The University of Wisconsin-Platteville Geography Program invites applications for an academic staff lecturer position in Human Geography beginning in January, 2009. The length of the appointment will be one semester, with an option for renewal for up to two additional semesters, concluding with the Spring, 2010 semester. Within the general category of Human Geography, possible specialties include Economic and/or Political Geography. In addition, the position assumes the ability to teach an advanced course in one of the following regions: Africa, Middle East, or Europe. UW-Platteville is part of the University of Wisconsin System, and offers competitive salaries with excellent benefits.

Includes teaching an introductory course in World Regional Geography and upper-level courses in Human and Regional Geography in areas for which the candidate is particularly qualified.

The minimum academic degree necessary is a M.A. or M.S. in Geography, which is required before the date of appointment. We seek a dynamic geographer who is interested in and has a genuine commitment to undergraduate education.

The Geography Program is part of the Department of Social Sciences in the College of Liberal Arts and Education. Currently we have 5 full time tenure/tenure-track positions in our program; this position will be a temporary replacement for one of those faculty positions. We anticipate a separate search to fill that position with a tenure track faculty position to begin in Fall, 2010. We also employ two lecturers as academic staff. Although our primary responsibility is as a service department to support the University's general education requirements and its programs in education, reclamation, engineering, science, and the liberal arts, we also offer major and minor programs in Geography, a minor program in Geology, and a minor program in Environmental Science. We currently have 30 majors in Geography, and anticipate growth in the number of majors in the future. In the past six years we have a nearly 100% placement rate for our graduates in either graduate school or in employment in the field of geography; the majority of employment is in GIS or Cartography. Our total curriculum consists of 34 separate courses; with this position we will typically offer 16 to 18 courses each semester. Among our curriculum are two courses organized around extended field trips: one to the western United States and northern Mexico, and the second to Japan. Both of these courses are offered annually during the summer session. Additional extended field trips are also offered: since 1990 these trips have gone to Canada, Ireland, France, and Guatemala. We have an extensive map library and are developing plans to extend this facility into an interactive resource center. In addition the program maintains a well equipped cartography/GIS lab.

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville, founded in 1866, enrolls approximately 6,000 students in primarily undergraduate programs leading to degrees in agriculture, the arts, business, communication, education, engineering, the humanities, industry, mathematics, and the physical and social sciences. An initiative to increase enrollment to 8,000 students over the next eight years has recently been approved by the Board of Regents. The campus is located 70 miles southwest of Madison in the heart of the Driftless Zone in the largest community in southwestern Wisconsin. Our location affords many opportunities for short fieldtrips highlighting the unique physical and human characteristics of the region. The university is home to the Heartland Festival, and is recognized as a cultural and educational center for the tri-state region of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa.

Review of applications will begin immediately. Candidates should submit a letter of application, current vita, names and contact information for three references, and a statement addressing teaching philosophy. Transcripts will be required of the successful candidate prior to assumption of responsibilities. Applications by e-mail are strongly discouraged. Employment will require a criminal background check.