The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Bates College seeks to fill two Assistant Professor positions (tenure-track), one with expertise in biochemistry and one with expertise in organic chemistry, both to begin fall 2024. We welcome applications from individuals who are broadly trained Ph.D. scientists from chemistry, biochemistry, chemical biology, medicinal chemistry, or related fields.

The duties of these positions include the three main areas of faculty work: teaching, professional achievement, and governance and engagement. Bates faculty teach five courses per year (laboratory sections count as 0.5 courses). Responsibilities for the biochemistry position include teaching lectures and labs for general chemistry, advanced biochemistry, upper level biochemistry electives,  and possibly organic chemistry. Responsibilities for the organic chemistry position include teaching lectures and labs for organic chemistry and upper level chemistry electives. We welcome applications from individuals for either position who have the potential to contribute to Bates College's interdisciplinary program in neuroscience. Both positions will contribute to the general education curriculum, academic advising, and advising biochemistry and chemistry theses. The new faculty members will join ongoing cross-STEM initiatives in inclusive pedagogy, equity and inclusion, and curricular renovation. Each successful candidate will be expected to develop a signature and independent research program in experimental or computational chemistry, biochemistry, or chemical education, and also to take part in our system of shared governance.

About Bates

Bates College is a residential liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Details about the college and its community can be found here. Lewiston is a diverse and growing city in Maine, two and a half hours north of Boston and 45 minutes from a burgeoning Portland technology start-up scene that includes the Roux Institute.

Bates supports new faculty with a course reduction in the first year of teaching, formal mentoring, and new-faculty development programming. Bates provides tenure-track faculty with a paid pre-tenure leave and support for post-tenure sabbaticals. Faculty scholarship is supported by start-up packages, the new Bonney Science Center, internal grants, and a robust external grants office. Faculty research is routinely supported by the NSF, NIH, and other external funding sources.

Bates is committed to supporting educational access for all. Educational access and justice are central to Bates’ history and mission. That work is supported in a variety of ways, including an HHMI Inclusive Excellence grant to support transforming how we teach STEM, a SHULER Education Foundation Grant to support financial aid for Pell-eligible students, low income, and undocumented students, and a Mellon Foundation Curricular Transformation Grant. Teaching is supported by a new Center for Inclusive Teaching and Learning. Community-engaged learning and study abroad are encouraged and robustly supported. Read more about our faculty’s commitment to equity and inclusion here.

Qualifications
A Ph.D. is required by August 1, 2024. Applicants should have completed applicable graduate-level  coursework and/or developed equivalent expertise to teach appropriate courses. The biochemist will  be familiar with the molecular details of energy and its transformation in biological systems, structure/function relationships of macromolecules, kinetics and mechanisms of enzyme catalyzed reactions, and information flow and storage in living systems. The organic chemist will be comfortable teaching foundational and advanced concepts in any area related to organic chemistry.  Post-doctoral or other additional relevant research experience is preferred.

Application Instructions
Review of applications will begin on October 1, 2023. Applicants should submit a cover letter indicating which position(s) they are most suited for, curriculum vitae, teaching statement, research plan, and copy of their graduate transcript. We ask candidates to comment on their skills and experience supporting a diverse student body and contributing to campus efforts in equity and inclusion in a separate, additional document, or integrated into the teaching and research statements. We strongly encourage applications from individuals in underrepresented groups, individuals who have followed non-traditional pathways to higher education due to societal, economic, or academic disadvantages, and individuals with a demonstrated capacity to advance the college’s continuing commitments to equity and inclusion. Applicants with expertise that would allow them to contribute to our Neuroscience program should indicate this in their cover letter. Information about the application and search process is available on our Chemistry-Biochemistry webpage. The search committee will request letters of recommendation from three referees for short-listed candidates. Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a background check.