Chairperson, Department of Physics and Astronomy,
Appalachian State University

The Department of Physics and Astronomy at Appalachian State University (www.physics.appstate.edu) invites applications and nominations for the position of department Chairperson, with a start date of July 1, 2010. Applicants must hold a Ph.D. in Physics, Astronomy, or a related field, and must be eligible for tenure at the rank of Associate or Full Professor.

Applicants must provide evidence of excellence in undergraduate and graduate instruction, research, and outreach, with preference for those with administrative experience. The successful candidate will possess outstanding communication, interpersonal, and mentoring skills in support of faculty, staff, and student development. While providing leadership toward meeting or exceeding departmental and institutional goals, including interdisciplinary teaching and research, the Chairperson will enhance existing levels of external funding, and will develop foundational support, academic collaborations and corporate partnerships. Department Chairpersons normally teach one class per semester and maintain an active research program.

The department offers B.S. degrees in Applied Physics and Secondary Education - Physics, a B.A. in Physics, an M.S. in Engineering Physics, and a Professional Science Master’s concentration in Instrumentation and Automation. Facilities include, but are not limited to: the Dark Sky Observatory; the state-of-the-art Rankin Astronomy Instructional Facility; a new nanoscience and advanced materials laboratory including extensive electron, ion and scanned probe microscopy facilities; an electrostatics laboratory; an ion trapping laboratory; optoelectronic and spectroscopy research facilities; instrumentation and automation research and instruction labs; and a well-established teaching and demonstration infrastructure. Examples of faculty research areas include: eclipsing binaries, asteroid research, stellar spectroscopy, exoplanets, atmospheric and environmental physics, archeophysics, biophysics, early universe physics, physics education research, nanoscience, and advanced materials research. The department houses a complete machine shop and electronics shop. In addition, the department hosts the editorial offices of The Physics Teacher magazine. The department has 14 tenure-track faculty members, six part-time faculty, four staff, approximately 75 undergraduate majors, and 20 master’s students.

Appalachian State University is a member institution of the 16-campus University of North Carolina System. Located in Boone, NC, in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, the University has approximately 17,000 students and has been ranked by U.S. News and World Report as 3rd among top public master’s degree-granting universities in the South for 2010. The American Institute of Physics (AIP) ranks our Engineering Physics master’s program within their unordered list of the top 13 master’s-terminal programs nationwide (www.aip.org/statistics). The AIP also ranks the department second among master’s granting institutions that award the most undergraduate bachelor’s degrees. Additional information about the Department of Physics and Astronomy, the University, and surrounding area can be found on the University’s website (www.appstate.edu).

Applicants must send a complete application consisting of: letter of application; current curriculum vitae; three letters of recommendation including names, email addresses, and telephone numbers; and statements of teaching philosophy, administrative philosophy, and research plans that specifically address undergraduate participation to: Dr. Patricia E. Allen, phychairsearch@appstate.edu. Electronic applications required in pdf format only. Complete applications may also be mailed to Dr. Patricia E. Allen, Department of Physics & Astronomy, ASU PO Box 32106, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608. Review of complete applications will begin November 1, 2009, and will continue until the position is filled. Appalachian State University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer with a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of excellence among its faculty, staff and students; to the principles of diversity and inclusion; and to maintaining a work and learning environment that is free of all forms of discrimination.