Professor of American Political Thought, Government, and History

Cornerstone University

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Cornerstone University invites applications from accomplished teacher-scholars committed to the study of American political thought, constitutional government, history, and the Christian intellectual tradition. The position is available for a January or August 2027 start date.

This is an unusual opportunity to join a university making a significant investment in the renewal of Christian liberal education. Through our newly redesigned Cornerstone Core curriculum, expanding Honors Program, and growing national profile in the study of American government and civic engagement, we seek tenure-track faculty members who are eager to shape students not merely for successful careers, but for lives of wisdom, faithful leadership, and principled public service.

Located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Cornerstone University is a confessional evangelical institution whose mission is to educate students to influence the world for Jesus Christ. We believe the great questions of history, political philosophy, theology, and constitutional government remain essential for forming thoughtful citizens and faithful Christians.

The successful candidate will join a community of faculty committed to rigorous scholarship, vibrant classroom discussion, and the enduring value of liberal education rooted in the Christian tradition.

Classification: 9/10-month faculty; Salaried

About Cornerstone

Cornerstone has recently launched an ambitious university-wide Core curriculum that introduces every undergraduate student to the beauty of the Christian worldview, the wisdom of the American experience and an emphasis on market intelligence and free enterprise.

For the courses in the pillar of the Wisdom of the American Experience, students engage primary texts from Scripture, the Christian tradition, original texts from the American founding, and the modern world through courses designed to cultivate intellectual humility, historical understanding, moral reasoning, and civic responsibility. Cornerstone’s Great Works Canon of the American Experience - a curated set of 50 works foundational to the birth and continual development of the United States - serves as the bedrock of the course materials for this curriculum.

The university has also expanded its Honors Program and continues to invest in nationally recognized initiatives exploring the relationship between Christianity and great ideas, American innovation, and the responsibility of leadership and influence.

Faculty are encouraged to contribute actively to this intellectual community through scholarship, public engagement, mentoring, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Responsibilities

The successful candidate will teach undergraduate courses that may include:

• American Political Thought
• American Government
• Constitutionalism
• The American Founding
• Political Philosophy
• American History
• Western Civilization
• Honors seminars within the Cornerstone Core

Teaching is expected to emphasize close reading of primary sources, thoughtful discussion, careful historical reasoning, and the integration of the biblical Christian worldview with intellectual inquiry.

Faculty also participate in mentoring, curriculum development, scholarly activity, and the broader intellectual life of the university.

Desired Areas of Expertise

Particular interest will be given to candidates with demonstrated expertise in one or more of the following areas:

• American political thought
• Constitutional government
• The American founding
• Political philosophy
• Natural law
• Western political thought
• Christian political thought
• Federalism
• Statesmanship
• American constitutional development
• Tocqueville
• Lincoln
• Burke
• The Progressive Era
• Religion and American public life
• Interdisciplinary scholars whose work bridges history, political science, philosophy, law, theology, or economics are especially encouraged to apply.

Qualifications

Required:

• Earned doctorate in Political Science, Political Thought, Government, American History, Political Philosophy, or closely related discipline (ABD near completion considered).
• Demonstrated excellence in undergraduate teaching.
  Active Christian faith consistent with Cornerstone University's doctrinal commitments.
• Commitment to integrating faith and learning within the classroom.
• Ability to affirm the University's Confession of Faith and Foundational Documents.

Preferred:

• Active scholarly agenda resulting in publications, conference presentations, or public scholarship.
• Experience teaching primary texts.
• Experience in Great Books, honors education, constitutional studies, or liberal arts curricula.
• Participation in organizations such as APSA, the Jack Miller Center, ISI, or related scholarly communities.

The Scholar We Seek

We seek more than an instructor.

We seek a scholar who delights in helping students wrestle with the enduring questions of liberty, justice, virtue, authority, citizenship, the human person, and the Christian faith.

The ideal candidate believes that the study of the American constitutional tradition cannot be separated from the moral and religious ideas that helped shape it. They are intellectually curious, historically informed, academically rigorous, and deeply committed to educating students who will lead faithfully in every vocation.

Why Cornerstone?

This is an opportunity to help build something distinctive.

Cornerstone is investing intentionally in Christian higher education that is intellectually serious, culturally engaged, and unapologetically grounded in historic Christian conviction.

Faculty enjoy:

• Highly engaged undergraduate students
• A growing Honors Program
• A redesigned liberal arts Core
• Collaborative faculty culture
• Opportunities for public scholarship
• Leadership support for innovative academic initiatives
• A nationally recognized commitment to Christian civic engagement and the study of the American constitutional tradition

We invite scholars who desire to shape the future of Christian higher education to consider joining us.

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS:

A personal relationship with Jesus Christ and an active Christian commitment.

A theology that supports the values and mission of Cornerstone University core commitments evidenced by an ability to affirm and sign the university’s doctrinal statement, “The Cornerstone Confession.”

Four other foundational pillars, along with the university’s mission and confession, form Cornerstone’s Core Commitments.

• The Cornerstone Christian World View
• The Cornerstone Academic Vision
• The Cornerstone Beautiful Christian Community
• The Marriage and Human Sexuality Position Statement

These core commitments convey who we are, what we believe and how we live and work together in community. Employees are expected to faithfully attend an evangelical and biblical church whose core beliefs and practices are consistent with Cornerstone’s confession and core commitments.