Tenure-Track Assistant Professor, Child and Family Development

Wayne State University is searching for an experienced Tenure-Track Assistant Professor, Child and Family Development at its Detroit campus location.

Wayne State is a premier, public, urban research university located in the heart of Detroit, Michigan where students from all backgrounds are offered a rich, high-quality education. Our deep-rooted commitment to excellence, collaboration, integrity, diversity and inclusion creates exceptional educational opportunities which prepare students for success in a global society.

The Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute (MPSI) for Child and Family Development at Wayne State University (WSU) is excited to welcome a new colleague to our collaborative and interdisciplinary research community. We invite applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position beginning August 2027. The successful candidate will hold a joint appointment between MPSI and an academic department aligned with the candidate’s disciplinary background.

We welcome applications from scientists whose work addresses the development, health, and well-being of infants, children, adolescents, or families. Applicants’ research programs should align with the urban mission and values of WSU and MPSI and contribute to research, training, and community engagement that advance knowledge and solutions benefiting children, families, and communities.

Areas of particular interest include research on the processes and contexts that shape the development and health of children and families from infancy through young adulthood; risk, resilience, prevention, and intervention; and translational research that can drive innovations that promote health and well-being, including emerging technologies and new models of healthcare. We are also interested in work that examines influences across multiple levels of context, from individuals and families to communities and populations;

however, we are open to work that addresses other important questions in developmental science and family health.

Essential Functions
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Successful candidates will have a strong, independent program of research, evidence of or clear potential for external funding, and demonstrated quantitative expertise in developmental research methods. Responsibilities at MPSI include research, professional service, training and mentorship, and community engagement, along with teaching responsibilities in the academic department in which the candidate holds a joint appointment.

About Wayne State:

Wayne State University is a premier, public, urban research university located in Detroit, Michigan with a bold Strategic Plan. The 200-acre traditional and high-tech campus is in the heart of Midtown, offering unparalleled access to cultural experiences, community involvement, and corporate career opportunities. Wayne State University is the third largest institution of higher learning in Michigan and the most diverse campus in the state with over 24,000 students from every U.S. state and nearly 80 countries.

Wayne State is home to 13 colleges offering 375 degree programs, as well as seven interdisciplinary research centers and institutes.

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About Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute for Child and Family Development:

The Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute (MPSI) is a vibrant interdisciplinary research institute within Wayne State University’s Division of Research and Innovation (DORI; research.wayne.edu). With support from research cores and facilities across campus, current research at MPSI examines how developmental processes, during gestation through young adulthood, shape trajectories of mental and physical health, learning, and well-being within individuals, families,…