Associate / Full Professor of Education Policy, Fall 2026

Associate / Full Professor of Education Policy, Fall 2026

Location : Knoxville, TN

Open Date : Aug 25, 2025

Description :

The College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville is seeking applicants for a tenure-track associate or full professor of education policy to join the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (ELPS) for a nine-month position beginning August 1, 2026. The successful candidate will be a nationally recognized scholar in the field and will hold a Jimmy and Ileen Cheek endowed professorship position that provides additional support for high-quality scholarship. We seek a preeminent scholar who will contribute to the advancement of the department’s reputation in research and who will shape education policy conversations to benefit the people of Tennessee and the nation.

Duties and responsibilities include :

• Sustaining a nationally recognized, high-impact research agenda demonstrated through multiple indicators, such as publication in top-tier peer-reviewed journals, acquisition of competitive external funding, authorship of influential books or policy reports, invited presentations, and recognition by professional associations.
• Providing mentorship and research guidance for Educational Leadership and Policy Ph.D. and Ed.D. students, fostering their scholarly productivity and professional development.
• Mentoring junior faculty to support their scholarly productivity, external funding success, and professional advancement.
• Supporting graduate programs in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies through high-quality teaching, research-informed advising, and curriculum innovation.
• Engaging actively in professional associations at the local, state, regional, and national / international levels, including presenting research, holding leadership positions, and contributing to the advancement of the field.
• Providing meaningful service contributions to the department, college, university, and broader educational and professional communities.
• Collaborating with faculty, staff, and students to advance interdisciplinary research, program development, and collective scholarly initiatives.
• Demonstrating a strong commitment to the mission of the university, college, and department.

The College of Education, Health and Human Sciences is a multidisciplinary unit with 90 tenured / tenure-track faculty members, housed in six departments. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies is a thriving department with more than 200 graduate students and 20 full-time faculty working with programs in K-12 education, higher education, adult and continuing education, evaluation, statistics, and methodology, and a growing undergraduate minor in leadership studies.

Located near the beautiful Smoky Mountains, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) was founded in 1794 and is one of the oldest public universities in the country. UTK is a vibrant and diverse urban campus, located in the heart of Knoxville. It is the flagship campus for the UT system, a participating institution of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and is officially designated as a Research (Very High Research Activity) and Community Engagement University by the Carnegie Foundation. For more information about UTK and Knoxville, please visit : http : / / www.utk.edu / aboutut / .

Qualifications :

Required qualifications include :

Required qualifications for Associate Professors include :

Required qualifications for Full Professors include :

Preferred qualifications include :

Application Instructions :

Interested applicants should submit :

1. A letter of interest outlining how the applicant meets the stated qualifications;

2. Curriculum vita;

3. Up to three representative publications / writing samples; and

4. The contact information for three references.

Application materials must be submitted electronically via the Interfolio portal.

General inquiries may be directed to Dr. Sonya Hayes, search committee chair, at shayes22@utk.edu .

Review of materials will begin on October 15, 2025 , and will continue until the position is filled.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement :

All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment and admission without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, and parental status, or any other characteristic protected by federal or state law. In accordance with the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the University of Tennessee affirmatively states that it does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or disability in its education programs and activities, and this policy extends to employment by the university.

Requests for accommodation of a disability should be directed to the ADA Coordinator at Equal Opportunity and Accessibility, 1840 Melrose Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37996-3560, by email to  eoa@utk.edu , or by phone at 865-974-2498. Inquiries and charges of violation of Title VI (race, color, and national origin), Title IX (sex), Section 504 (disability), the ADA (disability), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (age), sexual orientation, or veteran status should be directed to the Office of Investigation and Resolution, 216 Business Incubator Building, E J. Chapman Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996-3560, by email to  investigations@utk.edu , or by phone at 865-974-0717.