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Location: Hickory, North Carolina

The Lenoir-Rhyne University College of Fine Arts and Communication invites applications for a part-time adjunct instructor of Communication Studies in Hickory. Appointment begins August 2025.

Essential Responsibilities

We seek a colleague willing to become an engaged and collaborative member of Lenoir-Rhyne University’s growing Communication Studies program. The ideal colleague will be invested in a liberal arts approach to communication studies, empowering students to advance the public good. Ideal candidates will bring professional or academic experience in media writing, video production, and editing and design for digital media, along with flexibility in teaching both introductory (public speaking) and advanced courses (multimedia storytelling).

This position offers a semester-by-semester contract based on university need and student enrollment.

Lenoir-Rhyne University promotes a welcoming campus environment that is integral to the university's commitment to excellence in engagement and education. We are particularly interested in candidates who have demonstrated experience nurturing a welcoming community, working with faculty, staff, and/or students from all walks of life, and/or incorporating varied perspectives and traditions in their current or previous positions. This commitment is rooted in our Lutheran tradition of fostering wisdom, nurturing vocation, and preparing students for lives of purpose while serving the common good.

Education and Experience

The ideal colleague will have a master's degree in communication studies or a related field, plus classroom teaching experience.

Application Process

While completing the application, candidates will be prompted to submit a:

• Letter of application specifically discussing how one’s professional experiences and perspectives relate to the needs of the position
• Curriculum vitae or résumé including the names and addresses of three references

The position will remain open until filled. Any questions regarding the position or the search process should be submitted electronically to the Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication, Jennifer Heller, Ph.D., at hellerj@lr.edu.

About the College of Fine Arts and Communication
The College of Fine Arts and Communication is committed to developing well-rounded graduates who are perceptive readers and listeners, persuasive writers and speakers, and skilled artists and educators. Our curricula strive to express, enrich, and elevate the human condition by providing students with interdisciplinary experiences that strengthen their abilities to create, collaborate, and contribute to the public good. The college offers bachelor’s degrees in communication studies, English, music, theatre, and visual art and an MFA in creative writing.

About Lenoir-Rhyne University

Lenoir-Rhyne University is a co-educational, private, comprehensive liberal arts institution founded in 1891, with its traditional campus located in Hickory, North Carolina, a city of more than 40,000. The university has additional graduate centers in Asheville, N.C., and Columbia, S.C. Situated in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Lenoir-Rhyne is less than an hour’s drive from Charlotte, and the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area has a population of about 365,000. The university offers more than 45 undergraduate and 20 graduate degree programs to approximately 2,400 students. Lenoir-Rhyne University seeks to liberate mind and spirit, clarify personal faith, foster physical wholeness, build community, and promote responsible leadership for service to the world. Affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Lenoir-Rhyne promotes diverse campuses open to people from all religious and non-religious backgrounds. Visit www.lr.edu to learn more about the university.  

Non-Discrimination and Equal Opportunity Policy

Lenoir-Rhyne University is committed to providing a workplace and educational environment, as well as other benefits, programs, and activities that are free from discrimination, harassment and retaliation. 

LR is committed to creating a safe campus environment for all members of the LR community, including, but not limited to, those who identify as transgender and gender non-conforming. To that end, LR does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex (including sex stereotypes and sex characteristics), ethnicity, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, marital status, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran or military status or any other characteristic or status protected by applicable law.

To ensure compliance with federal and state civil rights laws and regulations and to affirm its commitment to promoting the goals of fairness and equity in all aspects of the educational program, activity and employment, LR has developed internal policies and procedures that provide a prompt, fair and impartial process for those involved in an allegation of discrimination or harassment, and for allegations of retaliation.

LR values and upholds the equal dignity of all members of its community and strives to balance the rights of the parties in the grievance process during what is often a difficult time for all those involved.

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