Career Center

The Collat School of Business at the University of Alabama at Birmingham invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor.  Housed in the Department of Management, Information Systems, and Quantitative Methods, the position will commence in August 2023.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a comprehensive university with a strong urban mission and an internationally renowned medical center. Located in the Birmingham downtown area and part of the University of Alabama System, UAB is the only public, four-year degree granting university in Alabama’s largest metropolitan area. UAB is the state’s largest research institution and largest single employer. In 2021, UAB ranked #1 on Forbes’ list of the 100 best large employers in the United States. (Learn more about UAB here.)

The Collat School of Business (CSoB) was the first named school at UAB and has a history of radically innovative approaches to teaching and learning, excellent fundraising performance, and strong regional impact. The CSoB houses three departments: Accounting and Finance (ACFN), Marketing, Industrial Distribution and Economics (MIDE), and Management Information Systems, and Quantitative Methods (MISQ).  The CSoB moved into a newly constructed state of the art facility in 2018 and, in 2023, celebrated its 50^th Anniversary.  (Learn more about the CSoB and its history here.)

The UAB Entrepreneurship Program is experiencing strong growth and rising regional and national impact.  In 2018, the program established an Endowed Chair. Since then, the program has introduced seven new undergraduate courses, established a distinctive bachelor’s degree, redesigned its MBA concentration, and hired a new Program Manager. The program utilizes a signature team-based outreach practice and offers a range of popular donor-supported programs for regional entrepreneurs and to bolster the program’s educational experiences.  The program’s offerings are in high demand from students, partners, and regional entrepreneurs. Whereas the curricular program is administered by MISQ, the program’s faculty members and courses span all three departments (ACFN, MIDE, and MISQ) in the CSoB. 

Our program offerings engage students, faculty, and staff across UAB and entrepreneurs across the region. The program enjoys significant financial and social support from the university and from Birmingham. Guided by core values of inspiration, impact, and ingenuity, the UAB Entrepreneurship Program emphasizes bold entrepreneurial actions, teaching and learning excellence, and world-class thought leadership as the means to serve current and future entrepreneurs in Alabama and beyond.

With a “think global, act local” worldview, our program’s faculty and staff participate actively in leadership positions at top scholarly outlets (e.g., Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development), in professional organizations (e.g., USASBE, the Academy of Management’s Entrepreneurship Division), and with national student-oriented organizations (e.g., Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization) across the field of Entrepreneurship. Locally, in Alabama, our close strategic relationships with regional partners, including the Alabama State Black Chamber of Commerce, Birmingham Business Alliance, and Birmingham’s Innovation Depot, one of the largest entrepreneurial co-working spaces in the Southeastern USA, complement program activities and magnify their impact to regional and national levels.

Our program has raised over $2 million since 2018, and we are currently undertaking a separate $5 million fundraising campaign. Since the bachelor’s degree launched in 2020, the entrepreneurship major has become the fastest growing degree program at UAB.

In 2022, UAB Entrepreneurship was named the nation’s #1 Model Emerging University Entrepreneurship Program by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE).  The program has ambitious long-term goals for continued success in fundraising, regional impact, enrollment growth, external programming, internationalization, and organizational evolution. (Learn more about our program here.)

UAB performs pre-employment background investigations on all candidates selected for employment. UAB is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, and family-friendly environment in which all faculty and staff can excel and achieve work/life harmony irrespective of, race, national origin, age, genetic or family medical history, gender, faith, gender identity and expression, and sexual orientation. UAB encourages applications from veterans and from individuals with disabilities.

We seek candidates who are inspired by entrepreneurship and by our program, who want a long-term career in a supportive and rewarding university environment, but who are also comfortable with the uncertainties and bold strategic actions of entrepreneurial settings.  A very strong passion for research and teaching, knowing how to talk to and work with successful entrepreneurs, and an ability to bring complementary talents to our team and bolster our continued growth as a world-class entrepreneurship program are essential qualifications.  We are not searching for a particular focus on any specific entrepreneurship subfield.  The most competitive candidates will possess some familiarity with all the various subfields of entrepreneurship (e.g., social enterprise, technology, strategy, venture finance, marketing, and more) based on practical experiences and/or scholarly expertise.

We especially welcome applications from candidates with strong potential competencies in these specific areas:

• Distinctive thought leadership in the scholarly entrepreneurship field.
• Conceiving, creating, and publishing original research (including as sole author) in entrepreneurship research journals and edited outlets.
• Facility with innovative new technologies and their effects on entrepreneurial activities.
• Excellent entrepreneurship teaching performance in outreach-based and other pedagogical contexts.
• Capacity for working across cultural and community boundaries (locally and internationally) and connecting authentically with many diverse entrepreneurs.
• Communicating with and coaching aspiring and current entrepreneurs about fundraising, hiring, pitching, business formation, impact, and many other practical topics.
• Promoting UAB entrepreneurship education and program activities externally to regional, national, and international audiences outside academia.
• Collaboration and coordination with schools, programs, and other partners across UAB and community partners outside the university.

Candidates must have a PhD from an AACSB accredited program (or equivalent) either in Entrepreneurship, in a business field (e.g., marketing, management, economics), or a STEM discipline if the relevant AACSB academic qualifications are met.  One’s dissertation and research program must have an explicit theory-driven emphasis on entrepreneurship.  Published scholarly work will be viewed positively but is not required for this tenure-track Assistant Professor position.  ABDs will be considered. The teaching load is 2/2 for a finite period during the tenure-track stage. Generous summer support will be available.

UAB offers a very competitive salary (~160k) and exceptional benefits package for this position, including one of the country's top pension plans.  

The City of Birmingham is the largest metropolitan center in Alabama and the host city of the 2022 World Games.  The city and the region have a rich civil rights history, world-class culinary scene, attractive cost of living, comfortable and agreeable culture, and a high quality of life. The annual climate includes all four seasons, but with mild winters and hot summers. Atlanta is the nearest major metropolitan center and is a 90-minute drive from Birmingham. The Birmingham entrepreneurial ecosystem is experiencing a renaissance, and the UAB Entrepreneurship Program is playing a pivotal role in its evolution.