement Grants also support work which can be disseminated to a large audience of faculty.
Assuming favorable contract renewals, the tenure review process normally takes place in the sixth year of the candidate's full-time teaching at Davidson. Credit of up to three years may be given for full-time teaching elsewhere at the instructor level or higher at a regionally accredited institution of higher learning. Faculty are eligible for sabbatical leaves every seven years, whereby the College provides 100% of compensation for a half-year sabbatical or 50% of compensation for a full-year sabbatical. The College also offers an assistant professor sabbatical, normally taken the year following a favorable fourth-year contract renewal.
Departmental Mission Statement
The Department of Mathematics educates students in pure mathematics, applied mathematics, and computer science, inspiring them to appreciate, understand, and engage these disciplines. The study of mathematics offers a unique and important way of interpreting the world around us, bringing accuracy and rigor to the quest for discovering patterns in observations both abstract and concrete. We nurture a mathematical point of view in all of our students: those embarking on a liberal education, those desiring skills for other endeavors, and those pursuing contemporary ideas in mathematics and computer science.
We intend for mathematics majors to acquire a broad and solid base in mathematics enabling both further study and application, and we aim to provide an outstanding undergraduate environment of courses and opportunities. We also offer a strong base in computer science and we promote connections among mathematics, computer science, and related disciplines.
The heart of our endeavor is excellence in teaching and learning. To that end, we value individual work with all students; we encourage the development of existing and new courses and seminars; and we promote participation in mathematical activities at local, regional, and national levels. Professional and community activity of faculty members is critical to support this mission, and we work to extend strengths in research, exposition, and professional leadership while maintaining a tradition of service to the College community and beyond.
The Department of Mathematics anticipates an opening for a regular appointment at the Assistant Professor level with an initial two-year appointment to begin August 1, 2010. Completion or imminent completion of the Ph.D. is required. Candidates must be committed to outstanding teaching and continuing scholarly activity. The teaching load is 5 semester courses per year. Please see the "Faculty Position" link at http://www.davidson.edu/math/.
Applicants should address their professional interests and aspirations pertaining to research and teaching within a cover letter and a professional statement. These documents, along with a curriculum vitae and (unofficial) graduate and undergraduate transcripts, must be submitted to https://jobs.davidson.edu/. A completed application also requires 3 letters of reference, of which at least one must specifically address the applicant's teaching. References may either submit letters online (submission instructions will be sent to email addresses the applicant provides) or mail them to Prof. Donna Molinek, Chair, Department of Mathematics, Davidson College, Box 7129, Davidson, NC 28035-7129. Applications received by November 20, 2009, will receive fullest consideration.
Davidson is a highly selective, nationally ranked four-year liberal arts college with a Presbyterian heritage. Davidson is strongly committed to achieving excellence and cultural diversity, and welcomes applications from women, members of minority groups, and others who would bring additional dimensions to the college's mission.
To apply for the position, open https://jobs.davidson.edu/. Choose Faculty and view the Assistant Professor of Mathematics position. When you proceed to begin the online application process, you will be prompted to create an account (username and password) on the server, and you will be asked to fill out a form. You need complete only the fields marked with an asterisk. In particular, you may skip the page "Create Faculty Form" where you would list educational institutions; we will get all of this information from your CV. If you elect to list email addresses for references, they will be contacted with online submission instructions; otherwise we will expect mailed letters. Mailed reference letters will be accepted in any case.
Finally, you will need to attach all of the required documents (pdf or Word format). You may suspend your application process with "Attach Additional Documents Later." Upon returning to the site, choose "Complete" to be able to update references and complete attachments. When you are ready for the official submission of your application and have attached all of the required documents, select "Finished" and then "Confirm," signifying that your portion of the application is complete and final. Please note that once your application is officially submitted, it may not be modified.
Within a week of your application, your status should change to "Awaiting Letters of Recommendation." You will be able to see which recommendation letters have been received. Once three letters are received, the status will return to "In Progress."
Questions about the online application system may be addressed to Michelle Gruslin at migruslin@davidson.edu.
Members of the Department will interview selected applicants at the national meeting in San Francisco in January. These candidates will be contacted before the meeting in order to coordinate times and locations for interviews. An interview contributes significantly to the Department's appraisal of a candidate's application, and the Department strongly encourages selected applicants to attend the national meeting.
Students, Admissions and Profile
Faculty Employee Benefits
The College, the Town, and the Region
Davidson is the northernmost town in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, which surrounds the City of Charlotte. Nearby towns include Cornelius (2 miles south), Huntersville (10 miles south), and Mooresville (10 miles north, across the border in Iredell County). The center of Charlotte is 22 miles south of Davidson.
In Mecklenburg County, all public schools are part of a unified school district offering a variety of excellent options including elementary schools in Davidson, Cornelius, and Huntersville, as well as a large number of specialized offerings in magnet programs. In Iredell County, there is a county system as well as a Mooresville City system. Cabarrus County schools are also nearby.
Suggestions and comments concerning this page should be directed to John Swallow, at joswallow@davidson.edu.
