Tenure-Track Faculty Position
The Department of Sociology invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position at the Assistant Professor level beginning fall 2025. Ability to teach, advise, and mentor a diverse population of undergraduates is essential. We seek a sociologist who can teach theory and/or research methods, and introduction to sociology along with substantive courses that complement existing offerings. We are especially interested in candidates from under-represented groups as well as individuals who have experience with diverse populations who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community through their research, teaching, and/or service. In addition to things laid out in the job ad, below we would like to share some further information about the College and the Saratoga Springs/Albany Metro area.
About Skidmore College
Skidmore College is a selective, private liberal arts college founded on the principle of making connections between theory and practice, between the mind and the hand. Skidmore College started off as an all-women’s institution in downtown Saratoga Springs, NY. Skidmore moved to its current location on the northern edge of Saratoga Springs next to the North Woods in 1961 and began admitting men in 1971. Currently enrolling over 2,650 matriculated students, Skidmore is committed to teaching students to be active participants in our world who approach problem solving from particularly creative and interdisciplinary perspectives. An example of this educational paradigm is our , which has earned a national reputation for pushing beyond the boundaries of a traditional college museum to develop cutting-edge, exhibition-based pedagogies across the curriculum. Skidmore College’s slogan is Creative Thought Matters to “capture the central role that creativity plays on campus, not just in the arts but also in fields such as science, business, communications and the social sciences”.
The College employs 330 full-time faculty members and an additional 128 part-time faculty members (43 FTEs) with an 8:1 on-campus student to faculty ratio. About two-thirds of the full-time faculty members are tenure stream.
The College’s 2005-2015 Strategic Plan called on Skidmore to diversify its student body along with its faculty and staff. In 2007, just 10% of the graduating class were domestic students of color and 1% were international students. Currently, 25% of students identify as domestic students of color, while 9% are international students with another 7% holding dual citizenship. Of the students on-campus, 12% are first-generation college students and 12% are Pell recipients with 52% of the student body receiving need-based aid. Currently, at least 20% are students with disabilities based on those who have contacted Student Access Services. Based on a recent HEDS survey, 32% of students are LGBQ+ and 2% are transgendered. The College’s current Strategic Plan Creating Pathways to Excellence acknowledges that inclusive excellence “encompasses the expectation not only that our community become more diverse over time but also that we fully embrace our individual differences (e.g., personality, learning style, life experiences), as well as group and social differences (relating, e.g., to race or ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, and ability, as well as cultural, political, religious, or other affiliations).”
To that end, in 2020 the College started its Racial Justice Initiative and recently opened the Wycoff Center, "a dedicated space to discuss, collaborate and think creatively about equity and inclusion." in the USC Race and Equity Center: Liberal Arts College Racial Equity Alliance (LACRELA). Skidmore was recently funded a three-year Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant on Africana Studies and the Humanities: Transnational Explorations in Social Justice. In addition, Skidmore is a member of the .
Staring with the entering class in 2020 (graduating class of 2024), students are under a new general education curriculum that puts a greater emphasis on integrative learning both within a major and across the liberal arts. The goal is for students to make meaningful and productive connections among the courses, ideas, and experiences of a liberal arts education by being more intentional in this process.
The general education curriculum has four major components:
- Integrations– moments where students are asked to be more reflective about their education and to make connections across disciplinary boundaries. The required integrative courses are the First Year Experience: Scribner Seminar, the Bridge Experience: Power & Justice, and the Senior Experience: The Coda.
- Foundations– courses centered around developing the skills and competencies expected of a graduate with a liberal arts education. The required foundation courses are Applied Quantitative Reasoning, Global Cultural Perspectives, Language Study, and Writing.
- Inquiries– courses centered on engaging students in particular approaches to studying our world and how we express ourselves. The required inquiry courses are Artistic Inquiry, Humanistic Inquiry, and Scientific Inquiry.
- In the Major– a set of skills and literacies to be developed and refined through the major. The requirements in the major are communication (written and oral), technology literacy, visual literacy, and information literacy.
Saratoga Springs and the greater Capital District metro area
Saratoga Springs, New York
Skidmore College is located in with a population of over 26,500, nestled in the foothills of the Adirondacks just
30 miles north of Albany, NY. Saratoga Springs ranks as one of the best college towns(Travel & Leisure) with one of “America’s Greatest Main Streets” (Travel & Leisure).
has ranked it as one of the nation’s top 100 places to live. The downtown is (top five in the US for restaurants per capita), shops, spas, and hotels. , where Ani DeFranco and Bob Dylan got their starts, is downtown with and a number of the the city became famous for during the 19thcentury. The is downtown on Wednesdays and Saturdays (May-October) at . November-April, the Farmer’s Market moves indoors to the (Saturdays only). Just west of downtown lies the , which is home to additional restaurants, galleries, shops, and the historic .
A major draw during the summer are the horse races at the . The races go from mid-July through Labor Day including the . Beyond horse racing, a are hosted in the local area throughout the year including Saratoga First Night, Chowderfest, Victorian Street Walk, Summer Concert Series, road races, restaurant week, and wine festivals. On the southern edge of the city, is where the is located. SPAC is the summer home of the , . SPAC also hosts a number of (Rock, Country, Classical, Pop, and Hip Hop) and . SPAC is also the location for Skidmore commencement ceremonies. Skidmore College’s Zankel Music Center also hosts a . Nearby is the , site of the Battle of Saratoga, as well as . With the nearby, there are plenty of hiking opportunities. and are short drives away. For skiing, and mountains in New York are close-by as are and in Vermont.
Capital District Metro Area
Saratoga Springs is part of the Capital District metropolitan area of about 1.2 million
residents. Albany (the capital of the state of New York), Schenectady, and Troy form
the Tri-City core of the region. The region boasts a number of , (e.g., the Egg, the Palace Theatre, Proctor’s Theatre, and the Times Union Center), and
other with a throughout the year. runs buses throughout the region, including a bus stop at Skidmore which is free
to ride with a Skidmore ID. Professional sports teams that play in the area include
the (minor league baseball), the (National Arena League Football), and the (ECHL hockey).
is served by a number of different carriers (United, Delta, Air Canada, Southwest,
American Airlines, Allegiant, Frontier, and Jet Blue).The Capital District is also served by (stops in Rensselaer-Albany, Schenectady, and Saratoga Springs) with service to New
York City and Montreal () as well as Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo and Niagara Falls (), Boston and Chicago (), and Toronto (). Cities in the greater region are easily accessible within three hours by driving,
including New York City to the south, Rochester to the west, Montreal to the north,
and Boston to the east.
Other colleges and universities in the area include:
- (RPI)
- Includes the , partneships include IBM, Global Foundries, Samsung, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, ASML, and Lam Research.
Beyond the and institutions of higher education, major employers in the region include:
Links for visiting, moving to, and living in the area
- Skidmore’s Local and Regional Cultural Resources Guide
- Lodging in and the
- Schools in the area:
- ;
- ;
- ; and