Penn State’s College of Health and Human Development (HHD) is launching a strategic hiring initiative in the environmental health sciences that will bring six tenure line faculty in this area to our college over the next several years.
We seek bench-to-population science expertise that embraces coupled human-natural systems and transdisciplinary approaches addressing critical environmental health challenges. Basing these faculty in the College of Health and Human Development will build upon our community of scholars collocated with existing expertise in health behavior, social science, human development, and public health — thereby facilitating innovative work where the coupled human-natural systems intersect with individual and social health contexts.
The initiative is being supported by Penn State’s Institutes of Energy and the Environment (IEE) under their Health and Environment theme area. IEE has a cross-university mission and can connect new faculty to other environmental scientists and forecasters as well as College of Medicine faculty who can serve as key collaborators.
Penn State University has an impressive array of research resources relevant to supporting research in environmental health sciences.
Current Open Positions

Associate or Full Professor position – open to multiple environmental health science research interest areas

Assistant Professor Position – open to scientists who utilize big data to address pressing environmental health issues
Why Penn State?
Penn State is a land-grant Research I university and a National Science Foundation top-25 ranked environmental sciences research institution. Consequently, there are tremendous existing environmental sciences resources and expertise to be leveraged to build innovative research programs related to human health. HHD is a research-intensive college, with the third highest extramurally supported expenditures at the University, and houses significant expertise in behavioral, social, and biological health determinants to compliment and synergize with a number of environmental health science research programs.
Our culture
The College of Health and Human Development embraces individual uniqueness, fosters a culture of inclusion that supports both broad and specific diversity initiatives, leverages the educational and institutional benefits of diversity, and engages all individuals to help them thrive. We value inclusion as a core strength and an essential element of our public service mission. In the College of Health and Human Development, enriching the lives of others is our mission. We strongly encourage applications from women, racial and ethnic minorities, and other individuals who are under-represented in the profession, across color, creed, race, ethnic and national origin, physical ability, gender and sexual identity, or any other legally protected basis.
Inquiries
Inquiries about the position may be directed to the search committee chair:
Martin Sliwinski, Ph.D.
Professor of Health and Human Development, Director of the Center for Healthy Aging
402 Biobehavioral Health Building
University Park, PA 16802
mjs56@psu.edu
814-863-9980