"Assistant Professor - Early Childhood & Elementary Education - Tenure Track"

Assistant Professor - Early Childhood & Elementary Education - Tenure Track

Company: University of Central Missouri

Job Location: Warrensburg, 64093

Category: Teacher Education - Early Childhood

Type: Full-Time

Salary: Depends on Qualifications

Location: UCMO - Warrensburg, MO

Job Type: Faculty Full Time

Job Number: 998278

Division: Elementary Education

Description

Faculty within the College of Education at University of Central Missouri support the university's mission of providing student-centered, quality education and are committed to the success of students. This includes quality teaching, advising, collegiality and communication. In addition, faculty provide service to their program, department and university, engage in research, scholarship, and professional development activities. During contractual employment, faculty members are expected to be available to assist, engage, and respond to students, colleagues, departmental, college, and institutional needs.

Teaching - The primary responsibility of the faculty is quality teaching in their respective content areas, regardless of delivery format. This entails adequate preparation for courses, effective course design and instruction, and fair and timely evaluation/feedback of student progress. To ensure quality teaching, faculty must be committed to the success of students as well as ongoing assessment of curriculum and of student learning.

• Keep current in your discipline.
• Organize courses to facilitate quality student engagement and high impact practices.
• Assist department/school chairs with scheduling of classes that meet the needs of students.
• Comply with departmental, college, and university standards concerning the academic quality and integrity of their classes.
• Keep current in their use of technology by attending university training sessions and other professional development opportunities.
• Be available to meet students outside the classroom by being available before or after classes by scheduling office hours both in a physical and electronic format to include in person and virtual office hours.
• Assist with department and college assessment and be proactive with modifications to curriculum based on assessment feedback.

Scholarship/Professional Development - The strength of a university rests on the knowledge and skills of its faculty. Faculty must stay current in their field of expertise/teaching area.

• Authoring academic writings.
• Presentation of work at local/state/regional/national conferences.
• Active membership and/or office holding in professional organizations at the local/state/regional/national level.

Service - An expectation of a professional faculty member is to serve the department, college, and university community.

• Attending department/college/university meetings
• Engaging in committee work that will advance the department/college/institution.
• Assisting with student recruitment.
• Participating in graduation and convocation ceremonies.

Advising - A primary responsibility of faculty is the proper, timely, competent and professional advising of students.

• Be knowledgeable of the requirements of their degree programs as stated in the appropriate catalog(s).
• Meet/advise students on academic and non-academic matters (e.g. curriculum mapping, internships, graduate/professional school options and career preparation).
• Provide leadership and promote excellence in student organizations.

Communication - Faculty should communicate effectively and in a timely manner with students and colleagues at all levels of the institution. This implies an understanding of the communication hierarchy within departments, colleges, and administrative levels. Timely communication with students supports other faculty responsibilities (teaching, advising).

• Cultivate a collegial atmosphere when interacting with other faculty/staff within their own department, the college and the university.
• Be responsive and timely. Respond to student phone calls and email messages within university guidelines.

Examples of Duties

Applicants should be qualified to teach undergraduate and graduate courses in face-to-face, online, and hybrid formats in early childhood and elementary education, including innovative and clinically based general methods courses implemented at partner public school sites adhering to an educational clinical model.

Typical Qualifications

Education:
An earned doctorate in early childhood education/elementary education is expected, will consider ABD status with completion within one year.

Experience:
* Minimum of 5 years of public-school teaching experience required a strong experiential background in early childhood and elementary teaching.
* An ability to work closely, productively and harmoniously with public schools includes clinical sites.
* Successful candidates should demonstrate an ability to advance the department's commitment to diversity.
* Possess excellent collaborative skills, while having a strong knowledge base in research-based instructional strategies, and show competence in instructional technology and model excellent oral and written communication skills.
* The ideal candidate will bring a strong combination of content expertise, pedagogical knowledge and professional dispositions.3 years of experience teaching in an elementary (K-5) classroom, with a minimum of 3 years' experience working with preservice or in-service elementary teachers through professional development, instructional coaching, curriculum development, or other teacher-learning contexts.
* Demonstrated record of scholarly activity, with evidence of ongoing research potential.
* Experience in preparing for elementary teachers at the undergraduate and/or graduate level.

Preferred:
* Record of sustained scholarship with evidence of securing internal and/or external funding.
* Strong methodological expertise to support a robust research agenda.
* Three or more years of experience preparing elementary teachers, commensurate with the assistant professor rank.

Supplemental Information

The Department of Early, Elementary, Middle, and Physical Education (EEMP) at the University of Central Missouri (UCM) is seeking qualified candidates to fill a nine-month, tenure-track assistant professor position with a start date of August 2026

Candidates must complete the online faculty profile (998278 ) by going to https://www.schooljobs.com/careers/ucmo. Candidates will attach a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and copies of transcripts showing all degrees completed to their online application. Later in the process, candidates should be prepared to submit three letters of recommendation.

Review of completed applications will begin January 1, 2026, and will continue until filled.

UCM requires that all faculty applicants for this position complete the online faculty profile and submit to the appropriate position for consideration at https://www.schooljobs.com/careers/ucmo. All documents requested for this position must also be attached to the faculty profile at the time of application. Only completed faculty profiles with attached documents will be accepted for this position.

Direct inquiries regarding this position to: Ken Bias at bias@ucmo.edu.

For information about the online application process, contact Human Resources at jobs@ucmo.edu or (660) 543-4255 and note position #998278 in the request.

Special Instructions:

• Full-time staff & 12-month faculty benefits-eligible position: Benefits include competitive salary; health, dental, vision, life insurance, AD & D, long-term disability; 3 weeks paid vacation per year; 3 weeks of accrued sick leave per year; 13 paid holidays; retirement; and generous education assistance for an employee, spouse and dependent children taking classes at UCM.
• 9-month faculty benefits-eligible position: Benefits include competitive salary; health, dental, vision, life insurance, AD & D, long-term disability; 3 weeks of accrued sick leave per year; 13 paid holidays; retirement; and generous education assistance for an employee, spouse and dependent children taking classes at UCM.
• Part-time benefits-eligible positions: Benefits include generous education assistance for the employee.
• Temporary, adjunct, student employment, or graduate assistant positions: Benefits are not included.

Completed UCM online application for employment required. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

A review will begin immediately and continue until filled unless indicated otherwise.

NOTE: A background check is required for the selected candidate of all staff, faculty, adjunct, and temporary positions and any job offer is contingent on the results of this check. Student employees and graduate assistants do not require a background check to be conducted prior to employment.

The University of Central Missouri is an Equal Opportunity Employer.