Assistant Professor - Kinesiology - Tenure Track

Faculty within the College of Health, Science, and Technology 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.

Examples of Duties

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.

Typical Qualifications

Education

Successful candidates will have a doctoral degree in exercise science, exercise physiology, or a related discipline from an accredited institution. While ABD candidates will be considered, completion of the doctoral degree is required by the start of the appointment.

Experience

The successful candidate will have demonstrated an ability to teach courses at the undergraduate and/or graduate levels. Preferred qualifications include the ability to teach (UG) Foundations of Exercise Physiology and Assessment and Evaluation of Fitness and Wellness; (Grad) Advanced Exercise Physiology and Clinical Exercise Physiology.

Supplemental Information

The Department of Nutrition, Kinesiology, and Health (NKH) at the University of Central Missouri (UCM) is seeking qualified candidates to fill a nine-month, tenure-track assistant professor position with a desired start date of January 2026. However, an August 2026 start will also be considered. NKH resides in the College of Health, Science, and Technology (CHST). Faculty within CHST at UCM support the university's mission of providing student-centered, quality education and are committed to students' success. This includes quality teaching, advising, collegiality, and communication. In addition, faculty provide service to their program, department, and university and 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. For this position, the expectation is teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in the discipline. Teaching assignments may include traditional, hybrid, and online environments. An active presence in person, on campus, is expected. Typical teaching loads are 12 hours per term. This position offers a competitive salary and benefits, commensurate with experience and qualifications.

UCM, located 35 miles southeast of the Kansas City Metropolitan area, is a public comprehensive university with more than 11,000 students. It provides a small-college learning environment coupled with large-university opportunities. The Department of NKH offers B.S degrees in Kinesiology and Health Studies and M.S. degrees in Kinesiology, Clinical Nutrition, and Athletic Training, as well as various minors. Information about NKH can be found here. Candidates should be able to express their commitment to UCM's institutional values of community, diversity, excellence, learning, opportunity, and service.