Assistant/Associate Professor - Social Engagement, Social Capital and Aging

The Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center, a multidisciplinary and university-wide Columbia University aging research, education, and policy center housed at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, invites candidates to apply for a full-time (tenure track) Faculty position commensurate with experience beginning July 1, 2022.
We seek candidates who have specialization and expertise in understanding the social capital of an aging society, the roles of social engagement in health and resiliency, and interventions to build social capital of older adults and intergenerationally. By social capital we mean the human capital potential of older adults, their role in building resilient communities, and the social capital of bridging, bonding, intergenerational cohesion, and social engagement to contribute to more successful communities and society and the institutions that enable this social capital to have impact, and the impacts on health of all these dimensions. Candidates' work should provide insights into how roles and responsibilities in the last third of life bring new kinds of sustained social capital that improves wellbeing and can solve major unmet societal needs, and the interventions that create impact at scale. The faculty member will build a research program to inform policies and programs that promote engagement, resiliency, and social cohesion at older ages to benefit both older people and all of society. As a member of the program on Aging Societies and Social Capital at the Center, this faculty member will provide a critical perspective for the entire Mailman School faculty as well as build robust collaborations with members of the CAC and the Columbia University community broadly. Successful candidates should have an excellent record of obtaining independent funding as well as excellence in teaching in this area.
The home appointment for this position will be the Center with a secondary appointment in one of Columbia Mailman's departments which will also serve as faculty member's departmental tenure home. (Departments may be found at publichealth.columbia.edu/academics/departments.)
Consideration for tenure requires strong research, teaching, and publication records and the ability to secure external funding. Therefore, in addition to a strong track record of securing funding, junior faculty candidates should demonstrate clear outstanding potential in research and teaching. Senior faculty candidates should be internationally recognized scholars with track records of excellence in research, teaching, and mentoring. Periodic teaching and course development will be a requirement of this position.
The Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center
The Butler Columbia Aging Center is a University-wide Center for aging research and education programs and is the hub of aging research and education programs within the Mailman School of Public Health. Through the lenses of biological aging, societal aging, and global aging, the Center's interdisciplinary research enhances understanding of how individuals age across their lives, and how to optimize health and wellbeing in older age.
The Center's primary faculty is currently composed of five researchers (see appended list) each based in different home departments at Columbia Mailman. Our faculty collaborate with researchers and students across the Columbia Mailman School and across Columbia University, and the Center engages in partnerships more broadly. We lead science to extend and improve health span, compress morbidity, and resolve disparities, including prevention of chronic diseases, frailty, cognitive decline and disability, and addressing emerging public health challenges such as loneliness; we are focused on population science and translation at both the level of individuals and transitions for successfully aging socieites. We train undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students, as well as professionals, to develop a next generation of leaders who can combat ageism, and innovate, as well as break down scientific and social barriers, to create healthy longevity in aging societies. We collaborate with public health scientists, educators, and systems to transform to lifelong prevention that enables people to arrive at old age healthy and stay healthy. We translate science into practice, systems, societal and policy solutions to enable communities and nations to benefit from the unique social capital assets of older adults.
The Center fosters close ties with the aging researchers across all of Columbia University's campuses including the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the School of Nursing, the Graduate School of Business, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the Zuckerman Institute. The Center also hosts policy pillars where this faculty member could contribute, including the International Longevity Center USA (ILC-USA), which is a member of a 16-member global alliance focused on policies to promote healthy longevity.
The Institution
The Columbia Mailman School of Public Health is one of the largest recipients of sponsored research for all schools of public health in the nation. Its internationally recognized and highly interdisciplinary faculty is comprised of over 500 full-time faculty members, of whom almost 40 percent hold joint or interdisciplinary appointments with other departments of the university, as well as a large network of adjunct faculty. CUIMC includes four schools (Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, College of Dental Medicine, School of Nursing, and Mailman School of Public Health) and accounts for roughly half of the University's $4 billion annual budget. CUIMC provides world-class leadership in scientific research, health and medical education, and patient care. CUIMC faculty have made profound breakthroughs historically ? among them, the first blood test for cancer, the first medical use of the laser, and the first successful transfer of genes from one cell to another.
For more about the Center, visit: aging.columbia.edu. For more about the School, visit: publichealth.columbia.edu.
Minimum Degree Required: Ph.D., M.D., or M.D./Ph.D.
Minimum qualifications: Competitive candidates will hold a doctoral degree in gerontology, epidemiology, sociology, psychology, anthropology, public health, medicine or other related field. Competitive candidates will have external/federal funding portfolios that demonstrate diverse, robust or growing research portfolios, as well as a funding track record that has led or will soon lead to independence.
Columbia University is an Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran