Applicant Information for the Assistant Professor of Economics position at Davidson College
Basic Advertisement
Economics Department Mission Statement
About the College, the Department, and the Position
Online Application through jobs.davidson.edu
Other Information of Interest to Applicants
Contact Information
Basic Advertisement
The Department of Economics invites applications for a tenure-track appointment at the Assistant
Professor level beginning August 1, 2010. Candidates must be committed to outstanding teaching
and continuing scholarly activity. Davidson's teaching load is five courses per year. Candidates
should be prepared to teach intermediate macroeconomics and either statistics or econometrics.
We are especially interested in candidates willing to teach international trade.
Applicants should hold a Ph.D. in Economics or expect to complete the degree requirements by September 2010. Candidates must apply online at https://jobs.davidson.edu. A complete application will include a cover letter, curriculum vitae, three letters of recommendation, an unofficial graduate transcript, and a research sample.
Priority will be given to applications completed by December 1, 2009, but applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Initial interviews will be conducted at the Allied Social Science Associations meetings in Atlanta, January 3-5, 2010.
Davidson College is a highly selective, nationally ranked, residential, four-year liberal arts college. 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.
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Economics Department Mission Statement
The Department of Economics strives to teach the social science of economics within the framework of the liberal arts education offered by Davidson College. The entry-level course, Introductory Economics, supplies the foundation for a basic comprehension of individual, national, and international economic issues, both for students who will be taking more economics courses and those who will not be doing so. The major in economics provides the analytical insight for successful careers in the private and public sectors, as well as prepares students for graduate study, especially in economics, business, public policy, and law. The minor in economics offers a condensed study of the field to complement work in other disciplines.
The members of the department are committed to providing students with an excellent undergraduate education in economics. To this end, beyond their normal teaching activities, they advise students on course work and on professional careers and graduate study, engage in research and professional activity to enhance their scholarship and teaching, guide and work with students on research projects and seek outlets for that research, and participate in public lectures and forums on economic issues.
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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 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 Department is looking for candidates who will be able to teach our intermediate macroeconomics course (recent syllabi are linked here and here) and either our statistics course (recent syllabi are linked here and here) or basic econometrics course (recent syllabi are linked here and here). We are especially interested in candidates who are interested in teaching international economics courses, such as a survey of international economics course and an international trade course.
Faculty may become involved in a range of curricular programs currently offered by the College including interdisciplinary concentrations, student-designed interdisciplinary majors through the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, first-year writing courses, and the Humanities Program. And, as a result of the Strategic Plan, 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.
Assuming favorable renewals during the second and fourth years of full-time teaching at Davidson, the tenure review process normally takes place in the sixth year. 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.
Excellence in teaching is paramount in a faculty member's evaluation at Davidson College. 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 to write clearly and logically. Another important element of successful teaching is the successful integration of professional activity into the students' learning, whether it is by bringing such work into the classroom, mentoring student research opportunities, or having students serve as research assistants or co-authors.
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. As noted earlier, two important elements of professional activity are that it helps the Economics faculty to be better teachers and it can engage our students in the study of economics in a very constructive way so activity that improves one's teaching and engages students is valuable. Of course, professional publication is one measure of scholarly activity, so publication from the dissertation and from new research direction are expected. Other means of professional activity are also valuable at Davidson -- such as presentations at conferences and workshops, working with professional organizations, and economics-related public service, especially to the extent that they ultimately enrich the students' experiences.
With respect to service to students, to the College, and the community, a breadth of possible directions are open. Within the Economics Department, some colleagues have focused on active service on College committees, some have worked extensively with student organizations, and others have been engaged with the outside community. The range of possibilities isn't meant to imply that every faculty member has to do some of everything, rather that the person can best match talents with opportunities.
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 has been traditionally 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. The Economics Department has some additional funding available at the discretion of the Department Chair to support professional activities that actively engage students in roles as co-authors or authors. Further, all 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.
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Online Application through jobs.davidson.edu:
To apply for the position, go online to https://jobs.davidson.edu/. Choose "Faculty" and view the "Assistant Professor of Economics" position. A complete application will include:
- cover letter
- curriculum vitae
- three letters of recommendation
- unofficial transcript
- research sample
If you have difficulties uploading any of those materials to the web site or questions about technical issues, please contact Michelle Gruslin (Assistant Director of Human Resources).
If a letter of reference must be emailed or mailed rather than uploaded by the applicant then please send it to Michelle Gruslin:
Michelle Gruslin
Human Resources Department
Davidson College
Box 7163
Davidson, NC 28035-7163
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Other Information of Interest to Applicants
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 (7 miles south), and Mooresville (6 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.
There are several colleges and universities within a one-hour drive of Davidson College. The following (potentially incomplete) list is somewhat geographic in nature, beginning to the north and moving clockwise.
There are also several nearby colleges that are part of the North Carolina Community College system, usually one per county, including the ones listed below.
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Contact Information
Questions about the search process should be directed to Professor David Martin, the Chair of the Economics Department, at damartin@davidson.edu. Mrs. Anne-Marie Craig (ancraig@davidson.edu), the Economics Department Assistant, will be handling much of the logistics for the search.
Department of Economics, Davidson College
PO Box 7123
Davidson, NC 28035-7123
www.davidson.edu/economics/
Acknowledgements
Thank you very much to Richard Neidinger and John Swallow of the Davidson College Mathematics Department who developed the initial and second iterations of this web page.
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