Assistant/Associate Professor Tenure-Track, Public Health

The College of Education Health and Human Sciences (CEHHS) seeks applications for an Assistant or Associate Professor position in the Department of Public Health to be part of a cluster hire that will strengthen our ability to address health inequities particularly those experienced by our local communities. Faculty hired as part of this cluster will work closely with Cherokee Health Systems (CHS; ) a nationally known federally qualified health center that is based in East Tennessee and participates as a Healthcare Provider Organization program partner in the NIHAll of UsResearch Program (). UTK has recently established an organizational memorandum of understanding with CHS and this cluster hire will assist in establishing collaborative research and academic programming between the two institutions. The candidate will collaborate with two additional recently hired faculty within the cluster with one based in the Department of Nutrition and the other based in the Department of Kinesiology Recreation and Sports Studies to create a team within CEHHS whose work will target health inequities through a multi-level approach.

We seek an established scholar whose work targets the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases particularly in populations who are low-resourced. The candidate should have familiarity with multi-level interventions apply health-relevant theoretical frameworks in research have strong quantitative or mixed methods research skills be experienced with working with populations that are low-resourced and have experience with interdisciplinary collaboration. The successful candidate will: (a) lead research programming that complements cluster departmental CEHHS and CHS research initiatives; (b) participate in related collaborative research programs; (c) provide teaching in the Department of Public Healths educational programs; and (d) mentor MPH/PhD students.

This 9-month fulltime (1.0 FTE) position begins August 1 2026. Starting salary is commensurate with experience. UTK has a competitive benefits package and 9-month tenure-track faculty are eligible for summer salary. UTK is Tennessees flagship land grant university and is currently in the midst of unprecedented growth in enrollment with over 38000 enrolled students. The University is also a Carnegie Foundation Research (R1) University with highest research activity and has achieved a Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement. Forbes Magazine ranked UTK as one of the best places to work in the US several years in a row including a ranking of ninth among public higher education institutions in the United States.

The Knoxville campus of the University of Tennessee is seeking candidates who can contribute in meaningful ways to the diversity and intercultural goals of the University. Candidates must have earned their doctorate in public health a related social or behavioral science field or have a doctorate in another field with a history of research or work experience with direct application to public health.

Candidates for the Assistant Professor rank should:

have a doctorate degree OR be in the final stages of their doctoral studies and anticipate degree completion before the commencement of employment.

demonstrate a clear research trajectory as evidenced by scholarly publications or work toward publications.

have high potential of successful extramural funding.

Candidates for the Associate Professor rank should:

demonstrate an established research agenda and record of scholarly activity.

have experience with successfully acquiring extramural funding.

The successful candidate must meet the qualifications for being an assistant or associate professor within the department. Candidates will have a research focus in one or more of the following areas: health services research (outpatient health delivery and patient support health systems planning electronic health records/patient portals) chronic disease prevention behavioral health/medicine and/or dissemination and implementation science. Candidate must have demonstrated experience in productive interdisciplinary collaborations with nutrition and physical activity researchers and interest in community engaged work.