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The Department of Human and Organizational Development (HOD) at Vanderbilt University invites applications for a tenure-line professor position in Human and Organizational Development. This person is being sought as part of a three-person hire to establish a social innovation and entrepreneurship focus in the Department of Human and Organizational Development at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. We seek action-oriented scholars and educators at the level of full professor or on the cusp of promotion to full professor with a strong scholarly record. In addition, one endowed chair is reserved for an outstanding junior scholar; thus, we will also consider candidates who have not yet received tenure but have a promising trajectory.

We are especially interested in scholars focused on how social innovation and/or social entrepreneurship can strengthen a community's economic, cultural, educational, health, and other systems to enhance collective betterment and vibrancy. For example, we are interested in applications from scholars in the areas of employment social enterprises, work integration social enterprises, community development financial institutions (CDFIs), worker cooperatives, entrepreneurship within nonprofit organizations, social accelerators/incubators, crowdsourcing/crowdfunding, cross-sector collaborations, and/or who are studying the application of models that are entrepreneurial and/or socially innovative to address specific societal challenges (e.g., food insecurity, environmental degradation, health, etc.).

Human and Organizational Development is an interdisciplinary department that focuses on exploring human, organizational, and community development processes in local and global context. Our core faculty includes scholars with backgrounds in psychology, sociology, geography, anthropology, communication, and public health. We work within and across these disciplines to advance shared goals, including our commitment to broad stakeholder engagement, democratic deliberation, and effective and ethical practices as methods for creating sustainable social, economic, and environmental benefits. We value qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research that addresses complex social problems across multiple scales or levels.

We seek a colleague with a productive research program with an emphasis on stakeholder engagement, action research, or other modes of public scholarship. Successful candidates will also have excellent teaching credentials and the demonstrated capacity to provide leadership and mentorship at the graduate and undergraduate levels.

Candidates should have a strong record of research activity and demonstrated ability to secure funding to support research endeavors. The successful candidate(s) will teach and mentor students in Vanderbilt's undergraduate program in Human and Organizational Development, the doctoral program in Community Research and Action, and, depending on area of research, our master's programs in Community Development and Action, Human Development Studies, and/or Human Development Counseling.   

This faculty position provides a unique opportunity to join a highly productive, diverse, and interdisciplinary faculty at a research-intensive university. The application review process will begin November 10, 2025, and continue until the position is filled.

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Rong Wang, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Human and Organizational Development

Peabody College | Vanderbilt University 

r.wang@vanderbilt.edu | https://rongwangsna.com/