Assistant Teaching Professor in Data Journalism

Penn State University • University Park, IL

15h • Onsite

About The Position

The Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State seeks an outstanding faculty member for an Assistant Teaching Professor in Data Journalism position in the journalism department, starting in August 2026. The role requires deep professional expertise in data journalism and a demonstrated record of data-driven reporting in professional newsroom settings. The ideal candidate will have hands-on experience exploring, cleaning, analyzing, and documenting data, and translating this work into stories that inform and engage a public audience. Areas of teaching interest include computational methods for investigative reporting, data analysis, statistical literacy and visualization for storytelling, working with large datasets, APIs and public records, data journalism workflows and systems in professional newsrooms, and algorithmic accountability and transparency reporting. The position involves teaching and research responsibilities, with opportunities to collaborate with faculty and programs across the Bellisario Media Center, including the Curley Center for Sports Journalism, the News Lab, and Centre County Report. The college is particularly interested in candidates who can contribute to building and strengthening the data journalism infrastructure of student-run newsrooms and help shape how the next generation of journalists works with data responsibly and innovatively. This is a term position, with the length of the term to be discussed during the interview process, and continuation based on university need, performance, and funding availability.

Requirements

• Deep professional expertise in data journalism.
• Demonstrated record of data-driven reporting in professional newsroom settings.
• Hands-on experience exploring, cleaning, analyzing and documenting data.
• Experience translating data work into stories that inform and engage a public audience.
• Master's degree or higher in a relevant field by August 2026.
• Significant professional experience as a data journalist, including reporting, editing, or leading data teams in a newsroom environment.

Nice To Haves

• Fluency in tools common to data journalism practice, such as Python, R, or SQL for data analysis.
• Experience with structured, well-documented code workflows.
• Ability to model a critical and constructive relationship with data, approaching datasets with skepticism rather than cynicism.
• Ability to integrate data analysis with traditional people-reporting across diverse communities.
• Track record of teaching data skills across skill levels.
• Experience helping colleagues and students develop their own practice.

Responsibilities

• Teach data skills across skill levels, from introductory data literacy to advanced computational methods.
• Help colleagues and students develop their own data journalism practice.
• Conduct research.
• Collaborate with faculty and programs in the department and across the Bellisario Media Center, including the Curley Center for Sports Journalism, the News Lab, and Centre County Report.
• Contribute to building and strengthening the data journalism infrastructure of student-run newsrooms.
• Help shape how the next generation of journalists works with data responsibly and innovatively.

Benefits

• Competitive benefits package for full-time employees.
• Comprehensive medical coverage.
• Comprehensive dental coverage.
• Comprehensive vision coverage.
• Robust retirement plans.
• Generous 75% tuition discount, available to employees as well as eligible spouses and children.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees