Faculty Position in Neuroethology at Wake Forest University

The Wake Forest University Department of Biology invites applications for a tenure-track position in neuroethology. Our focus is on hiring at the assistant professor level, but highly qualified individuals with faculty experience may request consideration at the level of associate professor or an accelerated path to tenure. We are seeking candidates who study natural behavior in animals using any combination of classical and/or modern networking, neural, molecular, and/or genomic techniques. Preference will be given to candidates taking comparative and/or evolutionary approaches.

Recruited faculty will join a collaborative community of teacher-scholars. Information about research being conducted in the Department can be found at biology.wfu.edu. Faculty will teach in the undergraduate core curriculum and will develop a specialized course suitable for advanced undergraduates and/or graduate students. Teaching loads are consistent with high research expectations.  We seek teacher-scholars with a strong commitment to developing externally funded research programs and to engaging students in the classroom and through research mentorship at the undergraduate, M.S., and Ph.D. levels.

Wake Forest Biology is a welcoming community committed to fostering diversity and achieving inclusive excellence in teaching and research. We seek colleagues who will share in our commitment. In pursuit of this, we strongly encourage applications from individuals from traditionally underrepresented and historically marginalized populations.

For more information about the department, visit biology.wfu.edu.  For more information about the position, contact Dr. Wayne Silver (neuroethologysearch@wfu.edu): To apply, go to hr.wfu.edu/careers and select Faculty Openings.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled, but materials should be submitted by the start of application review on October 15, 2021 for full consideration. Applications should include (i) a cover letter addressing motivation to join our teacher-scholar community (limit 1 page), (ii) a curriculum vitae (no page limit), (iii) a statement of research interests (limit 3-4 pages), (iv) a statement of graduate and undergraduate teaching philosophy (limit 2 pages), and (v) a statement of how the individual will contribute to providing or fostering diversity and inclusion through teaching, research, and/or mentorship (limit 2 pages). We welcome research statements that demonstrate integrative and collaborative approaches to science that would complement ongoing research within our scientifically diverse department. All documents should be compiled as a single PDF file and submitted via hr.wfu.edu/careers. Selected applicants will be asked to provide three letters of recommendation.

Additional Job Description

Wake Forest University welcomes and encourages diversity and inclusivity and seeks applicants with demonstrated success in working with diverse populations. As an AA/EO employer, Wake Forest seeks to recruit and retain a diverse workforce to maintain the excellence of the University and to offer students richly varied disciplines, perspectives, and ways of knowing and learning.

In order to provide a safe and productive learning and living community, Wake Forest University conducts background investigations for final candidates upon their acceptance of an offer of employment.

Founded in 1834, Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private university located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that combines a small (approximately 5,300 undergraduates) liberal arts collegiate university with 3,200 graduate students in schools of arts and science, medicine, law, business, and divinity.  The Department of Biology awards both MS and PhD degrees.  The quality of the undergraduate and graduate teaching environments is outstanding, and our faculty combine commitment to that mission with nationally and internationally recognized leadership in research. The Biology Department spans both WFU campuses (Reynolda Campus and Wake Downtown), and offers many shared facilities in support of research, including a fully staffed, state-of-the art microscopy facility.

Wake Forest ranks in the top 30 of all U.S. universities in U.S. News & World Report’s Guide to America’s Best Colleges and Universities and the top 10 of undergraduate Biology majors by College Factual.  We offer undergraduate degrees in Biology (BA and BS), a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology degree through a partnership with Chemistry, and a BA degree in Environmental Science. A major in Neuroscience is in development. Opportunities exist for collaboration with researchers from the Biology and other departments, including Mathematics & Statistics, Computer Science, Chemistry, Physics and Engineering. The University has a deep institutional commitment to public service and engagement with the world, as indicated by the motto “Pro Humanitate.”  For more information about the University, go to www.wfu.edu/visitors/quickfacts.html.

Winston-Salem is part of the beautiful Piedmont Triad metropolitan region of North Carolina, which has a population of more than 1.5 million and is listed among the 35 best places to live in North America by Cities Ranked and Rated.  Known as the “City of Arts and Innovation,” Winston-Salem offers a vast array of arts experiences ranging from music venues to galleries to theatre and film festivals and active biomedical and environmental research communities.  The city is ranked among the top 50 US cities for affordability on national surveys.  Winston-Salem is 70 minutes from the Blue Ridge of the Appalachian Mountains, 4 hours from the Atlantic Ocean, and offers excellent opportunities for developing a local research program.  Other prominent universities are approximately 90 minutes away in the Research Triangle area.

Wake Forest University requires proof of full vaccination with an FDA approved or authorized COVID-19 vaccine for all positions posted on or after September 13, 2021.  Wake Forest University requires that you provide satisfactory proof of full vaccination status to Human Resources within three days of your hire date. You must also maintain full COVID-19 vaccination status, as classified by the CDC, during your employment at Wake Forest University.

Consistent with federal, state and local law, Wake Forest University will consider accommodations for disability- and religious-based reasons unless providing an accommodation would result in an undue hardship to the University.  

If you seek an accommodation from the vaccination requirement for disability- or religious-based reasons, you should contact Human Resources.