Information for Job Candidates

The Department	Teaching at UAH	Research and Faculty Development
Huntsville	Huntsville Links	Huntsville Chamber of Commerce Video Please forgive the melodramatic music.

UAH offers the opportunities of a public research university with a teaching atmosphere like a small private liberal arts college. The department and the College of Liberal Arts maintain a commitment to balance research and teaching, and provide resources for both.

The Department

As a department, we are close but independent. We take pride in making consensus the basis of departmental decisions. Within the department, we work as a team on common expectations for survey classes and for majors. We also value colleagues’ varied strengths and respect academic freedom. We support our fellows’ research, providing advice and editing help. For several occasions a year, we enjoy departmental get-togethers, but we have no expectations that we must always socialize with one another. Our spirit is friendly and hard-working!

Teaching at UAH

UAH offers an excellent teaching environment. We have a three-three teaching load. Usually each semester a professor teaches two sections of a 100-level history survey and one upper-level or graduate class. In survey classes, enrollments are limited to 40 students, with essay exams and a short research paper required. Upper-level classes usually consist of a dozen to two dozen students. Each professor has a repertoire of four or five upper-level and graduate courses. We have a Masters program and graduate courses normally have eight to ten students. We welcome proposals for new courses.

All classrooms are equipped for multi-media. The department has a book-lined seminar room for small classes. We reside in Roberts Hall, with offices and classrooms on the top floor. Offices are spacious and have floor-to-ceiling windows. The library is near by, and has an enormous collection of online databases.

The Humanities Center funds Library Enhancement Grants. One of our faculty members has received twenty thousand dollars of library grants over the last four years, and another recent hire applied for and received a grant before arriving on campus. The university also offers Teaching Mini-grants that fund teaching-related purchases. Global Studies funds foreign travel for pedagogical improvement and for teaching UAH students abroad.

Research and Faculty Development

UAH and the College of Liberal Arts encourage research and faculty development. Financial support for research includes generous university mini-grants for new faculty, Humanities Center travel grants for faculty of all levels, and departmental funds for conferences. The university has a liberal sabbatical program. The UAH Foundation has annual awards for teaching and for research with satisfying financial rewards. The college provides generous start-up funds for new faculty to purchase equipment. It also offers seed money for outstanding faculty members seeking external funding. Two informal college gatherings help faculty grow; RELACS offers a setting for research presentations and Teaching Matters is a forum for sharing ideas about pedagogy.

Huntsville

Huntsville and the surrounding region are pleasant and prosperous. The city nestles between the wooded mesas of the Cumberland Plateau and the winding waters of the Tennessee River in North Alabama. Winters are short and mild and snowfall rare. Residents debate whether spring or fall is more wonderful. Summers are hot.

Throughout its history Huntsville has recreated itself several times.It has changed from state capital to cotton village to textile town to “Rocket City” boomtown to its current form as a high-tech city. The metropolitan area has a population of nearly 370,000.

Huntsville's economy centers on aerospace, military technology, and computer and network companies. In 2005, the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology was established in Huntsville, adding to this heady high-tech mix. On the outskirts of the city are two high-tech federal facilities, the Army’s Redstone Arsenal and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Nearby is Cummings Research Park which is the second largest in the country. Huntsville is also Northern Alabama’s retail and medical hub. Forbes Magazine named the city the sixth best place in the country for business.

Huntsville’s population is diverse but is largely well-educated, professional and middle-class. Incomes are high and housing prices are low. Salary.Com named Huntsville the country’s best value for salaries and cost of living. Several of its public schools rank among the best in the state and the South.

Cultural attractions include a professional symphony orchestra, several theatre and arts organizations, civic festivals for arts and music, professional sports teams, as well as libraries, museums, and hobbyist groups. Numerous parks dot the city and above it are the hiking trails of Monte Sano State Park. Downtown, in addition to restaurants and museums, has a convention center that includes an arena, concert hall, and playhouse. The area has two world-class golf courses as well as a new civic tennis facility with clay courts. Active clubs exist for cycling, spelunking, running, and swimming. UAH has a new Fitness Center that is free for faculty.

The Huntsville airport has short lines and direct flights to Chicago, Newark, Washington DC, Atlanta, Dallas, and other cities. From Huntsville, travelers enjoy a variety of car excursions. Daytrips are easy to Nashville, Chattanooga, and Birmingham. Weekend getaways to nearby cities include Atlanta and Memphis. The Smoky Mountains and beaches of the Gulf Coast are six hours away, and driving to New Orleans takes 8 hours.

Huntsville has also been recognized in the national media as a great place to live and work:

• Kiplinger's names Huntsville one of America's top 5 cities for professional workers.
• MSN includes Huntsville on its list of top 10 cities for job growth and affordability.
• Foreign Direct Investments names Huntsville America's #1 Small City of the Future.
• The Green Guide says Huntsville is one of America's greenest cities.

Links:

• Huntsville Chamber of Commerce

• Wikipedia on Huntsville

  We look forward to receiving your application!