Urban Child Institute Endowed Professorship in Child Health and Well-Being-Social Work-Fall 2027

Description: The University of Tennessee, Knoxville College of Social Work(UTCSW) is seeking a highly regarded scholar to fill the positionofUrban Child Institute Endowed Professorship in Child Healthand Well-Beingon our Nashville campus. The successfulcandidatewill also be the founding directorof anew center, focusing on research, education, and engagement aroundtopics related to child and family well-being. This positionprovides a unique opportunity for a visionary leader to help usshape the mission and vision of the center and provide leadershipand oversight to the center activities. This endowed professorship offers an outstanding opportunity for anexperienced researcher to pursue their program of research in childhealth and well-being. Topic areas around child health andwellbeing are open, though scholars with expertise in earlychildhood are especially welcome. Research programs founded withinthe social determinants of health framework along with interventionmodels to promote health and well-being with children and familieswill find significant potential for collaboration with creativecolleagues and doctoral students. The ideal candidate will bring aninterprofessional lens to community-engaged research and education; a strong record of scholarly activity; experience as a mentor tograduate students, and/or post-docs and pre-tenure faculty; andhave the ability to promote an atmosphere where all members of theuniversity community feel welcome and can thrive. They also willmeet the requirements for the appropriate rank for the Universityof Tennessee. To this end, the candidate should have an establishedrecord of substantial extramural funding (for professor level) orintramural and some extramural funding and indication of futurepotential for a sustained record of extramural funding (forassociate level). As an endowed professor, the candidate must commit to acollaborative partnership with the Urban Child Instituteand to nurturing existing and building new collaborations withcommunity and research agencies in Shelby County, TN and thesurrounding area. The successful candidate will help the UTCSW moveforward our mission. Candidates for this position must have earned their Ph.D. in socialwork or related field. Successful candidates would need to meet thequalifications to be hired as Associate or Professor. This 9-monthposition will be located on the Nashville campus. Start date willbe August 1, 2027. The University and the College of Social WorkThe University of Tennessee Knoxville is a land-grant, flagship researchinstitution, that imagines “a world enriched by our ideas, improved through action, and inspired by the Volunteer Spirit ofservice and leadership.” ( https://chancellor.utk.edu/vision/). The university is in the midst of unprecedented growth, withcurrent enrollment of approximately 37,000 students. The Universityis one of 38 land-grant universities with Carnegie Foundationclassification as both a Research 1: Very High Spending andDoctorate Production, and the elective Classification for CommunityEngagement. Forbes Magazine recently ranked UTK as one of the bestplaces to work in the US, including ranking it ninth among publichigher education institutions in the United States. UTK offers acompetitive benefits package, and 9-month tenure-track faculty areeligible for additional summer salary. The University of Tennessee Knoxville College of Social Work(UTCSW) has almost 1,000 students enrolled in undergraduate, MSSW, DSW, and PhD programs in Knoxville, Nashville, and online. Ranked24th nationally by the US News and World Report (2024), the college prepares highly skilled and culturally sensitive socialworkers to address areas of need across the state, the country, andthe globe. UTCSW is home to four research centers and several individual faculty research labs. The college’s research-active faculty conduct interdisciplinaryresearch in in partnership with faculty from other UTKcolleges/departments (e.g., the Tickle College of Engineering, the College of Nursing, and Departments of Public Health, Child andFamily Studies, Kinesiology, Nutrition, and Psychology, amongothers), the UT Health ScienceCenter in Memphis, and UT Extension. UTCSW also hascommunity-based partnerships with numerous state and communityagencies. Campus LocationNashville is an action-packed and vibrant metropolis with so muchmore to offer than its famous Country Music Hall of Fame and GrandOle Opry. As the state capital, Nashville is home to stategovernment, multiple statewide child-serving nonprofit agencies, and 16 colleges and universities, including Vanderbilt Universityand several HBCUs with whom our college regularly partners. It iscurrently listed as #50 on the U.S. News and World report’s bestPlaces to Live (2024) and offers events such as the CMA Festival, the Nashville Film Festival Live on the Green, Tomato Art Fest, and the Nashville Pride Festival. Outside of Nashville’s busydowntown Broadway scene, there are lots of unique neighborhoodsfilled with fantastic ethnic food options and cultural events, withunlimited opportunities to explore gorgeous parks and greenways, both inside and outside the city limits. Nashville is a shortdistance away from national parks that are great for camping andhiking.