"Assistant Professor of History"

Job Description

Working Title: Assistant Professor of History

Position Type: Instructional / Teaching Faculty

Position Status: Full-Time

FLSA Status: Exempt: Not Eligible for Overtime

College/Division: College of Arts and Letters

Department: History Department

Pay Rate: Commensurate with Experience

Beginning Review Date: 11/10/2025

About JMU

Mission: We are a community committed to preparing students to be educated and enlightened citizens who lead productive and meaningful lives.

Vision: To be the national model for the engaged university: engaged with ideas and the world.

Who We Are: Situated in the heart of Virginia's beautiful Shenandoah Valley, the city of Harrisonburg is a vibrant community with a population of approximately 52,000. Harrisonburg is conveniently located approximately 120 miles from Washington, D.C. and Richmond, VA.

JMU is a selective, public institution with a growing national reputation for offering experiences that lead to an outstanding education and supportive environment for students, faculty and staff. The student body includes approximately 21,000 undergraduate and 1,800 graduate students, with over 1,000 full-time instructional faculty.

JMU offers thriving programs in the liberal arts, science and technology, and professional disciplines at the undergraduate, master's and doctoral levels. JMU has achieved national recognition for the high quality of its academic programs, focus on maintaining strong student/faculty interaction, and innovative faculty research.

General Information

The Department of History at James Madison University invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor specializing in United States history since 1950. The position will begin in August 2026.

The College of Arts and Letters in which the Department of History is located, enrolls over 3,100 undergraduate majors and about 150 graduate students across ten academic units in the humanities, social sciences, and communication studies. Home to several interdisciplinary centers and institutes, the College employs 270 full-time faculty. We embrace the teacher-scholar model and encourage excellent applicants within our particular disciplines, as well as scholars and teachers eager to work across them.

Duties and Responsibilities

The successful candidate will teach the U.S. History survey in the General Education program and upper-level undergraduate and MA courses that add to the department's current offerings and may also participate in the college's interdisciplinary minors.

Preferred and Required Qualifications

Qualifications: PhD in History must be in hand within six months of the start date. Candidates must demonstrate their experience with and potential for excellence in teaching, research, and service.

Application Details

Applicants will complete a faculty application and submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, an article-length sample of scholarly writing (as Other Document #1), evidence of teaching effectiveness (as Other Document #2), and three references. The cover letter should include a discussion of the candidate's research interests, teaching experience and philosophy, and contributions or potential contributions to the classroom, program, and university. Evidence of teaching effectiveness may include course syllabi, assignments, and summaries of course evaluations, if available.

For more information regarding the position, contact the search chair, Dr. Andrew Witmer, witmerad@jmu.edu.

JMU's Dual Career and Community Resources Program is available for candidates that will be relocating to the area. For more information, please visit https://bit.ly/2OTF1NG.

Conditions of Employment: Employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a criminal background check.

E-Verify Notice: After accepting employment, new hires are required to complete an I-9 form and present documentation of their identity and eligibility to work in the United States. James Madison University uses the E-Verify system to confirm identity and work authorization.

To apply, please visit: https://jobs.jmu.edu/jobs/assistant-professor-of-history-harrisonburg-virginia-united-states