Careers

We're Hiring signAssistant Professor, Non-Tenure-Track (Education)

McGovern Medical School seeks applicants for a non-tenure-track Assistant Professor position in the John P. McGovern, MD, Center for Humanities and Ethics (McGovern Center). Compensation is based on qualifications and experience. The university does permit changing to the tenure track pending a successful probationary period.

Ideal Candidate
We are looking for a faculty member to lead and expand our current writing and narrative medicine programs for health professional trainees at all levels of their careers. Our ideal candidate will have the skills to create new writing programs that contribute to the growth of the McGovern Center’s local and national profile, student and health professional development, and position in the Texas Medical Center as well as the greater Houston community. Candidates should be ready to provide evidence of their own works of creative writing and of their ability to teach writing courses in a clinical context. Lastly, this candidate will participate and contribute to the creative atmosphere of the university. The ideal candidate will have degrees and/or training in creative writing, narrative medicine, medical (or health) humanities, literature, English, or other related disciplines.

About the McGovern Center
The McGovern Center was established in September 2004 as an integral part of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston). While housed in McGovern Medical School, the McGovern Center works closely with all seven professional schools of UTHealth Houston—schools of nursing, medicine, dentistry, public health, biomedical sciences, behavioral health, and biomedical informatics. Educationally, the McGovern Center addresses the dehumanizing forces in contemporary healthcare by studying and teaching forms of care and research that are informed by the humanities, broadly construed. The McGovern Center’s scholarship focuses on contexts, experiences, power, meanings, and ethics in medicine and healthcare using the methods of the humanities and the interpretive social sciences.

For more about the McGovern Center, see:

UTHealth Houston is situated in the Texas Medical Center, the world’s largest medical center, and adjacent to safe, walkable neighborhoods like Rice Village (home of Rice University). Houston is the nation’s fourth-largest city, with ample intellectual, cultural, artistic, and gastronomic attractions.

Qualifications

  • PhD in a humanities discipline
  • Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree is preferred, but not required
  • Experience teaching in a medical, clinical, or health professional context
  • Experience teaching creative writing and/or narrative medicine
  • Evidence of ability to publish (e.g., articles in peer-reviewed journals and/or essays of fiction or creative non-fiction)

Area of Expertise

  • Creative Writing
  • Narrative Medicine
  • Literature and Medicine

Position Key Accountabilities and Duties
The successful candidate will devote the majority of their time to McGovern Center activities, including:

  1. publishing (both creatively and academically);
  2. teaching Introduction to Medical Humanities I & II;
  3. creating and teaching new writing courses;
  4. mentoring students, trainees, and faculty in their creative writing;
  5. overseeing production of the Human Ties Digest;
  6. creating new programs in support of the McGovern Center’s mission and values;
  7. serving on institutional committees; and
  8. fostering relationships with writing and arts organizations in the Houston community.

Interpersonal Attributes
Excellent written and oral communication skills. Ability to handle sensitive situations and communications. Excellent listening and comprehension skills. Dependable and reliable. Adaptable and growth-minded. Courterous and respectful.

The anticipated start date for this position is September 1, 2026.

Priority will be given to applications received before Jan 2, 2026, but applications accepted on a rolling basis

For additional information, please contact Dr. Keisha Ray at: [email protected].

Apply here: https://go.uth.edu/2025-faculty-search

UTHealth Houston is committed to providing equal opportunity in all employment-related activities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, gender identity or expression, veteran status or any other basis prohibited by law or university policy. Reasonable accommodation, based on disability or religious observances, will be considered in accordance with applicable law and UTHealth Houston policy. The University maintains affirmative action programs with respect to women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and eligible veterans in accordance with applicable law.