Assistant Professor of Math & Computer Science

2024-2025 Advertisement for Tenure-Track Position in Computer Science

The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Davidson College invites applications for a tenure-track appointment in Computer Science at the rank of Assistant Professor, beginning July 1, 2025. Candidates must possess a Ph.D. in Computer Science or a closely related field by Fall 2025.

We seek candidates with a strong commitment to improving access to computer science for all students, enthusiasm for teaching all levels of undergraduate students, and a research program that can involve undergraduate researchers. The department welcomes applicants from all areas of computer science who can support and expand our curriculum, and enhance research opportunities for our majors.

Davidson is an undergraduate-only institution, boasting small class sizes and extensive student-faculty interaction, and is consistently ranked among the nation's top liberal arts colleges. Our computer science major comprises a small core of required courses and a set of electives in a wide range of topics. These electives are adaptable to faculty interests and expertise. Faculty teach four courses in their first year and five courses per year thereafter. The department works together to design course schedules, regularly finding opportunities to lighten faculty workload by assigning them the same course across different terms or multiple sections of the same course within a single semester. Many of our faculty members teach special topics or independent study courses that simultaneously support their research and help recruit summer research students. The department encourages faculty to develop and teach courses with an emphasis on social justice, including those that satisfy the College's Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.

The computer science program has seen rapid growth and diversification since the major was established in 2016. We graduate a higher proportion of women computer science majors than the national average and the proportion of majors from underrepresented backgrounds is on the rise. The department has initiated a social justice speaker series, sponsors students to attend the Richard Tapia Conference and the Grace Hopper Celebration, and supports affinity groups for underrepresented students.

Our faculty are active researchers; several of us are supported by external funding from sources like the NSF, the DOE, the National Humanities Center and the Ethereum Foundation. We collaborate with partners at R1 institutions and national research laboratories, and serve on international conference program committees. Students are active partners in these research activities and they publish, present, and receive awards at top-rated computer science research conferences. There is generous internal funding for student research, with additional opportunities through the Hurt Hub for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. We value faculty engagement with the professional and wider community.

Applications must be submitted online at https://employment.davidson.edu. Please include the following items:

* A curriculum vitae.

* A cover letter (1-2 pages) which addresses your professional interests and aspirations and how these align with the job description and the mission of our department and institution. In this letter, please also discuss your research interests and expertise, as well as the classes in our curriculum that you would feel comfortable or excited to teach and any new major courses that you could develop.

* A teaching statement (2-3 pages) that reflects on your teaching philosophy, aspirations and experiences, particularly in mentoring and supporting a diverse undergraduate student body including those historically marginalized in computer science. We are also interested in your approach to inclusive pedagogy: how you address barriers that prevent students from feeling welcome and accessing opportunities in computer science, and how your past experiences and training have informed this approach. We invite authentic expressions of your perspective, recognizing that applicants may have varying levels of experience and come from diverse educational backgrounds. While we welcome whatever you choose to share, we do not expect you to reveal any aspects of your identity or disclose personal hardships in your statement.

* A research statement (2-3 pages) that describes your previous work, current interests, and future plans in a manner that is accessible and engaging to a general computer science audience, and includes ideas for one or more potential undergraduate research projects. Please also describe how you would mentor and integrate undergraduate students, particularly those with no prior research experience and those from underrepresented groups in computer science, into your projects.

* Unofficial graduate transcripts.

* Contact information for three references. Reference letter submission instructions will be sent to email addresses provided by you. At least one reference letter must specifically and substantially address your interests and experience in teaching and mentoring.

Applications completed by Tuesday, October 8 will receive priority consideration, though the position will remain open until filled. In our initial selection of candidates, we will focus on your cover letter and teaching statement and evaluate your potential for, or experience with, effectively teaching a diverse range of students, and your potential to teach at all levels of the computer science curriculum at Davidson.