I absolutely love my job. As a faculty member at the UNC School of Government, I get to work with smart, dedicated, fun colleagues; focus on a subject area I am passionate about; create wonderful relationships with the professionals I teach; and be part of an institution that has helped North Carolina for more than 90 years. The UNC School of Government is unique—there aren’t other schools like this in the country. The School provides public service to the state of North Carolina by helping local and state officials do their jobs and do them well. Faculty members do this in three main ways: advising, teaching, and writing. Our philosophy is to provide engaged scholarship, meaning we provide practical resources for regular use by the officials we serve. We are responsive to the issues that professionals identify through our teaching, writing, and advising. Amazingly, we get thanked daily.

Is this the type of job that sounds like something you, or someone you know, would not only enjoy but would be great at? If so, keep reading.

We have a new position for a teaching assistant professor who will focus on emergency management and code enforcement. The full posting is here.

The main focus of this position is on emergency management. When a hurricane strikes North Carolina (let’s hope we are in the clear this season!), flooding occurs, there’s a pandemic, or a protest that turns violent, city and county officials need to understand their authority and responsibility to respond. The faculty member in this position will be that point person for local officials to reach out to. Officials will also learn about their authority to engage in preventive measures, not just reactive ones, through sessions and courses taught by the faculty member in this position. Secondarily, because these issues can be related, the faculty member will also focus on code enforcement laws in local municipalities and counties. Because emergency management and code enforcement do not exist in a vacuum, the faculty member will be part of a team of great colleagues who work with municipalities and counties in related areas, such as zoning, public health, social services, and public finance.

This position is variable track, meaning it starts out as a teaching assistant professor with the possibility of converting to tenure-track with more focus on writing.

Candidates must have a JD, a demonstrated commitment to public service, and a strong academic performance. Our preferred candidate has at least five years of experience practicing law and professional or educational experience related to emergency management. Licensure in North Carolina is not required.

I am not the only faculty member who loves her job. Check out this short video that features some of my colleagues talking about what it is like to work here.

If you’re interested in or are thinking about applying, please do so. If you have questions, feel free to reach out to me or Whitney Afonso (we are the School’s faculty recruiting co-chairs and are on this search committee) at sara@sog.unc.edu or afonso@sog.unc.edu.