Latest News & Announcements Hot Off the Press: News, Events, and More
The Rural Sociological Society Announcements Board is your central spot for timely updates and opportunities relevant to the RSS community. From calls for submissions and training opportunities to jobs, events, and funding news, this board helps members stay connected and engaged throughout the year. Whether you’re posting or browsing, we encourage you to share and explore opportunities that support rural research, scholarship, and practice.
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Current Announcements
| Type | Name | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Events (All Formats) | 6th Global Food Security Conference | Submitted by: Karen Purvis <k.purvis@elsevier.com> Description: The 6th Global Food Security Conference will take place 19-22 April 2027at Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands. A high-level program will explore the latest scientific evidence on challenges and solutions for food and nutrition security in a multidimensional perspective. Abstracts are invited by 11 Sept 2026 and early booking is open until 11 Dec 2026. For full details visit: |
| Jobs | Contract Data Dashboard position | Submitted by: Becky Schewe <rschewe@sustainableagriculture.net> Description: The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) is seeking a grant-funded independent contractor to serve as a Data Developer. The contractor may work remotely or from IATP’s Minneapolis office at their discretion. The Data Developer will contribute to improvements to the Meat and Dairy Emissions Dashboard, which is the only publicly available source of information on meat and dairy companies’ climate-related reporting and exposure to climate-related reporting requirements. In compiling this data, IATP is contributing to the global campaign to increase corporate climate accountability and cut agricultural livestock emissions. |
| Call for Submissions | Call for papers: ‘Beyond the New West/Old West’ special issue of Rural Sociology | Submitted by: Kristal Jones <kristal@jgresearch.org> Description: We are pleased to share a call for papers for a special issue of Rural Sociology. The theme of the special issue is “Beyond the “Old West” and “New West”: Changing People, Places, and Power in High Amenity Rural Areas.” Full details can be found attached. In brief, we are interested in papers focused on examining the changing social landscapes of high amenity rural areas, with a focus on updating and expanding concepts related to the New West/Old West framework. We invite empirical, methodological, and theoretical contributions that illuminate the diverse people, institutions, relationships, and power dynamics shaping these communities. We welcome studies of the American West as well as research from other U.S. regions and international contexts where similar dynamics are at play, including papers focused solely on rural places and those making rural-urban or cross-place comparisons. Prospective contributors should submit an extended abstract no later than 5 PM ET on November 1, 2026. Abstracts can be up to two pages, single spaced, and must include a 3-5 sentence summary about how their study fits with the special issue theme. Submissions should be sent to the guest editorial team (elizabethbennett@isu.edu, kristal@jgresearch.org, and jessica.schad@usu.edu). We will consider two types of submissions: research articles and research notes. Review the Rural Sociology Author Guidelines for descriptions of each. Specify in your abstract which type of paper you plan to submit if invited for full paper submission. All submissions must be original work that has not been previously published. We will extend invitations by Dec. 15, 2026, and full papers will be due April 1, 2027. |
| Jobs | Job opportunity: LSU Department of Sociology, open rank professor position with a specialization in Environment and Community | Submitted by: Tim Slack <slack@lsu.edu> Description: Start Date: August 2027 Job Position/Rank: Assistant, Associate, Full Professor (Tenure-Track). Department of Sociology Louisiana State University Job Description: 50% – Teach graduate or undergraduate courses and hold regular office hours. Supervise graduate assistant(s) if assigned. 50% – Maintain an active research agenda with regular publications. Specialization Area: Environment and Community The LSU Department of Sociology is one of the oldest in the South and has awarded doctoral degrees for over 80 years. LSU is Louisiana’s flagship research university and is the only public Carnegie designated Research Extensive University in the state. For more information about the department, please see www.lsu.edu/sociology. The Department of Sociology at Louisiana State University invites applications for an open rank professor position beginning August 2027. We seek applicants with a specialization in Environment and Community who want to join a vibrant academic community at a R1 university. Screening of applicants will begin October 12, 2026 and will continue until the position is filled. Salary is commensurate with qualifications and experience. An offer of employment is contingent on a satisfactory pre-employment background check and RS:17 screening. Minimum Qualifications: Assistant Professor: Ph.D. in Sociology or Anticipated Completion of Degree by August of 2027 Associate Professor: Ph.D. in Sociology + 6 years of higher education experience Full Professor: Ph.D. in Sociology + 10 years of higher education experience For full announcement, see: https://lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/LSU/job/0110A-WC-Stubbs-Hall/Assistant-Professor—Environment-and-Community-Studies_R00120137 |
