Assistant Professor and Literacy Director

School of Education

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

The School of Education within the College of Health, Education, and Professional Studies at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga invites applications for a 12-month Literacy Assistant Professor and Literacy Director. The position will start on August 1, 2024. The ideal candidate would have the following qualities:

Required Qualifications:

• Three or more years of experience as a K-12 education teacher
• A research agenda or the ability to establish a research agenda commiserate with UTC's expectations for tenure and promotion.
• Willingness to engage in a variety of instructional modalities, including online instruction.
• Capacity to successfully engage in college, university, community, and professional service activities, including collaborating with UTC and P-12 schools.
• Willingness to assist in reaching additional goals of UTC's Strategic Plan
• Fulfill expectations for teaching, advising, and supervision.
• Teach and develop courses consistent with the needs of the School of Education.
• Support programs and majors at both undergraduate and graduate levels.
• Fulfill expectations to the School of Education, College, University, and the profession (including, but not limited to, committee work, advising students, maintaining regular office hours, participating in departmental governance, and meaningful participation in department-sponsored educational events).
• Commitment to excellence in teaching, with an ability to model exemplary methods for working with diverse populations of literacy learners.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Earned doctorate in Literacy/Language Arts or Related Area. Literacy/Language Arts preferred.
• Knowledge of K-12 Literacy Standards and familiarity with instructional practices that best align with our K-12 partner districts and trends in literacy education.
• Experience in teaching and leadership in school, district, state department, and/or Higher Ed, emphasizing early childhood (P-5) and experience in middle and high school literacy or related areas.
• Expertise in literacy implementation, assessment, and intervention
• Evidence of participation and/or leadership in professional organizations
• Experience and willingness to provide leadership in specialty and literacy, including course and program development and maintaining/achieving national and state accreditation.
• Facilitate professional development with current literacy trends through the School of Education and Center of Excellence and Innovation in Education.
• Serve on advisory boards, Tennessee Department of Education, Tennessee Reading Research Center, etc.
• Establish outreach to all serving districts with their implementation, practice, and pedagogical work with literacy.

Responsibilities associated with this position may include (a) Teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in oral language, literacy, language arts, and linguistically/culturally diverse learners; (b) Continuing and further developing an active and dynamic research agenda within the broader field of literacy/language arts education; (c) Participating in committees and efforts related to building the School of Education in general and providing leadership in the continuing development of literacy education in the Teacher Education Program, (d) Collaborating with the UTC School of Education Center of Excellence and Innovation in Education in research and professional development endeavors, specifically; (d) Advising students; (e) Familiarity with literacy assessment and evaluation tools; (f) Experience in ESL instruction preferred but not required.

This is an ideal opportunity for an established scholar looking for a new opportunity in our growing department within UTC's School of Education. Additionally, Chattanooga offers a rich array of varied K-12 classroom settings that interest those seeking to form partnerships and conduct research within urban environments.

Our collegial and dynamic Teacher Education Program has 20 faculty, more than 145 graduate students, and over 600 undergraduates. Faculty research interests cover the breadth of the educational field, focusing on curriculum, instruction, technology, and leadership in teaching and teacher education. In our courses, we seek to model our Vision Statement: Faculty and staff in the College of Health, Education, and Professional Studies work collaboratively to connect high-quality student learning to a metropolitan university's unique research and service opportunities. The School of Education offers the Ed.S., M.S., and B.S. degrees and a variety of teaching certifications. Additional information regarding our programs can be found at the School of Education's website: http://www.utc.edu/school-education/

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is committed to attracting, developing, and keeping a diverse workforce that reflects the nature of our mission. Since increasing diversity is a strategic goal at UTC, we are particularly interested in receiving applications from members of underrepresented groups.

Application Procedures:

Applicants should prepare to submit the following information within our online application system for consideration:

• Cover letter/letter of interest addressing the qualifications listed above
• CV, including up-to-date personal contact information (email, phone, etc.)
• Unofficial transcripts
• Names, titles, and email addresses for three (3) references for confidential letters of recommendation to be requested.

Review of applicants will begin immediately. Applications must be submitted electronically through the UTC Faculty Career Job Site.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is the second-largest campus in the University of Tennessee System and serves a diverse student body of more than 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students through five academic colleges. Since its founding as Chattanooga University in 1886, UTC has established a reputation for excellence built on a unique blend of the private and public traditions of American higher education. Today, UTC brings a passion for excellence in all pursuits and is dedicated to making a difference in our community and in the lives of our students.

At UTC, we welcome and cultivate diverse perspectives and populations-whether shaped by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, intellectual diversity, political beliefs and other life experiences and ideologies-and embrace equity and inclusion.

UTC is a university distinguished by respect for the dignity, uniqueness, and value of every individual. We foster a campus community that is welcoming and inclusive of all. We value diversity in our workplace and learning environments, benefiting from the varied backgrounds and abilities of our campus community. The diversity of our voices and experiences is vital to our pursuit of excellence and fulfillment of our mission.

UTC is in the heart of Tennessee's fourth-largest city, located in the southeastern part of the state near the border with Georgia and at the junction of four interstate highways. Conveniently situated within just a two-hour drive from Atlanta, Nashville, Knoxville and Birmingham, Chattanooga offers the opportunity to live and learn in an exciting and enchanting environment. Dubbed the 'Scenic City,' and endowed with incredible vistas and popular area attractions, the city has been recognized nationally for its downtown renaissance and a revitalized riverfront that has become the blueprint for other cities to emulate. Chattanooga achieved the first gig internet capacity in the country, and today has the nation's fastest internet service with a 100% fiber network that links every residence and business in a 600-square mile area.

The city is home to companies such as Unum, McKee Foods, U.S. Xpress, Volkswagen, Coke United, and Amazon, and a number of tech startups attracted to its blazing fast internet and low cost-of-living. Thousands of visitors are drawn yearly to the Tennessee Aquarium, Lookout Mountain, Civil War battlefield sites, the Bessie Smith Cultural Center-Chattanooga African American Museum, Creative Discovery Museum for Children, Riverbend Festival, and the weekly Nightfall Summer Concert Series held in the heart of downtown. Chattanooga also has a long and rich history interwoven with the Civil Rights movement and Native American heritage. The Trail of Tears National Historic Route runs through the city and is on the traditional territory of Tsalaguwetiyi (Cherokee, East).

Whether it's Chattanooga's ideal geographical location with comfortable temperatures year-round to suit an active lifestyle, its cultural and culinary diversity, reasonable cost of living, world-class healthcare facilities, reputable educational institutions like UTC, or countless other reasons, it's no wonder more and more people are choosing to make Chattanooga their home.

The University of Tennessee Chattanooga is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA institution. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, or protected veteran status.