Description

We invite applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Physical Geography within the School of Integrated Sciences (SIS) and its thriving Geography program starting August 2026. SIS supports innovative and dynamic academic careers for 40 faculty rooted in our constituent undergraduate programs--Geography, Integrated Science and Technology (ISAT), and Intelligence Analysis--along with growing graduate programs. SIS is a vibrant, welcoming, and supportive culture embracing innovation, collaboration, and student engagement. We prioritize the integration of teaching and research through cross-disciplinary collaboration. Our leadership is characterized by transparency and fairness. For more information about our School and its programs, please visit: www.jmu.edu/cise/sis

This position focuses on the physical geography curricular needs of the Geography program within SIS. This is a compelling area for leadership in the discipline and our own school: We are an academic community that prioritizes imaginative, boundary-crossing geographical scholarship, often with a problem-centric focus. We integrate science, technology, and the human dimension into engagement with critical environmental challenges. 

Recognized with the national AAG Award for Bachelor Program Excellence, our Geography Program within SIS serves around 200 majors and 90 minors. Students value our core strengths across the discipline in physical, human, and nature-society geography along with geospatial technologies. Our well-resourced labs support faculty research, and students gaining expertise in physical geographical techniques as well as the latest geospatial tools. Geography faculty are committed to bringing diverse and externally supported work to the classroom and beyond. Current foci include urban climatology, land cover change, remote sensing, infrastructure geopolitics, humanitarian applications of geospatial technology, and more, with both global and local applications.

Duties and Responsibilities:

For this tenure-track position, our new faculty member will be able to teach our core Physical Geography course as well as offer upper-level courses in areas of expertise (especially those listed below), and potentially our General Education course on world regional geography. A typical teaching load is three courses per semester, and there are numerous opportunities for creativity in curricular development. We value a global perspective with local connections and encourage the development of regional and international field experiences.

 We are open to a range of physical geographical subfields for this position but are particularly interested in new colleagues with scholarly expertise in one or more of the following areas: biogeography, wildlife/biodiversity studies, landscape ecology, agriculture/food systems, climate science, applied/critical physical geography, water resources/hydrology, geomorphology, soils, and oceanography/coastal landforms and processes.

 As well as contributing to their primary programmatic home in Geography, our faculty participate in service activities to support the school, college, and university, and their professional community. We strongly support engaged learning, community engagement, and civic engagement.

 Qualifications:

Successful applicants will have completed a Ph.D. by the time of appointment. We will prioritize those with (or pursuing) a Ph.D. in Geography or closely related field with a broad background in physical geography.

 While research interests may focus on a wide variety of geographical sub-fields (see “Duties and Responsibilities”), ideal candidates should demonstrate experience connecting their work with others to collaboratively address complex multi-scale environmental problems.

 We are particularly interested in individuals who:

• have a commitment to excellence in undergraduate geography teaching and research
• demonstrate an ability to work as part of an interdisciplinary team
• have the interest in or ability to incorporate geospatial technology and / or field methods in teaching and student research

To learn more and to apply, go to jobs.jmu.edu and reference posting 20001521. Review of applications begins 10/27/2025. Salary is commensurate with experience.

 James Madison University is committed to creating and supporting a diverse and inclusive work and educational community that is free of all forms of discrimination. This institution does not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, parental status, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran status We promote access, inclusion and diversity for all students, faculty, staff, constituents and programs, believing that these qualities are foundational components of an outstanding education in keeping with our mission. The university is interested in candidates whose experience and qualifications support an ongoing commitment to this core quality. Anyone having questions concerning discrimination should contact the Office for Equal Opportunity: (540) 568-6991.