Assistant Professor of Child and Family Studies – Tenure-Track

The CFS department offers three concentration areas: Child Development, Family Studies, and Nutrition and Food Studies. This position requires a doctoral degree in human development/family studies, family and consumer sciences, social work, or a related field. Applicants with ABD status are encouraged to apply if they can complete all doctoral degree requirements by the start of the tenure-track appointment. Evidence of teaching experience at the undergraduate level is essential. The successful candidate will teach six courses per academic year. They will be responsible for creating and teaching a proposed new core course on family systems, ecological, and human development theories that will serve as an introduction to the major each term. They will also share teaching CFS 207 (Family Relations) each year and elective courses such as CFS 245 (Community Resources for Families), CFS 350 (Family Law and Policy), and CFS 362 (Contemporary Family Issues). It is highly desirable that the candidate teach cross-content in Child Development as needed and contribute to the Learning and Inquiry program by offering courses in family systems and relationships applicable to students in all disciplines. Prior experience or interest in teaching service-learning, internships, or other high-impact learning practices are highly recommended. Successful candidates are expected to meet the College's four standards for tenure and promotion: (1) teaching excellence, (2) research and scholarship, (3) student advising and mentorship, and (4) service to the department, division, and Berea College, and as appropriate, the profession, the Berea community, the Appalachian Region, and beyond. The College's high- support educational model expects candidates to advise a diverse student body, including both traditional and non-traditional domestic students and international students. Following long-standing tradition and practice at Berea College, this position includes responsibility for supervising, mentoring, and developing students in the College's integrated Work College Program. This supports student learning, career readiness, and the program's learning goals and outcomes. The Work College Program provides a developmental framework that guides student learning while creating a structured mentorship opportunity, with role-specific training that equips faculty and staff mentors to support student development. Faculty and staff mentors play an essential part in helping students connect their work-learning-service experiences with broader academic, professional, and personal development. For faculty, this aligns with Berea's tenure and promotion criteria. The CFS Department maintains a well-established presence and reputation on campus. CFS ranks consistently among the top five academic programs and fosters an inclusive culture of mentoring diverse students. The major serves students in other programs including Nursing, Psychology, Sociology, and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. The appointment offers opportunities for cross-disciplinary engagement with undergraduates and colleagues across diverse disciplines. The successful candidate must demonstrate a willingness to appreciate, understand, contribute to, interact with, and teach within a diverse intellectual and cultural residential community grounded in the College's mission and the Great Commitments. Candidates should submit a cover letter, a current curriculum vitae, graduate transcripts, a teaching philosophy, a research/scholarship statement that includes a post-doctoral productivity timeline through tenure and contact information for three references to: https://tinyurl.com/35r3t4ux . Review of applications will begin October 19, 2026 and continue until the position is filled. Founded in 1855, Berea College is nationally recognized as the first coeducational and interracial college in the South. Berea has a longstanding commitment to interracial education and is one of the most racially diverse private liberal arts colleges in the United States. With an emphasis on service to Appalachia and beyond, Berea enrolls more than 1,500 students from 44 states and U.S. territories and more than 60 countries. Berea College admits students who are unable to afford tuition and provides every enrolled student with a fully funded degree that covers 100% of tuition, housing, food, supplies, and fees without loans, for all four years. Berea's students excel in the College's supportive yet demanding academic environment, and most are the first in their families to attend college. As one of only 10 federally recognized Work Colleges, all Berea students work 10-12 hours weekly in various positions across campus, building professional skills in a real-world learning environment. Washington Monthly ranked Berea College the #1 Best College for your Tuition and Tax Dollars, 2025. Berea also ranks #1 in educational access by The New York Times , 2023 and #1 for lowest educational debt by U.S. News and World Report , 2025 and 2026. Berea College is also the only institution in Kentucky to receive the 5-Star Rating from Money Magazine, 2026. Located where the Bluegrass Region meets the Cumberland Mountains, the town of Berea (pop. 17,000) lies 40 miles south of Lexington and is approximately two hours from Cincinnati, Louisville, and Knoxville. More information about Berea College is available at www.berea.edu .