| Jobs | Assistant Professor of Sociology position at the University of New Hampshire | Submitted by: Tom Safford <Tom.Safford@unh.edu> Description: The Department of Sociology at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) in Durham invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor position in technology and society. In addition to this primary area, candidates with expertise in one or more of the following are preferred: quantitative methods, computational sociology, emerging technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), sociology of health and illness, and environmental sociology. UNH seeks a social scientist who applies innovative empirical methods to examine how emerging technologies shape social institutions, inequalities, organizations, and communities, as well as how social forces shape the development, adoption, and use of those technologies. Responsibilities of the position include maintaining a productive research program, including seeking external funding; contributing to excellence in teaching and mentoring a diverse body of students; and providing engaged service to the department, university, and profession. The position carries a teaching load equivalent to four courses per academic year. The faculty member will teach introductory and advanced sociology courses as well as university-wide core curriculum courses. We particularly value faculty who engage students in research, including through opportunities to develop computational, methodological, and applied sociological skills. This is a full-time appointment beginning August 2027. The Department of Sociology at UNH is a collegial department with strengths in criminology, health, community and environmental sociology, and stratification. We are committed to rigorous sociological research and to preparing students for careers in academic, public-sector, nonprofit, and private-sector settings. The successful candidate will join a department that values collaborative research, student mentorship, and interdisciplinary engagement and will have opportunities to develop research and teaching collaborations with faculty and programs across UNH, including Justice Studies, Sustainability, International Affairs, and other programs throughout the university. This position is covered by a collective bargaining agreement between AAUP-UNH and the University System of New Hampshire (https://www.aaup-unh.org/contract/). Duties/Responsibilities: Develop and maintain an active program of sociological research and pursue opportunities for external funding appropriate to their research agenda. Required Qualifications: Ph.D. in Sociology or a related field by the time of appointment; candidates who are ABD and anticipate completing the Ph.D. by August 2027 will be considered. Applicant Instructions Applicants should be prepared to upload the following documents when applying online: Cover Letter Applications that are missing any of the required items may not move forward for consideration. Additional uploaded documents not requested in the position announcement will not be reviewed. Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis with full consideration given to those received by October 9, 2026, or until the position is filled. Further information about the Department of Sociology may be found at https://cola.unh.edu/sociology. If you have questions, please contact Sociology.Search@unh.edu. Compensation Pay Range $77,000 The rank of the selected candidate will depend upon the candidate’s qualifications. The University of New Hampshire is an R1 Carnegie classification research institution providing comprehensive, high-quality undergraduate and graduate programs of distinction. UNH is located in Durham on a 188-acre campus, 60 miles north of Boston and 8 miles from the Atlantic coast and is convenient to New Hampshire’s lakes and mountains. There is a student enrollment of 13,000 students, with a full-time faculty of over 600, offering 90 undergraduate and more than 70 graduate programs. The University actively promotes a dynamic learning environment in which qualified individuals of differing perspectives, life experiences, and cultural backgrounds pursue academic goals with mutual respect and shared inquiry. EEO Statement The University System of New Hampshire is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access employer. The University System is committed to creating an environment that values and supports diversity and inclusiveness across our campus communities and encourages applications from qualified individuals who will help us achieve this mission. The University System prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or marital status. The pay range for this position is listed above. Actual offer will be based on skills, qualifications, experience, and internal equity, in addition to relevant business considerations. More information on benefits can be found here: USNH Employee Benefits | Human Resources Link to Job Posting: https://usnh.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Careers/job/University-of-New-Hampshire–Main-Campus/Assistant-Professor_JR9693 |
| Call for Submissions | Conference: Migration and the City: Aging, Identity, Built Environment & Sustainable Community Futures | Submitted by: Elizabeth Ransom (I am NOT the organizer) <exr497@psu.edu> Description: Date: November 21-23, 2026 Conference Vision This conference creates a deliberately cross-disciplinary meeting ground for scholars, practitioners, professionals, community organizations, designers, technology innovators and government policy makers. We invite participants to move beyond familiar academic and professional silos, question the assumptions of their own fields, and work across scales—from the home and care setting to the neighborhood, city, region and transnational community. A Conference Designed to Cross Comfort Zones We welcome contributions that Cross Across a concept from one discipline to another; bring academic research into conversation with front-line practice; compare places or populations that are rarely compared; combine quantitative evidence with lived experience; connect physical design with social policy; or challenge technological solutions with cultural, ethical and community knowledge. Suggested abstract deadline October 31, 2026 |
| Jobs | University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) — Rural Health and Aging — Assistant Professor | Submitted by: David F. Warner <dwarner3@uab.edu> Description: The UAB Department of Sociology invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor to start August 2027. We seek an individual with expertise in rural health and aging, who will be involved in the Southern Population Aging Research Center (www.sparc-aging.org). Applicants with research centered on Alabama and/or the Deep South will receive preference. All methodological approaches welcome. Visit https://uab.peopleadmin.com/postings/28464 for full details. Review begins December 15, 2026. Questions may be sent to Professor David F. Warner, Search Committee Chair (dwarner3@uab.edu). |