Job Details

Western Carolina University continues to rank high on Forbes Best Employers lists each year. Including:
2024 - Ranking in the top 8.5% on Forbes Americas Best Midsize Employers list, WCU was ranked 34 out of the top 400 employers across all industries.
2023 - Ranked in the top 20% on Forbes Americas Best Midsize Employers list, WCU was ranked 97 out of the top 500 employers across all industries.
2022 - Ranked 14th in the top 100 employers in North Carolina in Forbes Americas Best Employers by State list.
Western Carolina University is the UNC systems westernmost campus and has been consistently ranked as one of the top 15 public regional institutions in the South.
Employees of WCU are provided a comprehensive benefits package as well as other resources, policies and programs to ensure a happy and healthy work/life balance. Benefit eligible employees have access to dental, vision and health insurance plans - eligibility begins on the first of the month following date of hire. Retirement plan contributions begin on the eligibility date following election and include employer contributions for either a defined contribution or a defined benefit plan. Optional disability plans are also available.
Eligible employees have access to tuition waivers for up to three courses per academic year; employee may enroll at any of the constituent UNC System campuses. Also offered are free group exercise classes multiple times per week, a discounted membership to the campus recreation center, free vaccine and booster shots offered on campus, pretax flexible spending accounts, 12 paid holidays and 24 hours of paid community service leave each year. Leave earning employees (staff and 12-month faculty) who work at least half of the working days of their first month of employment will begin accruing vacation and sick leave immediately. Paid parental leave after 12 months of continuous service.
WCU offers an abundance of training and development programs, certifications, workshops and conferences - many of which are offered free of charge.

The primary location of this position is the main Cullowhee, NC campus.

The Department of Geosciences and Natural Resources at Western Carolina University is seeking applications for a full-time, fixed-term Instructor or Teaching Assistant Professor of Natural Resource Conservation and Management (NRCM) for Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 . Rank will be determined at hire. This is a nine-month position with the potential for summer teaching. The Department is home to programs in geology, natural resource conservation and management, environmental science, and geography, which all share a commitment to excellence in teaching and undergraduate research.

We seek candidates with a background in natural resource management. The successful candidate will demonstrate a strong commitment to excellence in teaching and provide experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate students. We desire candidates who can increase the instructional capacity of the NRCM program, and who can effectively teach our gateway courses related to natural resource management as well as courses in dendrology, forest ecology, or soil conservation. The teaching load also includes participation in WCUs general education curriculum.

Western Carolina University is an 11,000-student, regional comprehensive university within the University of North Carolina system. It is designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a community engaged university. WCU is situated in the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. WCU and the surrounding area offer a wide range of field and laboratory facilities.

Western Carolina University and the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resources holds inclusive excellence as a core value, and we work together to foster a welcoming community, where all are respected and know they belong.

The successful candidate should have an MS or PhD in a relevant field at the time of hire; ABD candidates will be considered during the application process given that the degree will be conferred prior to the hire date of August 01, 2025.

Application materials must be submitted online. Review of applications will begin by April 1, 2025 and will continue until a candidate has been selected for hire.

Please include a cover letter, current curriculum vitae, unofficial transcripts from highest degree earned*, statement of teaching philosophy and a list of four professional references with full contact information.

For questions or additional information please contact Keith Gibbs at wgibbs@wcu.edu

*All applicants are required to submit an unofficial transcript of their highest attained degree, showing all completed coursework and the date the degree was conferred. The transcript must state Degree Awarded, Degree Conferred or a similar phrase. For candidates who are ABD, please submit your most recent doctoral program transcript along with your masters degree transcript, if you hold such a degree. The masters degree transcript must have a notation such as Degree Awarded, Degree Conferred or similar phrase, to verify it as your highest completed degree.