Founded in 1893 in the scenic Gallatin Valley just north of Yellowstone National Park, Montana State University (MSU) is a land grant university with an enrollment of over 13,000 students, including nearly 2,000 graduate students. MSU is one of 94 research universities in the United States in the top tier of the Carnegie Foundation rankings. Research funding exceeds $100 million annually, and continues to grow. For more information, see the MSU website at www.montana.edu.

Recently named an All-American City, Bozeman is a small town in a spectacular mountain setting. The 70,000 residents of Bozeman and the surrounding valley enjoy excellent schools, complete medical facilities, a low crime rate, a vibrant cultural and arts scene, and superb year-round recreational opportunities, including three world-class ski areas, blue ribbon trout fishing streams, the Gallatin National Forest, and Yellowstone National Park. Bozeman-Yellowstone International Airport is only 10 miles from campus and hosts five airlines that average 20 flights per day to up to ten major cities (depending on season).

The Department of Physics is in the College of Letters and Science, and includes faculty working in the areas of astrophysics, biophysics, condensed matter, imaging and chemical analysis, gravitation and cosmology, materials science, optics and lasers, physics education research, solar physics, space instrumentation, and surface science. The department consists of 18 tenure-line faculty, 3 teaching professors, 10 research professors, 12 research scientists and engineers, 6 postdoctoral researchers, 9 staff, over 80 physics majors, and over 50 graduate students. Two assistant professors have been hired in the last three years, with another search in progress. Over the last 16 years, the Physics Department has ranked within the top two of 15 departments in the College of Letters and Science and within the top four of departments campus-wide in terms of research expenditures, including over $7 million in the last fiscal year. Physics faculty, students, and staff work in a highly-productive, interactive, collaborative, and open environment. For more information, see http://physics.montana.edu.

The College of Letters & Science, the largest center for learning, teaching and research at Montana State University, offers students an excellent liberal arts education in nearly 50 majors and 25 minors. Within the four areas of humanities, natural sciences, mathematics and social sciences, the college prepares students to respond to the complexities of the world and the rapid expansion of human knowledge. Graduates from the college report impressive employment success, with nearly three quarters of them employed upon graduation and the other quarter attending graduate school, medical school or law school. Graduates find employment with a wide-range of agencies and companies, such as the Los Alamos National Laboratories, U.S. Fish, Wildlife and Parks and Digital Equipment Corporation. Recent graduates of the College of Letters & Science are attending graduate or professional school at Harvard, Brown, MIT, Columbia, the University of Washington and the University of California at Berkeley.

The Department Head is responsible for: 1) providing vision and leadership for the department, 2) serving as an articulate and vigorous advocate for the department, 3) maintaining excellence in the department’s teaching, research, and outreach programs, 4) fostering a departmental culture that is participatory, dynamic, and supportive of excellence among the faculty, students, and staff, 5) managing personnel, budget, and resources in accordance with strategic directives, and, 6) conducting annual, retention, promotion, and tenure reviews.

In addition, the Department Head is expected, at levels appropriate for an administrative appointment, to provide high-quality teaching, to maintain a research program, and to provide outreach that complements or enhances current activities. The successful candidate should have experience in leading a diverse undergraduate and graduate program, and have an appreciation and understanding of the needs of a faculty body that encompasses many research disciplines and that is engaged in multi-disciplinary approaches to teaching and research.

1. Ph.D in physics or a closely related discipline.
2. Demonstrated administrative and leadership abilities.
3. A visible and successful research program.
4. Experience and qualifications commensurate with an award of tenure and appointment to Associate or Full Professor.

1. Excellent leadership ability that encompasses the breadth of the physics community.
2. Excellence in both teaching and research.
3. Experience leading personnel and managing budgets.
4. Demonstrated potential to successfully teach undergraduate or graduate classes.
5. Demonstrated ability to direct graduate students in research.
6. Successful experience in obtaining external funding.
7. Ability and willingness to maintain a research program at a level commensurate with administrative duties.
8. Demonstrated commitment to student, faculty, and staff diversity.

have strong skills in working with people individually and in groups, demonstrated leadership qualities, excellent verbal and and written communication skills, the capability to contribute to the department’s research and teaching programs, and the ability to represent the department to University faculty and administrators, local, state, and federal government officials, off-campus organizations, and the public.

• (1) a cover letter specifically addressing each of the required and preferred qualifications listed above, and
• (2) a statement of administrative philosophy pertaining to an academic department, and
• (3) curriculum vitae, and
• (4) a one- or two-page summary of teaching experience, and research activity and plans, and
• (5) names and contact information for five (5) references.

  An application packet addressing all the above requirements and qualification as listed is highly encouraged. Missing materials and information may not be requested and may result in your application not being considered for the position.

  Electronic submissions in PDF format are preferred, and must have the applicant's signature on the letter of application. For electronic submittals, please indicate "Applicant - Search #13105-2" in the subject line of the email.

  • Submit materials to:
  • Professor Bennett Link
  • Physics Department Head Search Chair
  • c/o Sarah Barutha, Seach Committee Secretary
  • Department of Physics
  • Montana State University
  • PO Box 173840
  • Bozeman MT 59717-3840
  • (406)994-6186
  • sbarutha@physics.montana.edu

    For question related to the Department, contact:

    • Professor Richard Smith, Department Head
    • (406)-994-6152
    • smith@physics.montana.edu

      In order to receive Veterans Preference during the application review process, it is highly recommended that the required forms are included at the time you submit your application materials. Click here for the forms and information regarding Veterans Preference. Important note: Your preference form is submitted to a different location than your application materials. A DD214 is not a required document.