Professor of Special Education (Open Rank)

Department

Teaching, Learning & Curriculum, Chair

Compensation

$65,000.00 to Negotiable Annual

General Purpose:

The Department of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum at the University of North Florida (UNF) invites applications for a full-time, 9-month, tenure-track position as Professor of Special Education (Open Rank) at the rank of Assistant, Associate, or Professor, beginning August 2026 (or as negotiated).

We seek a collaborative and reflective educator-scholar who possesses deep knowledge of both special education content and pedagogy across K–12 settings, and who understands the components of high-quality teacher education programming. In addition to strong pedagogical knowledge and research expertise in special education, the successful candidate will demonstrate a strong commitment to school-university partnerships, particularly in supporting the connections between theory, research, and practice in teacher preparation.

This faculty member will play an essential role in preparing teacher candidates to bring rich, rigorous, and relevant learning to students with disabilities in K-12 settings. The ideal candidate will also have substantial experience with directing programs, program development, recruitment and retention, supervision and clinical practice, ensuring that candidates are supported in applying what they learn in coursework to a variety of school environments.

Responsibilities:

• Teach undergraduate and graduate courses in special education and related fields, integrating both strong content knowledge and effective pedagogy.
• Collaborate with school partners to strengthen school-university relationships and enhance clinical learning opportunities for teacher candidates.
• Collaborate with school and university-based teacher educators to build a local network of special educators.
• Supervise teacher candidates during clinical field experiences, ensuring meaningful integration of theory, research, and classroom practice.
• Teach graduate-level courses in Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum, including master’s and doctoral seminars related to special education and teacher development.
• Lead in the design, delivery, and continuous improvement of special education programs, emphasizing program coherence and quality.
• Advise and mentor graduate students, serving on thesis and dissertation committees.
• Maintain an active scholarly research agenda related to special education and related fields, and teacher education.
• Potential for securing external funding related to special education
• Engage in service to the department, college, university, and professional communities.
• Participate in other duties as assigned.

Supervisor: This position will report to the Department Chair.

Working Hours: Varies

Supervision Exercised: This is not a supervisory role.

Required Licensure: N/A

Anticipated Start Date: The position is expected to begin on August 3, 2026

Required Qualifications:

• Earned doctorate in special education or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated expertise in special education content and pedagogy for K–12 levels.
• Experience supervising teacher candidates or mentoring novice educators in clinical settings.
• Evidence of potential for a productive research agenda.
• Three years of teaching experience in K-12 settings.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience directing undergraduate and graduate programs.
• Experience teaching or mentoring students in special education or related fields.
• Experience designing, coordinating, or improving clinically based teacher preparation programs.
• Experience fostering strong school-university partnerships to enhance teacher candidate learning.
• Demonstration of integrating theory, research, and practice within teacher preparation.
• Record of securing grants and contracts funding (e.g., personnel preparation, research).
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with schools to support teacher candidate development.

Application Materials:

• Cover letter addressing qualifications, professional goals, and alignment with the required and preferred position qualifications.
• Curriculum vitae.
• Examples of three recent scholarly publications.

Name, phone number, and email address of three professional references will be requested during the application review stage.

The selected candidate will be required to submit official transcripts (and, as applicable, U.S. degree equivalency evaluations) documenting the conferral of their qualifying academic credentials by the date of hire.

Additional Application Requirements:

Applicants may be required to upload additional documents based on their responses to the Foreign Influence Review questions.

• Passport (all pages including blank pages) and
• Form DS-160 (if ever submitted. If not, upload an explanation)

Application Review Date: Initial review of applications will begin on October 15, 2025.

Job Posting Close Date: Open until filled.

How to Apply: Applicants must submit an online application that includes all required application documents. If you have any questions about this position, please contact Dr. Christian Winterbottom at c.winterbottom@unf.edu.

About the Department: The Department of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum, through teaching, research and public service, and its commitment to leadership and excellence, strives to enhance the quality of education in its varied forms and settings in Florida, the nation and the world.

For more information about the Department of Teaching, Learning & Curriculum visit: UNF: Department of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum.

Statement(s) of Understanding

This position requires a background check. In conjunction with the University’s policy, this position may also require a credit check.

The holder of this position is designated as a “Responsible Employee” pursuant to their role under Title IX. Therefore, the incumbent must promptly report allegations of sexual misconduct, sexual violence, and child sexual abuse by or against any student, employee, contractor, or visitor to the University’s Title IX Administrator or any divisional Title IX Coordinator

Pursuant to Florida Statute 1010.35, this position requires additional information from all applicants seeking research or research-related positions prior to an interview or offer of employment. Applicants MUST fully complete the Foreign Influence Review section of their application. Additional documents (e.g., passport) may be required based on form responses.

Equal Opportunity

The University of North Florida (UNF) is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all who interact in our community. In building this environment, we strive to attract students, faculty and staff from a variety of cultures, backgrounds and life experiences. The University of North Florida does not commit or permit discrimination or harassment on the basis of genetic information, race, color, religion, age, sex, disability, marital status, national origin, or veteran status in any educational, employment, social, recreational program or activity that it offers. In addition, UNF will not commit or permit retaliation against an individual who reports discrimination or harassment or an individual who cooperates in an investigation of an alleged violation of university regulation.

Carnegie

UNF is a Carnegie Community Engaged Institution. This designation celebrates the University’s collaboration with community partners from the local to the global level. It reflects UNF’s mission to contribute to the public good and prepare educated, engaged citizens.

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