Assistant/Associate Professor in Biological Anthropology

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The Department of Anthropology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign invites applications for an Assistant/Associate tenure system Professor in Biological Anthropology with scholarly interests in forensic science and one or more of the following areas: human population genetics, genetic genealogy, and bioinformatics. We encourage research with community outreach, as well as ethical, legal, and social implications at the intersection of genetics and justice. This faculty position is housed in the anthropology department and is affiliated with the Investigative Technology Exchange (ITE) at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology.

The ITE emerged out of a partnership between UIUC and the Illinois State Police Forensic Science Branch and serves as an interdisciplinary hub to facilitate cross-disciplinary research, training, and outreach related to forensic investigative approaches. Additionally, the ITE hosts the Illinois Forensic Science Commission. The goals of the ITE are interdisciplinary and seek to resolve methodological challenges in forensic science applications and better understand the ethical, legal, social, and policy implications of the application of current and future technologies. Faculty hired through this position will have the opportunity to explore such research collaborations.

UIUC’s Department of Anthropology has a history of both undergraduate and graduate education related to forensic applications, consistently focusing on forensic anthropology (e.g. human skeletal variation, forensic methods), human genetics, and more recently expanding to genetic genealogy (e.g. bioinformatics, and extended genetic family tree reconstruction). Individual faculty have regularly consulted on forensic anthropology casework in Illinois for over ten years, fostering collaborative research partnerships with coroners and medical examiners, as well as investigators and forensic scientists. The Anthropology Department continues to explore ways to expand forensic science education on campus, and faculty hired through this initiative would ideally be able to build and expand on the current foundation of course offerings related to forensic science.

UIUC has an active and successful dual-career partner placement program and a strong commitment to work-life balance and family-friendly programs for faculty and staff (http://provost.illinois.edu/faculty-affairs/work-life-balance/). To find out more about the resources available at the university and Urbana-Champaign community please visit these sites:

Dual Career Program

Benefits

Living in Champaign-Urbana

This is a tenure-track, full-time appointment. The anticipated start date is August 16, 2026; The budgeted salary range for the position is $86,000 to $90,000 at the Assistant Professor level, $100,000 to $110,000 at the Associate Professor level, for a 9-month service basis. The pay offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors including (but not limited to) the experience and qualifications of the selected candidate, including equivalent years in rank, training, and field or discipline; internal equity; and external market pay for comparable jobs. It is not typical for a beginning Assistant Professor to be offered a salary at or near the top of the full range for the position.

Successful candidates are expected to have an active and independent research program that ideally promotes both life science and social science perspectives, teach effectively at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and have demonstrable experience with public engagement and/or community outreach. A PhD in Anthropology or related field is required by the appointment start date. Candidates whose PhD may be delayed but will complete all the Ph.D. requirements within the first appointment year may be appointed at the rank of Instructor. After the Ph.D. requirement is met, the appointment will be changed to Assistant Professor. Qualified candidates should have a record of research productivity and publication (tenured) or demonstrated potential to develop such a record (tenure-track).

Applicants must submit a letter of application, curriculum vitae, statement of teaching and research interests, and contact information for three professional references. Letters of recommendation may be requested electronically from referees at a later date.

To apply, create your candidate profile through the University of Illinois application login page at https://jobs.illinois.edu, and application materials submitted by September 25, 2025 will receive full consideration. Only applications submitted through the University of Illinois Job Board at https://jobs.illinois.edu will be considered. Applicants may be interviewed before the closing date, however, no hiring decision will be made until after that date.

Questions about the position may be directed to Professor Cris Hughes (hughesc@illinois.edu).

Questions regarding the application materials may be directed to lascollegehiring@illinois.edu

Questions regarding the application portal can be directed to 217-333-2137 or jobs@illinois.edu

The University of Illinois must also comply with applicable federal export control laws and regulations and, as such, reserves the right to employ restricted party screening procedures for applicants.