Description
The Communication Department at Berry College seeks a Visiting Lecturer or Visiting Assistant Professor of Speech. We seek a faculty member who is committed to excellence in undergraduate teaching and has expertise in public speaking and rhetoric. Public speaking is one of three required courses for all students at Berry and is at the core of our departmental mission to graduate effective, persuasive, and ethical communicators. The visiting position is renewable annually for up to three years.
Berry's Communication program is one of the largest majors at the college and comprises five concentrations: Communication and Media Studies, Digital and Social Media, Filmmaking and Cinematic Arts, Public Relations, and Sports Communication. We are a vibrant, collegial department focused on preparing students for the media industry and/or graduate studies. Our students create content inside and outside the classroom, working with co-curricular student organizations, including the Berry College Forensics Union and five student-run media divisions. Berry students regularly win national awards for their excellence in public speaking and media content.
This position will primarily deliver course sections of public speaking to students from across the college. Our public speaking course emphasizes persuasion, storytelling, visual competency, and students engaging topics of public importance through personal experience. Faculty may design sections of public speaking around special topics of student interest. Past examples include leadership, healthcare, social justice, and political communication. There is also the opportunity to teach an occasional upper-division section aligned with the candidate's expertise, such as communication theory, human communication, and interpersonal communication. We are especially interested in candidates seeking a liberal arts approach to higher education.
Requirements
Candidates must have experience teaching college-level public speaking. Candidates must have a Master's Degree in Communication, Rhetoric, or Speech to be appointed as a Visiting Lecturer. Candidates must hold a Ph.D. in Communication, Speech, Rhetoric, or a closely related field at the time of employment to be appointed as a Visiting Assistant Professor.
Additional Information:
ABOUT BERRY COLLEGE
Berry is a selective independent college of 2,200 students located adjacent to Rome, GA, midway between Atlanta, GA, and Chattanooga, TN. Berry's educational approach deliberately unites challenging academic programs with practical work experience in a residential campus community that encourages faith and emphasizes caring for the needs of others above self. Our mission and values are grounded in the ethic that our founder instilled more than a century ago:
"We educate the head, heart, and hands - to inspire leaders of integrity who cultivate thriving communities. By combining academic exploration with meaningful work responsibilities in a residential setting, our approach emphasizes firsthand experience and mentoring. We invest in the personal growth and professional preparation of talented students from varied backgrounds, with an enduring commitment to help those hindered by financial need. Guided by Christian principles, we value the dignity of individuals, the search for truth tempered with grace, and the well-being of our neighbors."
Nationally recognized for quality of learning and quality of life, Berry offers first-rate undergraduate degree programs in the sciences, humanities, arts, and human sciences, as well as undergraduate and master's opportunities in business and teacher education. The College's stunning 27,000-acre campus affords opportunities that cannot be duplicated elsewhere. Berry's ongoing commitment is to provide exceptional educational experiences to talented students from a wide range of social, racial, and economic backgrounds.
COLLEGE COMMITMENTS
Berry College is committed to recruiting and supporting a diverse faculty and staff. As an equal opportunity institution, Berry complies with all applicable laws and provisions prohibiting discrimination in its educational and employment policies. Berry respects the essential dignity of all individuals and, accordingly, hires and promotes employees without regard to personal identity characteristics such as race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and political affiliation. Berry College is committed to ensuring that facilities, programs, services, and activities are accessible to everyone, including those seeking employment at Berry College. Inquiries about interviews or workplace accommodation are welcome. You can reach out to us at employment@berry.edu or (706) 233-4062. To apply, click here.
Application Instructions:
Applicants should submit a letter of application describing the candidate's interest in this position and commitment to the Berry mission and values; a curriculum vitae; a teaching statement that should articulate the candidate's teaching approach, experience, and goals; a statement of research plans; unofficial undergraduate and graduate transcripts; and names and contact information of three references.
Review of applications will begin on October 19, 2026, and will continue until the position is filled.
Specific questions about the position may be sent directly to the chair of the search committee, Dr. Curt Hersey, at chersey@berry.edu.
